CALIFORNIA ROCK NEWS

By Alex Kluft

The Happy Together Tour came to the Grove of Anaheim July 17th and it was a night full of nostalgia and classic hits. Most years the show was at the Pacific Amphitheater at the OC Fair. The tour hosted by the Turtles features six iconic groups from the 60’s that all had major hits. With this many acts the sets were kept to 20 minutes of four-five songs with the Turtles playing seven songs and an encore. Also there was a house band backing each group consisting of guitarist/musical director Godfrey Townshend, keyboardist Manny Faocarazzo, and drummer Chris Camilleri. This was also a comedy show, not just music. There was also a pre-recorded announcement for each group and a few important things were mentioned about each. The Happy Together tour has included The Association, The Buckinghams, Classics IV, Gary Lewis and many more. The Happy Together tour goes back to 1984 after the Turtles became the Turtles Featuring Flo & Eddie. The Association and Gary Puckett were two of the acts on the original lineup. The 2025 Happy Together tour is made up of the Cowsills, The Vogues, Gary Puckett, Little Anthony, Jay & The Americans, and of course The Turtles.

The first act was family vocal group the Cowsills. Once made up of six siblings the Cowsills are now a trio of Bob, Susan, and Paul Cowsill. John Cowsill was the drummer for the Beach Boys 2007-2022. Barry Cowsill passed in 2005 and Bill Cowsill passed in 2006. It was Cowsills that inspired the hit TV show the Partridge family. The Cowsills were originally together just seven years then reunited again between 1978-1980 then again in 1990 and have been active since. The Cowsills had over 10 charting singles. They appeared on the Ed Sullivan show twice, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, American Bandstand, and the Johnny Cash Show. Their set included hits like “The Rain, the Park, and Other Things,” and “Hair.” 

Next up were The Vogues appearing in matching shirts and jeans. The Vogues were once a quartet and now a trio. Co-founders Bill Burkette and Don Miller passed in 2018 and 2021. The group is now Troy Elich, Royce Taylor, and Elliott McCoy. Although it’s been 50 years since a Vogues album was released, the music stands the test of time. Their TV performances included The Ed Sullivan show, Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and American Bandstand. The Vogues were inducted into the Vocal Hall of Fame back in 2001. 

The third  performer was Gary Puckett  known for his group the Union Gap, however Puckett is performing solo with the house band. The group was around just five years but produced a number of major hits like “Woman Woman,” “Young Girl,” and “Lady Willpower” all part of his set. Puckett has been a solo artist since 1971 and a regular performer on the Happy Together Tour. 

Following Puckett was an intermission. 

After the intermission Little Anthony took the stage, the only artist on the tour to be a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2009) and one of the only living artists to have started their career prior to 1960. Little Anthony’s four song set was “Tears On My Pillow,” “Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop,” “Hurts So Bad,” and “Goin’ Out Of My Head” which were all recorded with his group the Imperials.

Second to last was Jay & The Americans whose first album was released in 1962. Over the last decade, three members of their classic lineup have passed away: Jay Traynor (2014), Jay Black (2021), and Howard Kane (2023). Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had been touring members of the group in the early 70’s. The current lineup is a trio led by Jay Reincke. The group was originally together just 13 years and in that time released nine albums and around 30 singles, 24 which made the charts. Their set included hits “This Magic Moment,” “Cara Mia,” and “Come A Little Bit Closer.”

Lastly it was the Turtles set which were co-founders Flo & Eddie together up until 2017 when Howard Kaylan (Eddie) was forced to retire from touring for health reasons. In his place has been Ron Dante, singer of fictional band The Archies and The Cufflinks. For this show Mark Volman (Flo) was not present due to health reasons. Dante and Godfrey Townshend, who has been the Musical Director/Guitarist for every Happy Together tour, sang with Dante.The Turtles set was seven songs including the Turtles cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” and ending with “Happy Together” before bringing out all the performers. Also performed was the Archies’ “Sugar Sugar,” and The Turtles’ “Elenore.”The finale re-introduced all the previous acts one by one to perform a snippet of one song each performed earlier making up a medley that ended with everyone singing “Happy Together.” 

Cowsills

Gary Puckett

Jay and The Americans

Little Anthony

Ron Dante

The Vogues

The Finale