Friday Forgotten Song: The Rain, The Park & Other Things by The Cowsills

Bubblegum Pop [buhb-uhl-guhm pop]

noun

a subgenre of pop music and rock ‘n’ roll that rose to prominence in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Bubblegum pop songs hinged on upbeat melodies, simple lyrics with sing-along choruses, and danceable rhythms.

---

Most people I know like to think the music they enjoy listening to as refined. Sophisticated, even. Something nuanced and appreciated by many for its urbanity and merit, and certainly nothing to be embarrassed about. And this would be the point in time where their sibling or spouse who overheard the conversation would pipe up with, “Then why’d did you listen to [insert artist] as a kid, huh?” And I’m old enough to usually recognize the artist and the song when referenced.

And the comment would most likely be directed to deride the category of music known as Bubblegum Pop.

Even the early decade Beatles hits were considered the bubblegum pop variety

As defined above, this is a genre of rock and pop music that’s catchy and in an upbeat style that was and is still marketed to children and adolescents. And while many believe it peaked during the years 1967 – 1972, which coincided with my junior and senior high school years, music producers still put out such fare today. Don’t believe me? When my then high schooler daughter played me her The 1975¹ 2014 LP a half dozen years ago, one track in particular proved this opinion.

Hell, I’ll even point you to one of the current Barbie movie songs charting at the moment, Dua Lipa’s Dance the Night, as it too hits all the same defining notes.

Yet, we’re not here to talk about anything contemporary. Just a somewhat forgotten group that epitomized the genre with one song in particular during that earlier era. One that I remain fond of, not ashamed to admit, The Cowsills breakthrough hit, The Rain, The Park & Other Things. I contend Bubblegum Pop, the style contrived and marketed to appeal to the juvenescence of the ’60s, set the tone and baseline for whatever style of music down the line a number of us would later gravitate to.

Jason Ankeny opined why they had the impact they did in his Allmusic review:

“The real-life inspiration behind the hit television series The Partridge Family, the Cowsills — comprised of teen siblings Bill, Bob, Barry, John, Susan, and Paul in tandem with mother Barbara — were one of the biggest pop acts of the late ’60s, scoring a series of hits including “The Rain, the Park and Other Things” and “Hair” with their angelic harmonies and sun-kissed melodies. Not considered especially hip at the peak of their popularity, the band’s clean-cut image and bubblegum-style marketing obscured the fact that the Cowsills were superb harmony singers and capable instrumentalists…”

One can draw a straight line from this musical family act to the supremely successful Jackson 5, and The Osmonds (who came in reaction to Michael Jackson and siblings), in the early ’70s, with what they’d bring to the Pop charts. Everything enjoyable that characterized The Cowsills, their skillful singing and tight musical arrangements, was manifested in this Steven Duboff and Artie Kornfeld² tune. The 1967 hit³ offered pure pop entertainment of the time.

The Rain, the Park & Other Things reflective of the period, and as Stewart Mason put it…

“A classic guilty pleasure (for those whose appreciation of pop songcraft is still bound by such ideas), the Cowsills’ 1967 hit “The Rain, the Park and Other Things” is a quintessentially groovy piece of psychedelic bubblegum, the definitive sunshine pop single.”

Its late summer release fifty-six years ago this month, a showcase of the brothers Cowsill, along with mom Barbara and sister Susan, rivaling The Mamas and The Papas with their close harmonies. Wes Ferrell’s wonderfully imaginative arrangement and studio technique took advantage of stereo imaging and sound effects, along with a full orchestra, and made the song’s bubblegum sensibilities and lyrics work surprisingly well. I think it’s better than their biggest hit in ’69⁴.

“Anyone who can resist the sighing “I love the flower girl” chorus simply doesn’t much like pop music.”

I’d argue a number of the youth were drawn to the infectious melodies, danceable rhythms, and enjoyably singable lines, and as a result, naturally pulled further into music. Besides yearning for more of the same, sparked by this unique blend to other musical genres intrinsically gaining popularity in the ‘revolutionary ’60s and on through the tumultuous ’70s. Bridging R&B, Soul, and Funk, to Rock (psychedelic, progressive, and hard), and even Jazz and its Fusion derivatives. Alright, Disco too.

This style of Pop lit the match for a swath of us, and it’s still doing so for later generations.

Yeah, the group’s popularity waned as the decade went on, no doubt seen as a remnant of an earlier more innocent era before the Vietnam War tinged it all. Moreover, the soon-to-be-extinct flower-power hippy age was starting to take a dark turn⁵. Still, Bill and Bob Cowsill moved from solid songwriters into fine producers. While the group broke up in the early ’70s, they reunited in the 1990s, bringing back their trademark harmonies to a more mature version of their melodic beats.

Given the joy and meaning the song gave many of us back in the day, one that’s been covered by the late Olivia Newton-John and The Cowsills themselves many years later, it’s well worth remembering, I’d say.

I saw her sitting in the rain
Raindrops falling on her
She didn't seem to care
She sat there and smiled at me
Then I knew (I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew)
She could make me happy (happy, happy, she could make me very happy)
Flowers in her hair
Flowers everywhere (everywehre)
Oh I don't know just why, she simply caught my eye
(I love the flower girl)
She seemed so sweet and kind, she crept into my mind
(To my mind, to my mind)
I knew I had to say hello (hello, hello)
She smiled up at me
And she took my hand
And we walked through the park alone
And I knew (I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew)
She had made me happy (happy, happy, she had made me very happy)
Flowers in her hair
Flowers everywhere
Oh, I don't know just why, she simply caught my eye
(I love the flower girl)
She seemed so sweet and kind, she crept into my mind
(To my mind, to my mind)
Suddenly, the sun broke through (see the sun)
I turned around, she was gone (Where did she go?)
And all I had left was one little flower in my hand
But I knew (I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew)
She had made me happy (happy, happy, she had made me very happy)
Flowers in her hair
Flowers everywhere
Was she reality or just a dream to me?
(I love the flower girl)
Her love showed me the way to find a sunny day
(Sunny day, sunny day)
Was she reality or just a dream to me?
(I love the flower girl)