Family Band: The Cowsills Story - Special Feature - Shirley Jones
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- Опубліковано 22 кві 2020
- Bob Cowsill interviews Shirley Jones and gets the backstory behind The Cowsills' role in inspiriting the creation of The Partridge Family.
Parts of this interview appear in our film, Family Band: The Cowsills Story.
www.amazon.com/gp/video/detai...
Shirley is such a beautiful woman..she is one of those timeless beauties🥰
For sure!
Absolutely I say the same thing every time I see her....very lovely woman
Not timeless, just old .
@@bernardwinn1817 Some women carry their beauty into old age..just sayin'
@@6412mars some! But still she’s 89. Old🥴
Shirley Jones!!! Carousel, The Music Man...Everything this lady touches, turns to gold.
She has it all,... A triple threat as we say. How nice that she is here, looking as good as a million dollars.
Thank you for uploading this.
Yes! Thank you for watching, Cliff!
She may have done a tad of research.
How amazing that all those years they apparently had never interacted or spoken directly to each other before, but had only admired each other's endeavors from afar.
This is one of the most endearing discussions I've ever seen. So glad I stumbled upon it. Love the Cowsills music & loved the Patridge Family as a kid. Never made the connection.
Oh, fantastic.
I absolutely love both bands.
Same!
Wow!!! What a neat interview!! Thank you for this. It’s so cool to hear the inside scoop on this subject. I loved the Cowsills and I loved the Partridge Family tv show!!
Love the Cowsills💕🫠
It wouldn't have been the 70s without the Cowsills. They had awesome music.
The Cowsills was a really really under rated band.
For sure.
After rewatching bits and pieces of the documentary
plus the biopic about
The Partridge Family,
the one thing that Shirley Jones captured about Barbara Cowsill was the essence of her unconditional care for the people around her.
Yes, indeed.
Good interview, Shirley is timeless, so proffessional, I still listen to both groups to these days and think of them of easier times...and happier
Shirley….great actress and singer.👏👏
I was 10 when "The Partridge Family" premiered, and I started watching it because it was based on the Cowsills. And sadly, as the show took off, the Cowsills started to fade away from the charts. I loved them both, even though one was manufactured and the other The Real Deal.
Yes. Same!
From what I have learned just in the last two days is unlike the Partridge Family the Cowsills also had a Dad. He acted as their manager. He was mostly rude and demanding. One video I watched said the Cowsills were going to be booked on the Ed Sullivan Show multiple times. However, the Cowsill's dad decided to pick a fight with Ed Sullivan's son-in-law who was helping Ed run his TV show.
That cut the Cowsills down to just 2 appearances ever.
@@Kirktalon Yes, and you can watch the whole story in the doc on Prime, Family Band: The Cowsills Story.
@@Kirktalon He was an abusive monster! Did alot of lasting damage to all of his children, who were beyond talented. Mom was an abused woman who developed a drinking problem because of it, and could not stand up for her kids. So happy that the remaining members of the group bring so much joy to their long-time fans via their participation in the Happy Together tours. Miss Barry and hope John will someday re-join the family for a couple gigs (even though he is the official drummer for the Beach Boys).
@@birdsfan57
The mother did not protect her children, that is abuse.
They made a lot money from the children, when they we're older they asked for some money but the parents spend it all
Nice to see these two talking honestly.
Thanks for sharing ❤️
Yes! You are so welcome.
I dont know if it still exists but there was a place in Hollywood Ca called the Preview House where everyday people would gather and watch pilot shows and then the audience would vote on whether or not we liked the pilot. I was fortunate to be in the audience when they screened the pilot for the Partridge Family. I liked the show very much as well as the majority of the audience. The show ended up on television and was very successful. I like to feel that I was personally responsible in part for the show getting on the air. A great memory that I've never forgotten. I'm now 68 years old and its stuck with me all of these decades.
Oh, wow. That is a special memory for sure, Neil!
Of course, my mom knew who she was when the series premiered, but us kids, not so much, so my mom would talk about all of the great films Shirley had been in. The one film I'll never forget her always talking about was "Elmer Gantry," and when it appeared on the "late night movie of the week" lineup one time, she let us stay up late to watch it. So, I'll always remember Shirley for that particular film as well as her role as matriarch of the Partridge Family and, all through the 1970's, she did TV as well as print ads for the classic Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixer, so I'll always remember her for that, too, because my mom always had a Sunbeam stand mixer of her own; they'd wear out after so many years, and before you knew it, there was a new one on the kitchen counter. Funny, the odd, sometimes stupid things you remember, lol.
It is fascinating, the specific childhood memories that we store in our minds like snapshots.
I remember the Weekly Reader in the late 60s, a magazine passed around our 5th and 6th grade class, having ads for milk with The Cowsills used for the promotion. They were perfect for that promotion. The Cowsills were a big deal to us kids.
Oh, yes. I loved the Weekly Reader and those ads!
U guys had the SRA weekly readers too?Were u guys in California as I was?I had a Flinstones lunchbox those days.just sayin
Anybody read Tom Betty and Susan?Thats the first books I remember reading.I ask my granny who was born in 1903 what they read in her day.She said the"Bobsey Twins".She was raised in Oklahoma by the way.
Yes, I remember the milk commercials too. I think someone told me their last name was Cows, not Cowsills, I was just a very young kid, about John and Barry’s age. Do, I only remembered them by first name.
Nice to see two legendary Stars "acknowledging" each other: the Partridge Family TV show was a Classic and the Cowsills are a treasure, their harmonizing so amazing.👏 Saw them perform @the State Fair Ca a few yrs back "The Happy Together Flower 🌸 Power Tour" and their were "brilliant".-🌟
They are!
@@louisepalanker Yes, incredible band The COWSILLS🌟 and was quite surprise they originally sung the Classic theme tune to "Love American Style." Love that TV Classic💫show as well.
As a child I thought the Cowsills were so cool and Shirley Jones was the nicest lady, and a looker. And I still do.
For sure.
So wonderful to see Shirley, I want her to know I think she is just so beautiful and the PF got me through a really tough childhood, and I thank her for that. I'm GLAD you did the show, you are a true icon, as are the Cowsills. I adore them too, Great interview!
Thank you, Annie!
Yes True Icons Shirley Definitely the Cowsills 😉
Shirley Jones is a Wonderful Person. I wish her all the best - so classy
Absolutely.
She is such a sweetie..great interview
She is. Thank you!
What a wonderful interview.... more like two old friends sitting down and talking about things that they each always wanted to ask the other...................
Yes! Isn’t it?
This is a really special interview. I am so glad you got this on film.
An honor for sure.
So nice they got together to talk. I sure love them.
Two wonderful people. Thank your sharing this, Louise.
My pleasure.
Adding... I've met Shirley Jones three times in my life in the line of professional duty, in different decades. She is warm, real, and generous in spirit. I saw Susan Cowsill in concert around 2009 or 2010 or so. Very good...really enjoyed her show and got a picture with her after. I've just been lucky to meet some of my music heroes.
Thank you for sharing. You have been blessed indeed!
I am proud to say that I knew (even back then) that The Partridge Family was based on The Cowsills and not the other way around...many did not know.
I had a crush on Barry. Requiescat In Pace 🕯
I absolutely love Shirley!
This could’ve been a VERY awkward situation but because both are so gracious and professionals each in their own genre, the whole thing kinda works for the most part!!
Yes. Both so gracious and eager to talk about events that influenced both greatly.
The Cowsillis, children suffered Terrible abuse from the parents, they controlled, beaten, deprived them of love, Joy, protection, and spent all the money the kids made.
Hope the parents suffered all the pain they did to the children.
The Cowsillis kids grew into real nice people.
Wasn’t the “parents”, it was the abusive father, who later in the career of the kids, when they were in their early 20’s, when asked where the millions of dollars in record sales were, said, and I quote an interview of John cowsill, “what money?” The mother did her best.
Never heard it was parents but later years was the father...sad!!!
Shirley Jones 🌟
Beautiful, Charming Lady
And A Damn Fine Actress and Vocalist
Thank You ✌️💞🙏
I was the fourth of seven kids and when I was little, I had fantasies about our family being a rock band... despite not a one of us having a lick of musical talent! I still remember scheduling our 1976 North American Tour. I don't know if that's cute... or embarrassing!
It's adorable.
Shirley Jones was an academy award winning actress, btw.
Lovely Conversation!
It's sad in a way...Bob wanted to know things that were from 40 years previous that Shirley Jones would have no idea about. Money for the Cowsills? Really? The father spent it like it was water in the desert and the family ended up with nothing. The dad was a Svengali and treated those kids as his personal meal ticket. Those kids were talented and their songs were pop hits.
Yes, him not knowing if the family got any money says it all.
I have to wonder if Shirley Jones actually knew nothing of the Cowsills? That is hard to believe.
I wish that the Cowsills and their mother would have done the TV show instead. They would have been spectacular!
@@Boyo1956 ....well, Shirley was then in her thirties, married, with three young sons. I don't think she had time or any inclination to get to know the names or music of current top forty sunshine pop groups. None of the women in my mom's peer group were even remotely interested such things, even if on the slim chance they could spare the time.
@@msr1116unshine pop group? More like a family heavy metal group.
Read Tommy James' book !
Fantastic!!
I loved the Partridge Family as a little kid in the 1970s and still enjoy reruns today, and yes I still have a crush on Laurie Partridge too.
Haha! Yes. She is adorable.
Great interview
I always wondered if the show was based on the Cowcills...now we know for sure.
They aren't even subtle about it.Bob is Keith. Paul is Laurie. Barry is Danny. John is Chris. Susan is Tracy. All they did was make Paul a girl.
This is fabulous!!!!!
It really is.
This is so cool! I loved both. So that's awesome!!
Yay! Thank you!
Louise Thank You , loved this Interview 😉 nice , For you to post this longer interview 💗 Cathy Nashville
You are so welcome.
I remember back around 2008 when i saw this documentary on HBO (or ShowTime) and i was channel surfing when i first saw the Cowsills singing...I was like ..."This is exactly how the Partridge family looks...So this is what got that show going." I had no idea that the Partridge family was another band prior. i randomly learned something that day.
I love how our access to media just keeps teaching us!
What an amazing interview and so interesting on the back story from Shirley Jones. Thanks so much for posting it.
Thank you so much for watching, David.
@@louisepalanker No Thank you for sharing such an interesting interview with Shirley and Bob. I have been listening to the Cowsills since I was a kid and love HAIR. The interview was fascinating about the connectivity of the show and the real people it was inspired by.
@@louisepalanker By the way, if you have any interest in spirits and true Hollywood crime, I might suggest taking a look at my channel. I live in a home that I built down the drive from where Sharon Tate once lived and my story for the past 20 years has been about living in a unique property with a bunch of spirits and I have zero fears about it. Get in touch if you have any questions. Thanks, David
@@davidoman Yes, and maybe you've seen the film which is referenced in the description above.
@@louisepalanker As a matter of fact I have not yet seen it. I am sad that the kids went through such pain in their childhood with their father being such a control freak mess. I will watch the doc about them later this afternoon. Thanks again for posting
Excellent
Awesome
I just saw videos of the Cowsills performing, it's amazing that it wasn't well-known at the time that the Partridges were based on the Cowsills! I love the way the Cowsills performed too, with enthusiasm and they made the music even more fun.
Well said!
Good stuff 👍
Here in Brazil Family Partridge wass called (FAMILIA DO-RÈ-MI) tv Globo. Shirley Jones is still Pretty, i watched family partridge in the 70s here in SÃO PAULO CITY BRAZIL.i miss you. God blasses Shirley Jones.
Oh, that is so awesome!
I love Shirley Jones! She looks a lot my sister! God bless everyone and everything!
God bless you!
That was nice.
Emotional 😭.
And the Partridge Family sold many more records than the Cowsills ever did. Great video! Thanks for posting it. 👍
You bet
The "Partridge Family" is not real.
@@gingerlord4983 It was a real band that released real albums that sold millions of copies. What more do you want?
@@gingerlord4983its futile sorry to say.
I loved the Cowsills! I had a big crush on Susan way back when..
This is news to me. I previously always thought the "Partridge Family" was simply a response to the "Brady Bunch" and very loosely borrowing some ideas from "The Sound of Music". Had no idea it was based on the Cowsills.
I remember reading a press blurb in my local paper that said The Cowsills would star with Shirley Jones in the show.
@@louisepalanker Yeah so I've just read up a little more about this and found out the producers of the Partridge Family really wanted Susan Cowsill on the show. Looking at those early Cowsill videos and Susan's performance and personality as a kid back then... I think she might have stolen the show away from some of the main cast members if that had happened.
She certainly could have. She's a delight.@@Earthman99999
They could at least have had her coach Suzanne Crough on the tambourine.
@@kthorning4459I think Susan Crough got better but when she and the 1st drummer, Jeremy started, they looked like deer in the head lights.
The older people, nowadays are always trying to look younger.
Older women are dying their hair, black and wearing provocative clothing. And older men are putting on toupee's. Instead of being happy at the age they're at, and not worrying about growing old.
Shirley here, has Silver hair, she is wearing conservative clothing, and she looks absolutely stunning!!
And Bob looks sexier than any other older man, that's dressing flashy, and wearing toupee's.
The look wonderful.
I love Shirley Jones. I believe what keeps her so young is that she has a very "cherry" spirit and she always comes off as a super- nice person.
Yeah, Shirley was a really beautiful woman, I had a crush on her as a kid, she can sing too!, Mr. Cowsill really wanted some answers., He was hungry for truth. Shirley looked nervous and kind of tense with cowsills personal questions.
I feel so sorry for the Cowsill kids, having to grow up with two monstrous parents. Their mother ignored and enabled all the father's abuse.
If the Partridge Family came on tv in my youth the channel got changed, sorry it sucked. The Cowsills came up with some awesome music, I knew the tunes but not the name of the band. Its 2024 and they're still enjoyable.
I feel bad for Shirley because it could have been interpreted that she is on the hot seat or should feel guilty that the Cowsills weren't given Partridge Family royalties. Bob did a decent job at trying to make her feel comfortable. The rumor is Bernard Slade sounded the fire alarm before the interview began. ;)
I hope that talking to Bob was helpful for her. What happened back in the 70's is a Hollywood mystery for sure. But my guess is that Shirley was told that dealing with The Cowsills' father would be a problem.
@@louisepalanker - Could be. I gravitate more towards the theory that they felt the kids didn't have solid acting experience and they were getting up there in age. Plus, they couldn't have chosen all of them. So how do you break up a family by selecting a few of them and leaving the others crushed. But the baggage of Bud Cowsill could very well have been in play.
@@shyman99 Yes. Sometimes the answers to such mysteries are "all of the above.
Did Shirley or the other cast members get royalties?
@@louisepalankerHeard Th3 Cowsills lost out on more gigs because of their father. Guess he wast the only controll8ng force. There was Joe Jackson [Jackson Five] and Murray Wilson [Beach Boys].
Bob is quite handsome here
Haha! Bob is always handsome.
Silver fox ;))
She is very beautiful? She grew up in a town not to far from where I live. I live in Uniontown,Pa. She lived in Westmoreland county. About a 15 to 20 minute drive.!
She so looks like my mom now, I never saw that before☺
Bob is do Genuine , down to earth Kind Man 😉
Greatness Ms. Shirley was many Americans Mom.
The best!
I thought the alarm was in my house
Oh, I'm so sorry.
They shouldn’t feel too bad about the money; even David Cassidy got screwed in that respect. The things the wealthy producers can never have: their fame, talent, and instant lovability!
🌹
I had good memories of the Partridge Family until I heard that they were basically a clone of the Cowsills. How much different the show would’ve been had it actually been the Cowsills? I agree what he mentions about Susan Dey and David Cassidy as draws.
When was this done and how does Shirley look so dang good!!!
She always looks good. This was done in around 2008 or so.
Wow, is this really recorded in 2020? Shirley looks great!
She looks great for sure. It was posted in 2020 and recorded around 2008.
@@louisepalanker Ah, thank you. 👍.
@@louisepalanker Could I please ask a favor? It's Bill on lead guitar and lead vocal and John on drums but which boys are on keyboard and bass guitar? This is a wonderful live performance. Thank you.
ua-cam.com/video/8gRWTlL3WGM/v-deo.html
@@Nessus07 Bob is playing keyboard here and Barry is on bass.
@@louisepalanker
Thanks much!
I’ve always been curious about whether The Cowsills were given anything for being stolen for The Partridge Family!
They attended a screening of the show and that's about it.
The Partridge Family was based on the Cowsills
So this interview is from years ago? Why just now posting it? One day Louise, I hope you do part 2 and I can tell my losing my job at Atlantic over them story :) Love to you :)
I am posting some of the special features from the DVD, Marc. A few more to go!
