Remembering Katrina 20 Years Later has meant having emotional conversations with some of the artists who endured and remembered their fears, struggles and triumphs from the storm that changed New Orleans.
My friend, Susan Cowsill, who was the young girl singer from The Cowsills, chose New Orleans as her home. As a member of The Cowsills with hit singles, “The Rain, The Park, and Other Things,” “Indian Lake,” and “Hair,” Susan Cowsill traveled America appearing in concerts and top national TV shows. Of all the cities she experienced in her career, Susan chose New Orleans as her home. Her love for this city and its people is now deeply rooted in her DNA.
In my conversation with Susan Cowsill on the show today on WWL, I asked Susan about why she chose to make New Orleans her home and her endearing answer reminds many of us why we have a special relationship with this city and the people.
Susan talked about where she was when the storm was approaching and her reaction to the devastation she witnessed when she arrived right after the storm. Many artists embraced Katrina and the destruction as a motivation to write songs.
This was not an easy conversation for Susan Cowsill. Her brother, Barry, was close to entering rehab and he was here for the storm. Barry disappeared and no one knew where he was. Knowing Barry, Susan and her family thought he might have gone to another city since he had a gypsy mentality. They thought he might have entered rehab on his own. But they had no idea where Barry was. Susan talked about getting the news 4 months after the storm that Barry’s body had been found.
After the storm left her home destroyed, Susan and her husband, Russ, traveled to other cities and in each city they considered if that city was a city they could call “home.” But none of the cities reflected her being the way New Orleans did and she decided to stay in the city and rebuild her life.
Looking back on the process of being in other cities and asking the question, “Could this be home,” Susan wrote a song about the process and the decision to stay in New Orleans. Her song, “Could This Be Home” is touching and so was Susan’s explanation of her relentless love for this city.
Hear my full conversation with Susan Cowsill in the audio player above.