The Label Exec Who Got Fired When He Tried to Sign The Cowsills
by Greg Brodsky
The Cowsills receive their gold record for “The Rain, the Park and Other Things” from MGM Records President Mort Nasatir, 1967. (Photo from Wikipedia)
In 1990, more than a decade since the Cowsills had worked together, singer/guitarist Bob Cowsill was working on new demos when they were offered a spot on one of Dick Clark’s package tours to strictly play their “oldies” hits. They agreed to forgo their new music for the tour but when they went to sign the contract, no writing implement could be found.
“The contract was in front of us, and we were ready to do it,” Bob Cowsill recalls. “Nutty as this sounds, they couldn’t locate a pen, then Dick had to go do something. It was decided we’d take a break and sign it after lunch. That’s when we started talking–Did we really want to do this? Should we take the oldies moniker on now? We felt young for an oldies tour; Susan [the youngest] was only 36. That’s when I said, ‘Well, I got these songs.’ So, we walked out of that lunch, said no to Dick Clark and said, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’”
The Cowsills, whose success on the pop charts in the late ’60s was the inspiration for television’s The Partridge Family, quit their day jobs and were a full-time band again. Those new demos they were working on would ultimately become Global, a batch of 14 tracks written primarily by Bob and his wife Mary Jo, with contributions from Barry and Paul Cowsill. The album was recorded at Rumbo Recorders, owned by Daryl Dragon (“The Captain” of Captain & Tennille). The Cowsills began booking live shows, and a talent scout who came to see them for nostalgia was in for a surprise.
On a cold Monday night in late winter/early spring of 1991, Marc Nathan, a veteran music industry executive, had finished his weekly league at New York’s Bowlmor Lanes and was looking for something to do that evening. He perused the club listings in the Village Voice and saw that the reunited Cowsills were playing at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village.
This ad for the Cowsills appeared in the Sept. 9, 1967, issue of Record World
While the audience enjoyed the group’s feel-good “sunshine pop” songs like “Indian Lake” and “The Rain, the Park & Other Things,” Nathan’s ears perked up when he heard two new songs. At just 35 years old, he had been working in the industry since his teens. Now at Atlantic Records, he had recently segued from the label’s pop promotion department—the area that targets Top 40 radio stations throughout the U.S. for airplay—to a new role as senior director of A&R. As the newest member of the Artists and Repertoire department, Nathan had already achieved success with several acts including Kon Kan and Linear.
“When the Cowsills performed the new songs, ‘Is It Any Wonder’ and ‘Some Good Years,’ I got a fire in my belly,” he recalls. Nathan literally threw his business card onto the Bitter End stage while the group was performing. They called him after the show and came up to see him at Atlantic’s midtown office the next day and left him a demo tape of their new recordings.
“Over the next few days, I played them for everyone, including you,” he told this writer, who at the time was Atlantic’s director of product development. “Everyone loved them. Doug had been out of town all week and when he came back on Friday he said, ‘I hear you have something to play for me,’ and summoned me to his office.”
“Doug” was Doug Morris, then Atlantic’s president and CEO (who would ultimately become the only executive to head the industry’s three major music groups—Warner, Sony and Universal).
“I’m in his office and press ‘play’ on his cassette desk,” Nathan recalls. “I’m sitting in front of him as he swivels in his chair and says, ‘That’s really terrific.'”
[It needs to be noted that Nathan, who had known the major domo professionally since 1971, does a great Morris impersonation, and while telling this story does his impression while speaking the Morris parts.]
Nathan was naturally thrilled with the boss’ reaction but knew the next step would be tricky to navigate. “I tell him, ‘It’s the Cowsills!’ and he looks at me very sternly and he says to me, ‘You are not signing the Cowsills.’
“At that point, I realized I could take one of two paths. I could have skipped merrily home with my tail between my legs. The other path was what I ended up taking. I said, ‘You know, Doug, if Tony Smith [who managed Atlantic’s premier act, Genesis, as well as the careers of Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford, who had enjoyed significant success with Mike + the Mechanics] brought you this group you would be doing cartwheels on your [uses barnyard epithet] desk.”
And with that, the meeting, along with Nathan’s Atlantic career, was over. “Get out of my office,” said Morris. “Pack your things. You are no longer working here.”
