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.)

All Right, Which One Of You Knuckleheads Is Affiliated With CBS?

When you have a blog as small as mine is, you can (and do) keep tabs on where your readers come from.  This usually is in cooperation with various law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the CIA, and Mayberry RFD.

I'm no stool pigeon, mind you...but I am no fool, either.  I know that most of my readers are among the unemployable, the hopelessly addicted, and the lunatic fringe of society.  Ahhhh...my sort of people.

Well, CBS reader...this is for you.

From 1965.

 


And from 1967.  This was actually known as "the scary eye."

From 1987: When Pee Wee Herman Marries A Bowl Of Fruit Salad

November 21, 1987

I say with some sadness that I doubt a scene like this would air on television today, particularly in a children's program.  Adults are too uptight; hateful JesusFreaks would call it "a gay agenda."  This does a real disservice to kids everywhere, because kids have a natural sense of absurdist humor, like you saw on Herman's show.

As The 1975 Spectacular Continues, We Take A Look At "Love In The Afternoon"

Housewives, put down your mops, fix yourselves a cocktail or six (yes, I know you learned how to make authentic Singapore Slings the other day while watching Dinah Shore), and prepare to spend the rest of the day in the throes of blissful romance, as only the soap operas of 1975 could provide.

This PSA Is A Hell Of A Lot More Effective Than That Constipated Moralistic Nancy Reagan Nonsense

As you can see, this was aired sometime in 1972, as you see a snippet of The Price Is Right with Bob Barker. Dig the miniskirt on one of Barker's Beauties!

From 1972: For Seventies Kids, Public Service Announcements Didn't Mess Around

I can't decide what is creepier: Jack Webb's narration or that drumroll (*shudder*).



This PSA was aired during the first commercial break on the September 4, 1972 premiere of The (New) Price is Right. The first commercial break was always taken up by either a 60-second PSA or network promo, in those days.