Bill Cowsill has died

[swag]

Lead singer of The Cowsills dies in Canada
February 19, 2006

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --William Cowsill, the lead singer of the popular 1960s band The Cowsills which inspired the TV series "The Partridge Family," has died, family members said Sunday. He was 58.

News of Cowsill's death on Friday reached his family shortly after a memorial service in Newport honoring his younger brother, Barry, who died after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in August.

"We couldn't believe it ourselves," said his brother, Richard Cowsill. "It was a shocker. It caught us all off-guard."

The exact cause of death was not immediately known. William Coswill, who lived in Calgary, Canada, had been suffering from emphysema, osteoporosis, Cushing syndrome and other ailments, according to another brother, Robert Cowsill.

. . .
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/02/19/lead_singer_of_the_cowsills_dies_in_canada/

[ikojo]

1. Poor family has been hit hard recently...Barry

Cowsill was found dead in New Orleans...

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001806836

Cowsills Member Found Dead In New Orleans
January 06, 2006, 10:55 AM ET
The body of Barry Cowsill, singer/bassist for the '60s pop act the Cowsills, has been discovered in New Orleans, more than four months after he went missing after Hurricane Katrina hit the city. He was 51.

Cowsill's body was recovered Dec. 28 from the Chartres Street Wharf, according to Dr. Louis Cataldie, head of the state hurricane morgue. The body was identified Jan. 3, based on dental records. A cause of death was not determined. A posting earlier this week on the Cowsill family's Web site brought the discovery to light.

Cowsill had not been heard from since he left a message on his sister Susan's cell phone Sept. 1. A former member of the Cowsills and the Continental Drifters and a fellow New Orleans resident, Susan was unhurt in the disaster.

[swag]

3. Fortunately Barry was able to play with his family in the big

benefit concert for Bill at the El Rey in Los Angeles a couple years ago, by all accounts an extraordinary event.

Bob still plays regularly around LA, John tours with the Beach Boys Band (that Mike Love outfit), Paul is ranching up near Madras, OR, and Susan is touring the country with a pretty successful band. She has a new CD out and will be playing some gigs in March at the SXSW festival in Austin.

You can track them at http://www.cowsill.com

[mac56]

2. Very sorry to hear this.

I play a lot of the more current stuff by the Cowsill family on my radio show. After they stopped being a bubble gum hit machine, and started making music they loved. Bill was an amazing singer and musician, and a nice guy too.

[enigmatic]

4. Billy was a great guy

He had a band down the road in Calgary called The Co-Dependants that played mostly old rock covers mixed in w/ some originals; they put out a couple of CD's that sold well here in Alberta.

He had been in pretty bad physical shape the past few years, so this wasn't too unexpected, sadly.

RIP, Billy.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

5. OMG. RIP.

[peekaloo]

6. Sad.

Despite the bubblegum label the family possessed some really good and talented musicians.

RIP.

[flamingyouth]

7. That's awful - that poor family

I feel terrible for them. :(