David Cassidy on the Web
Former teen idol creates new balance at 57
Sunday, April 29, 2007
By John Kappes
Plain Dealer Friday Editor
www.cleveland.com
If you think "Come On Get Happy" and Susan Dey in red velvet when you hear the words "Partridge Family," David Cassidy would like a word with you.
"I just wanted people to know me for who I am, not some mindless kid with a lot of hair," he said recently via e-mail from the United Kingdom, where he was touring before bringing his show to the Mentor Performing Arts Center tonight.
In a time when betting on who the next "American Idol" will be has nearly trumped betting on who the next NBA champ will be; when shiny, happy Sanjaya Malakar could seem more important than various presidential hopefuls; and when the Disney music machine is able to take the songs of "High School Musical" to No. 1 for weeks on end, the Partridge legacy seems ripe for a return visit.
In fact, it's tempting to turn it into a "Behind the Music" saga: The original "American Idol" had his infectious smile and floppy hair plastered all over "huggable, kissable David" posters in Tiger Beat, 16 and other teen tabloids in the early 1970s. "The Partridge Family" TV show racked up impressive prime-time ratings, and the group's singles topped the charts.
Cassidy himself could even supply the ominous voice-over narration:
"You have to understand that I worked from 7 in the morning until 7 at night doing the show, then went directly to the studio, where I grabbed a sandwich, if I was lucky, and sang until midnight, sometimes 2 a.m. . . . I had no life. Did I stay sane? That's questionable; it depends on who you ask."
There's just one problem with this nostalgia bender: the music. Unlike some of the plastic confections served up to the public, both then (Bobby Sherman, anyone?) and now (Oops, she did it again), the Partridges were a real band - just not the one you saw on television.
The real David Cassidy story, then, is not the fate of that kid with lots (and lots) of hair but the rediscovery of a clutch of songs that took over the airwaves on their own terms and deserve to be heard again.
The real Partridge Family was a careful hybrid of Cassidy's creamy voice, some of America's top free-lance songwriters (Gerry Goffin, Rupert Holmes, Tony Romeo) and the tight studio craftsmanship of pros such as uber-drummer Hal Blaine and guitarist Louie Shelton. The glue was a producer/svengali named Wes Farrell.
"He was a musical genius," Cassidy said. "He wrote songs like 'Hang On Sloopy' [Ohio's official rock song]. He was already a successful songwriter and producer when I met him and became even more well-known with the success of PF and my records."
While Cowsills albums barely command a quarter at flea markets, the three PF discs that boast the band's prime work - "The Partridge Family Album" (1970), "Up to Date" (1971) and "Sound Magazine" (also 1971) - have been reissued on CD in "original master" format by the revivified Buddha Records.
And there is a new release, "David Cassidy Part. II The Remix," which pairs the singer and his peak material with DJ Craig J, who has created dance hits for Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani and others.
Why? It's the songs, stupid: "I Think I Love You" (which hit No. 1 on Billboard); "Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted" (No. 6); "I'll Meet You Halfway" (No. 9); "I Woke Up in Love This Morning" (No. 13, with a harpsichord riff to boot).
Cassidy has branched out in the years since swarms of fans (and potential stalkers) used to wait outside his gate for him to return from those late-night recording sessions.
"I have written and created TV series, theatrical productions including 'The Rat Pack Is Back!' and a show I did in Vegas, 'At the Copa,' " he said.
But something about those gemlike songs still draws him in: "It's always a different show with different challenges," said Cassidy, now 57.
"I have finally been able to put some balance in my life and am probably the happiest I've ever been."
It seems he's taking his own advice, from "I'll Leave Myself a Little Time," as good an epitaph as pop can provide: "For what it's worth / I'll make a home on this Earth / And I will hope that love will see me through."