“I could have said, ‘Oh, come on. I apologize.’ But I essentially said, ‘You know I’m right,’ at which point the veins in his head got even more pronounced. I wasn’t fired for trying to sign the Cowsills 20-plus years after their last hit,” Nathan recalls. “It was for insubordination based on his reaction to loving the music but hating the concept.”
A couple of months later, Nathan was attending the New Music Seminar, at the time an essential conference held annually in New York City. He got some notice with a question that he asked at a Canadian music panel and paid attention when all five panelists mentioned a new band, Barenaked Ladies. That night he went to see a fortuitously timed showcase by the group.
Nathan was blown away. “As soon as [singer Steven Page] opened his mouth, I said “****,” using the same barnyard epithet. “I’ve always been [in awe of] powerhouse vocalists like Tom Jones, Cher and [the Grass Roots’] Rob Grill.”
He bought several copies of the unique band’s self-produced The Yellow Tape and played it for PolyGram, Sony and other major labels, all of which passed. Nathan presented it to Seymour Stein, the legendary founder of Sire Records. “My prognostication about them proved right,” he says. After several albums, each with increasing success, Barenaked Ladies ultimately earned a #1 single on the Hot 100 with “One Week.” The album, 1998’s Stunt, sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone.
Meanwhile, Nathan had enjoyed success with several signings. The revolving door of the record business ultimately reunited him with Morris. In 1995–”July 10th,” he recalls precisely—he got a call from Morris’ assistant, who told the A&R exec to take the red eye that night. “Doug wants to meet with you tomorrow morning.”
“I knew Doug was going to be in a new situation,” he recalls. “He had been canned by [the Warner Music Group] and was being hired by MCA,” which was about to be rebranded as Universal with Morris in charge. Nathan became the first employee of Rising Tide Records, the label begun by Morris, who soon ascended to the top of the newly named Universal Music Group.
“It was all life-changing,” says Nathan. He became a profit participant for the 2000 debut album by 3 Doors Down which went on to sell more than seven million copies in the U.S. thanks, in part, to the single, “Kryptonite.”
Related: Nathan shares his inside story of how Todd Rundgren’s “Hello It’s Me” became a success
Fast-forward to decades later. The Cowsills have announced the release of Global, a recovered album from the chart-topping family band, whose story was the inspiration for television’s The Partridge Family. Global first appeared in 1998, but was difficult to find; for the few who did—like Marc Nathan—it was a revelation of pure pop greatness. Global arrives on November 8, 2024, via Omnivore Recordings on vinyl for the first time ever, and on CD with three previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Listen to the album’s lead single “What I Believe”
The funding for the original album disappeared overnight when the band’s financier was arrested by the FBI for insurance fraud. The Cowsills were questioned by federal authorities and identified as victims of this scam artist. The family scattered once again and since they couldn’t ransom the tapes, the tracks they had recorded sat for years.
Then the internet came along, and the band had a new method of distribution. Bob rescued the album and brought in mastering legend Doug Sax to work on the DAT rough mixes. The Cowsills created a label, Robin Records, and a website to sell the CD-only album, of which only very few were made. While preparing the release, Bob made the 11th-hour decision to leave out three of the 14 songs. The missing three are finally reinstated on the new CD and streaming editions of Global, which has been restored and remastered by multiple Grammy-winner Michael Graves. Bob, John, Paul and Susan Cowsill, as well as veteran bassist Robby Scharf are joined by guests Vicki Peterson (the Bangles, Continental Drifters), Berton Averre (the Knack), Peter Holsapple (the dB’s, Continental Drifters), members of the extended Cowsills family, and even John Stamos, who was one of the biggest names in Hollywood at the time of recording. It’s a joyous noise spanning decades of pure pop and songcraft.
The Cowsills circa 1993 L-R: Robby Scharf, John Cowsill, Bob Cowsill, Susan Cowsill, Paul Cowsill (Photo courtesy The Cowsills)
Featuring updated artwork, the packaging contains new liner notes from Brett Milano and Bob Cowsill outlining, explaining and bringing this “lost” album’s story to life. It’s available for pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
Marc Nathan approves.
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1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationThese are some of the nicest people you will ever meet as well as great musicians. We try to see them every time they come to Vegas through the Happy Together tour or at Golden Nugget. I spoke to Bob personally on a Flower Power cruise, and he was very down to earth. I hope they continue to create music, and tour as long as possible. What a great family!