Susan Cowsill

Biography

Susan Claire Cowsill was born on May 20, 1959, in Canton, Ohio, the youngest of seven siblings and the only daughter of William "Bud" and Barbara Cowsill. The family relocated to Newport, Rhode Island, where her brothers formed a family band in 1965 inspired by The Everly Brothers and the British Invasion. After signing with MGM Records in 1967, Susan joined alongside brother Paul and mother Barbara. She made her recording debut on "We Can Fly" (1968) at around age eight, contributed to "Indian Lake" (1968), and sang on "Hair" (1969) — the band's biggest hit, which sold over two million copies and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Cowsills were the real-life inspiration for ABC's "The Partridge Family," though they famously declined the acting roles.

After the Cowsills disbanded in 1971, Susan spent the following decades as a sought-after backing vocalist and collaborator, working with Dwight Twilley, the Smithereens, Carlene Carter, and Jules Shear. In 1991 she co-founded the Continental Drifters, a New Orleans-based Americana/alt-country collective, which she credits as her true musical education: "I hadn't written songs 'til I met those guys. I didn't play an instrument 'til I met those guys." She settled permanently in New Orleans in 1993, and the city's Cajun, soul, and blues textures deeply reshaped her sound. She also co-founded the Psycho Sisters duo with Bangles guitarist Vicki Peterson around this time, though the project wouldn't yield a studio album for over two decades.

Susan released her debut solo album "Just Believe It" in 2005, featuring guest appearances from Lucinda Williams and Adam Duritz and drawing praise from the Washington Post and Rolling Stone. Her follow-up, "Lighthouse" (2010), is a raw concept album processing the trauma of Hurricane Katrina and the deaths of brothers Barry and Bill, featuring harmonies from surviving brothers Bob, Paul, and John alongside Jackson Browne. The Psycho Sisters finally delivered their long-awaited debut "Up on the Chair, Beatrice" in 2014, more than 20 years after forming. Today Susan remains an active performer and recording artist in New Orleans, continuing to tour with her brothers. In January 2024, The Cowsills were inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame.

Enhanced with Claude AI research

Fun Facts

• The Cowsills were the direct real-life inspiration for ABC's 'The Partridge Family' and were actually offered the roles to play themselves — but turned them down after the network refused to cast their mother Barbara as the TV mom.
• At approximately age nine, Susan was reportedly the youngest person directly involved in a US top-ten charting hit when 'Indian Lake' reached #10 in 1968.
• The Psycho Sisters duo with Vicki Peterson formed around 1989–1991 and toured Europe and the US for years before finally releasing their debut studio album 'Up on the Chair, Beatrice' in August 2014 — a gap of over 20 years, largely because both women joined the Continental Drifters together in 1991.
• While recording the Psycho Sisters album at Dockside Studios in Louisiana, Davy Jones of The Monkees — Susan's self-described favorite Monkee — died. Vicki Peterson found out and kept the news from Susan for three days before they processed the loss by recording a tribute together.

Associated Acts

• Continental Drifters
• The Hobart Brothers & Lil' Sis
• Susan Cowsill & Paul Sanchez
• The Cowsills

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• The Cowsills - Family band that formed her foundational musical identity, emphasizing sibling vocal harmony from childhood [1965–1971]
• Continental Drifters bandmates - She credits the band as her true school for songwriting and learning to play instruments [1991–2000s]
• New Orleans music community - Cajun, soul, and blues traditions absorbed after moving to New Orleans in 1993, reshaping her songwriting voice [1993–present]

Key Collaborators

• Vicki Peterson - Psycho Sisters duo partner (and sister-in-law, married to brother John); described their vocal blend as having 'sibling chemistry that normally only occurs in blood families' (Up on the Chair, Beatrice (2014)) [c. 1989–present]
• Jackson Browne - Guest appearance on Lighthouse (Lighthouse (2010))
• Lucinda Williams - Guest vocals on debut solo album (Just Believe It (2005))
• Adam Duritz - Counting Crows frontman, guest vocals on debut solo album (Just Believe It (2005))
• Peter Holsapple - Former partner (father of her daughter Miranda), dB's guitarist and Continental Drifters co-founder [1991–2000s]
• Freedy Johnston - Co-billed on Hobart Brothers and Lil' Sis Hobart collaborative album (At Least We Have Each Other (2012))
• Dwight Twilley - Toured extensively as backing vocalist in the 1980s [1980s]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz