More sadness

[DeltaDon]

Lead singer of The Cowsills dies in Canada

NEWPORT, R.I. The lead singer of the 1960s family band The Cowsills has died _ and his family learned it just after a memorial service for his brother.
According to family members, William Cowsill died Friday in Canada. He had been suffering from emphysema, osteoporosis and other ailments. He was 58 years old.

Cowsill was the frontman for the band bearing his family's name. The Newport group was discovered by an N-B-C producer in 1965. Soon after, they recorded three number-one hits including "Hair," "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" and "Indian Lake."

News of his death came just after a memorial ceremony honoring William Cowsill's younger brother, Barry. Barry Cowsill drowned after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

[pqgeorge]

"When it rains, it pours". As if the Cowsill family needed THIS sad news. Very sad indeed.


> Lead singer of The Cowsills dies in Canada
>
> NEWPORT, R.I. The lead singer of the 1960s family band The
> Cowsills has died _ and his family learned it just after a
> memorial service for his brother.
> According to family members, William Cowsill died Friday in
> Canada. He had been suffering from emphysema, osteoporosis
> and other ailments. He was 58 years old.
>
> Cowsill was the frontman for the band bearing his family's
> name. The Newport group was discovered by an N-B-C producer
> in 1965. Soon after, they recorded three number-one hits
> including "Hair," "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" and
> "Indian Lake."
>
> News of his death came just after a memorial ceremony
> honoring William Cowsill's younger brother, Barry. Barry
> Cowsill drowned after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans.
>
>
> Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
> <P ID="signature">______________
Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts</P>

 

[DeltaDon]

Re: More sadness - CBC version

Lead singer of The Cowsills dies as brother is buried
Last Updated Sun, 19 Feb 2006 13:57:26 EST
CBC Arts

Billy Cowsill, once the frontman for 1960s family band The Cowsills, has died at his home in Calgary at the age of 58.

Family members confirmed Sunday that Billy died Friday night. He had been fighting a lengthy battle with a variety of ailments which included emphysema, osteoporosis and Cushing syndrome. But the family did not reveal what caused Billy’s death.

Paul Cowsill, brother to Billy, told the Providence Journal that Billy had a history of problems with drugs and alcohol which had “caught up with him.”

The family had been gathered in Rhode Island over the weekend for a memorial service for Barry Cowsill, a brother who was also a member of the band. Barry drowned in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in September.

The Cowsills were the inspiration for the 1970s television sitcom The Partridge Family. The act included parents Bud and Barbara, daughter Susan and brothers William (Billy), Robert, Richard, Barry, Paul and John.

The Cowsills also had their own TV special and performed as a headline act in Las Vegas. They had several hits including Hair, The Rain and Indian Lake. They disbanded in the early seventies and went their own ways.

Billy moved to Canada 35 years ago and continued his musical career with the bands Blue Northern and The Blue Shadows, which released two well-received albums.

In an interview with the Calgary Sun in January 2002, Billy admitted his life spiralled out of control in Vancouver during the mid-1990s. His Calgary friends came to his rescue: “They dragged me [back to Calgary], put me up in a facility and allowed me to get my healthy, my sanity … back.”

Around 2002, Billy was halfway through a psychology degree from Mont Royal College and had formed a “weekend party band” called the Co-Dependents. His family said he was working towards a degree in musical education when he died.

Cowsill is survived by two sons, Travis and Del.

Copyright ©2006 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved