David Cassidy in the News
David Cassidy going strong - Singer's concert will mix old, new material
March 3, 2001
By Tim Greening
The Shreveport Times (Louisiana)
Any interview with David Cassidy is required, by law, to include the obligatory question: Are there any plans for a Partridge Family reunion movie or album, a la the Brady Bunch?
"No, no, no. I've turned that down many times," Cassidy said of the early '70s television show that made him a huge star.
"I loved (the show) and what it gave me as far as my relationship with the audience. But fortunately for me, I've been able to do other things. The only reason to do something like that would be for money, and I've never made my decisions based on that," he said in a phone interview Wednesday from his offices in Las Vegas.
Cassidy will be performing two concerts in Shreveport this weekend, which will christen the just-opened Harrah's Convention and Events Center. Though tickets to Sunday's show are available to the public, his Saturday concert is by casino invitation only.
Those "other things" that have been keeping Cassidy busy include serving as producer of two simultaneous hit shows in Vegas, At the Copa at the Rio casino, which he also starred in, and The Rat Pack Is Back at the Sahara.
He recently finished his 15-month stand in Copa, a lavish musical, and will now focus on performing more concerts across the country. His Shreveport appearances will be his first with a reconfigured band lineup. In Copa he was backed by 21 musicians, at the time the largest "big band" in Vegas. For his upcoming concerts he's pared that back to five horns, three singers and a five-piece rhythm section. It's still a pretty big band, just not as big.
"It's big, it's bright and it's strong, it's great," he said.
Returning to his old material in rehearsals has been refreshing for the performer.
"I've been working a lot in so many different areas as an actor and producer, every time I come back to it, it's almost like new material," he said. "I'm always like, 'I love this song! I forgot about that one."'
Cassidy said his concerts will mix newer material, like songs from his 1998 album, Old Trick, New Dog, with his early hits like I Woke Up in Love This Morning and I Think I Love You, the best-selling single of 1971.
"I'll be doing my old songs, and my real old songs," he joked.
