Voodoo Child: Susan Cowsill

At the tender age of eight, Susan Cowsill appeared with "family band" The Cowsills on The Ed Sullivan Show.  You read that right: she was eight years old.

 She may have been a kid, but she works that tambourine and sings like she was born to be in the band with her brothers and mother.   You can't take your eyes off of her.  Whatever "it factor" was or is, little Susan had it, and in spades.  She was a groovy little chick, a real voodoo child.  And when that young lady started dancing?  Forget it.  The girl had moves.

CBS flubbed the audio on the first verse and chorus in this clip.  Stick with it; when the mikes get switched on properly, you get to hear the band's remarkable vocals.

All of the Cowsill children were the victims of their militant, domineering father, Bud.  The Cowsills were so liked by Ed Sullivan, he wanted them for an unheard-of TEN guest appearances for the show.  However, because of the audio flub by CBS at the beginning of the song, Bud had a huge argument with the Sullivan people.  

The Cowsills would only appear once more on the show.

UPDATE from October 2014: I found this clip, a medley of tunes showcasing each individual member.  Little Susan belts out "Sweet-talkin' Guy." 

Susan Cowsill today.  (She's still a groovy chick.)

From Deep Dish: The 25 Grooviest Broadway Stars Of The 1960s

Oh, how I LOVE this blog post (and this blog).

This Early Seventies PSA Just Makes Me Want To Do Drugs Even More

I mean, isn't the point of this clip that drugs will cause you to star in your own super-groovy episode of Scooby Doo, along with Mama Cass and The Harlem Globetrotters?

Or Don Knotts? Or Jerry Reed?



Christ, I need a Scooby Snack. Where's the peppermint bark (get it? bark? Scooby Doo was a dog? No?) I bought the other day?

A Song So Perfect, It Actually Makes Me Cry

Sit back, spark one up, and blow your mind. The Byrds from 1965...it doesn't get much better than this.

This song was the flip side to the massive hit "Turn! Turn! Turn!" It is also rumored to have been inspired by songwriter Gene Clark's intense infatuation with Michelle Phillips, with whom he would later have a passionate, albeit short lived, love affair. The story is that Clark saw Michelle across a smoky room at the Whisky A Go Go. A lifelong victim of anxiety and shyness, Clark was much too timid to approach her. So, instead, he went home and wrote this song about the woman he just saw.

Now being recognized as the pop masterpiece that it is, truly worthy of being a single in its own right, "She Don't Care About Time" is now included in all pressings of the "Turn! Turn! Turn!" CD as a bonus track.

Think Wink: The Soft Drink Of Choice For Discriminating Siamese Cats In The Sixties

1966

For Americans, the flavor is supposedly somewhat similar to Squirt cola, which can be difficult to find in some markets.

An interesting article on the apparently elusive Wink

"A Sleep-Through Night." And The Following Morning. And The Afternoon.

A fantastic double-clicker, this one.

From 1971.

There Are So Many Things To Love In This One Picture

Cass Elliot, Michelle Phillips, and Jimi Hendrix

Backstage at Monterey Pop, June 1967

Note that Michelle is holding a joint,

Jimi is wearing love beads,

and Cass was the grooviest funniest most beautiful flower child who ever lived.

A Photo So Awesome, It Actually Transcends Words

Perardi's parents' wedding photo

1976