Fix the sound please, I can hear Shirley but Bob only a little.
Did the Cowsills ever get any royalties from the Partridge family TV show?
Isn’t this proof positive of the source of the material. Don’t companies have to buy out the stories from the person/families they’re based on?
I’ve seen people sue & win cases with a lot less evidence.
I don't believe they ever made a penny but it's hard to know what sort of deal their dad cut since the production team from The Partridge Family went over to study The Cowsills. I just don't know.
weren’t there any lawyers living in California back then? (or even now?)
There’s got to be thousands of cases were money was paid (or awarded) for much less obvious cases.
Without doing any research (only from memory) wasn’t “Coming to America” sued & awarded money for lifting a story from a famous NY columnist?
@@MikeCee7 I just really don't know. Most of The Cowsills were still minors when this transpired.
I get why they didn't use them as the actors, but why not use them in the songs instead of the Ron Hicklin singers?
Absolutely. I don't think the producers of the show wanted to do deal with their father. That's my theory.
@@louisepalanker I Believe It ! TOO !! Deal with Bud !!! Not the Cowsills , but Bud !!
@@louisepalanker I heard he was cruel and a jerk.
@@cocoaorange1 I would let his kids answer that question. You can hear them speak about him directly in the film and in features you'll find here on this channel. He was very difficult.
@@louisepalanker It's speculation, but I bet you're right, Louise.
You can't hear the interview.
Podrían compartir la historia de The Cowsill en español??
Estamos trabajando en traducciones en Amazon Prime. No estoy seguro de cómo activarlos en UA-cam.
0:22 Did anyone else think this was there smoke alarm going off? I rushed into my kitchen as soon as I heard it as it sounds just like my smoke alarm. I'll take that as a fire drill. At least I'm very alert and respond quickly.
If it WAS their smoke alarm then Marty Ingles was super quick at finding a 9-volt and knowing how to properly make the switch!
I want to see Shirley in her velvet outfit with the ruffley top.
Can't hear it.
were the cowsills children ever able to prosecute their father due to him stealing millions from them? Weren't there already laws in place to protect childrens money from their parents?
There were laws for child actors but not for child musicians. It's not clear that Bud "stole" the money. He may have owed it to shady investors. He may have mismanaged it. He may have invested it poorly. We just don't truly know.
@@louisepalanker thank you for answering.
I always wanted to go on a date with Shirley. She's 88 and I'm 67. Think she goes for younger men? 😀
They could have learned to be actors like Will Smith, he wasn't an actor and there's plenty of other musicians that became actors
Great point.
sound on this clip really sucks
Well that was an awkward interview. He seemed to be needing some sort of validation or something that she couldn’t give. She was very gracious. He was a bit obnoxious and defensive.
He was eager for answers and quite respectful. He'd gone his whole life wondering how this story looked from her point of view. She is wonderful
Where was the editor to "clean up" this interview?? that was embarrassing to have that alarm go off for the world to hear! two thumbs down on the editing here, not that impressed, that Cowsill guy was fawning all over Jones, GAG. Shirley Jones herself, was fantastic.
This is the full, unedited interview.
Too bad Daddy Cowsill was a stage MUTHA or Murry Wilson (Beach Boys).
Ruben Kincade was always kind of a shifty character.
Barely audible!
I know he was a jerk and possibly a pedo, but in this instance Bud Cowsill was correct. If Shirley Jones was the Cowsill "mom" on television, that would have been the end for Barb, because everyone would think Shirley was the mom. And if Barb were out the band the essential Cowsills would be done because and she was their "differentiation" in the market -- almost their trademark
Can't even hear them.......horrible audio.
They weren’t actors ugh 😩 well partridges weren’t musical 🎶 🤯🤯🤯🤯
Right you are.
Got a thumbs down for the crappy audio. Up to 100% and still straining to hear. Not worth the effort; nothing wrong with my ears btw.
She is like a pretty Hillary Clinton, even her demeanor is kind of like old Hillary’s…!
Hillary is also pretty!
@@louisepalanker I guess your not a man….! Lol
@@louisepalanker I’m gonna guess your not a man or you just have bad taste…..! But I respect your opinion of the Beast…and the lovely Shirley