The Cowsills have toured since 1965. “The Partridge Family” was inspired on the harmonizing group, which has featured the six siblings and their mother.
Bob, Susan, and Paul Cowsill have spent most of the past decade on the Happy Together tour, a collection of iconic bands from the 1960s and 1970s that perform their biggest hits.
Cowsill called it summer camp. “We’re all legacy artists, oldies artists from the ’60s and we’re so grateful to be on this tour.”
The Turtles, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, The Vogues, The Classics IV, and The Cowsills headline this year’s Happy Together tour at The Birchmere on June 20. Six performers have over 60 Billboard Top 40 hits.
“Everyone will do their top five or six hits that the audience knows, and one of the tour rules is you do your songs the way they were recorded, don’t start recreating your own hits,” Cowsill added. “We know the audience wants. They remember these tunes as well as the performers.”
The Turtles’ harmony-heavy California pop tunes “Elenore,” “It Ain’t Me Babe,” “You Showed Me,” and “Happy Together” were radio staples in the 1960s.
Cowsill claimed this music unified a generation.
Little Anthony is known for his amazing vocal range and hits like “Tears On My Pillow,” “Goin’ Out of My Head,” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop”; Puckett will sing hits like “Young Girl,” “Over You,” and “Woman, Woman”; The Vogues for “Five O’Clock World,” “My Special Angel,” and “Turn Around Look At Me”; and The Classics IV for “Spooky, Stormy, Traces” and “Everyday With You Girl.”
The Turtles created the business concept for The Happy Together Tour by realizing that six performers could team up to perform tunes that would keep the audience engaged all night.
“We all travel together and sleep on two busses because it’s still so much fun for us,” Cowsill remarked. “We’ll hit 60 cities by Sept. 1, and everyone loves it because we can’t believe we’re still here and the audience is still here. We’ll bounce till we drop.”
Even though some of the artists are older—Little Anthony is 82—Cowsill said they all sound great.
“It’s magical,” Cowsill added. “Our audience remembers their youth and learns musical history. Even little youngsters like the show.”
The Cowsills will open The Bichmere performance with a 20-minute set of their biggest singles, including “Hair,” “Indian Lake,” “Love American Style,” and “The Rain, The Park & Other Things.”
“We love getting the first crack at the audience and getting the party going,” Cowsill added. “We only hit. Maybe the merch stand has something new, but the show only plays the songs fans want to hear.”
As music never stops for them, the Cowsills will tour with their sons and other family members in a seven-piece band after the tour. They will continue playing as a trio and have a successful podcast (100 episodes and counting).
Cowsill advised fans to attend games. “We know how old we all are and how good that couch feels, but The Happy Together Tour will uplift you and bring you to places you didn’t know were still inside you and bring out dormant memories. It’s a fast, lively show.”
