David Cassidy on the Web
Music video: TV's role as a launching pad for star singers
March 31, 2006
By Toni Ruberto
www.buffalonews.com
Even though "Love Monkey" didn't last long as a CBS comedy, it gave Teddy Geiger a chance to follow in famous footsteps. Here are some other singers who gained the national spotlight from starring on a television series.
1950s
The dawning of the rock star as a child of television. Fresh-scrubbed Ricky Nelson came into households weekly as part of the wholesome Nelson family in "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriett." The series ran for 14 seasons and made a bona fide rock 'n' roll star out of the youngest Nelson son, whose hit singles included "Poor Little Fool," "Traveling Man" and "Hello Mary Lou." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
1960s
Bobby Sherman had hearts fluttering on the musical variety series "Shindig," but it was the unlikely role of - get this - a logger in a post-Civil War romantic drama called "Here Comes the Brides" that gave him teen idol status. Sherman sang the show's theme song, "Seattle," and went on to have the hits "Little Woman," "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Julie, Do Ya Love?" His Bobby Sherman chokers were all the rage. The six-disc "Here Comes the Brides: The Complete First Season" debuts on DVD May 16 (Sony Pictures).
1970s
The big question of who would be the next Bobby Sherman was answered when "The Partridge Family" rode up in their multicolored bus from 1970-74. The likable and talented David Cassidy was such a rage as Keith Partridge, that he would shoot the series during the week and tour the country on weekends. He was a teen fashion icon with his puka shell necklace, feathered shag haircut and bell bottoms. Hit singles included "I Think I Love You," "I'll Meet You Halfway," "Come on Get Happy" and "I Woke Up in Love This Morning."
1980s
One of television's biggest singing sensations of the decade wasn't found in prime time, but on a soap opera. Michael Damian was one of the reasons why soap operas became hip to teens in the '80s. For 18 years, he starred as Danny Romalotti on "The Young and the Restless," a role in which his singing talents were often used. Outside of the soap, Damian had eight Top 40 hits, including "Was It Nothing At All" and "Rock On."
1990s
A different kind of teen idol hopped on to the small screen when a young Grammy Award-winning artist named Will Smith, half of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, starred in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." The rapper had American families in stitches for six seasons as the wisecracking teen living with his wealthy relatives in Los Angeles. Though Smith continued to garner awards and hit singles such as "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," he found his "Independence Day" with hits of another kind: the big Hollywood blockbuster, where he also had hits with the themes for "Men in Black" and "Wild, Wild West."
