David Cassidy on the Web
Cassidy climbs to a comeback
December 2002
Best Bets, Reno (Nevada)
David Cassidy doesn't "think" he loves performing music - it's a genuine love that's been borne out by the many styles and configurations he's traversed in his three decades as a performer. He's portrayed a teen idol on television and then in real life, then switched from recording and touring to large stage shows. Cassidy performs Dec. 28 at John Ascuaga's Nugget.
His career was launched in 1970 as Keith Partridge, star of "The Partridge Family" TV series, co-starring with his stepmother, Shirley Jones. Among the hits the popular TV show spawned were "I Think I Love You," "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted," "I Woke Up In Love This Morning" and "I'll Meet You Halfway."
Over the next five years, his official fan club grew to become the largest in history, and his likeness appeared on everything from posters to cereal boxes. He also had several solo hits - "Cherish," "How Can I Be Sure" and "Rock Me Baby." To date, his records have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide, and he's recovered 18 gold and platinum sales awards.
Best with that sudden fame came a price, and Cassidy said he was soon tired of being just "Keith Partridge."
"I was never uncomfortable with the Partridge Family," Cassidy said to the Bradenton (Fla.) Herald last year. "I just didn't want to be a nostalgia act. I wanted to go on and have a present, have a front (ended) career. And it took me a long time to create that, to where people recognized me for my talent as opposed to this demi-god."
After the "Partridge" show ended, Cassidy continued an acting career, including his own detective series spun off from an Emmy-nominated appearance on "Police Story." He also began stage work, including the Broadway production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Time" with Sir Laurence Olivier on London's prestigious West End in "Time." In 1994, he once again broke box office records in a production of "Blood Brothers," co-starring his teen idol sibling, Shaun Cassidy.
In 1996, Cassidy opened at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a $75 million original show called "EFX." It subsequently became one of the most successful productions in Las Vegas, bringing more than 1 million paid customers to see "EFX." In 1999, Cassidy was named Best All Around Performer in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Best of Las Vegas poll. Cassidy co-created two other late '90s Vegas shows, "The Rat Pack is Back" and "At the Copa."
In 2001, Cassidy came full circle and returned to recording and touring after a 15-year hiatus. With renewed interest in his '70s work from "Partridge" reruns on cable and a "Behind the Music" special on VH1, Decca released "David Cassidy: Then and Now." It features new tunes, classic covers and new sly recorded versions of his 1970s hits. It hit No. 5 on the United Kingdom charts in three weeks, going platinum.
"I'm an optimist," Cassidy said about his many career changes. "I mean, you have to be with my career (laughs). I've never gone out and changed my style to suit the times. I have always stayed true to myself by trying to sing about the human experience."
