David Cassidy on the Web
David Cassidy and Sheena Easton are coming to the Tuacahn Amphitheater
May 9, 2008
By BRIAN PASSEY
The Spectrum
They ruled the pop charts and television in the 1970s and 1980s. To many of their fans, they still rule the world. Now David Cassidy and Sheena Easton are coming to the Tuacahn Amphitheater in Ivins.
Cassidy goes on stage Friday, May 9, while Easton will perform Friday, May 16. Cassidy first gained notoriety in the role of Keith Partridge, the oldest sibling in TV's "The Partridge Family," a musical family sitcom. This led to a successful career as a pop singer throughout the 1970s and beyond. Songs like "I Think I Love You" and "Cherish" helped catapult this success.
His official fan club grew quickly early in his years, soon eclipsing those of Elvis Presley and The Beatles to become the largest fan club in the world. Many of the girls who adored him during his days as a teen idol became lifelong fans and continue to travel long distances to his concerts more than 30 years later.
The Spectrum posted a message at TheSpectrum.com on Monday in an attempt to contact local people who planned to attend the two concerts. Instead we received e-mail after e-mail from devoted Cassidy fans throughout the United States, most of whom had plans to attend the Tuacahn concert.
"I travel around the country as well as the world to see David Cassidy in concert" wrote Doris Pintscher of California. "I've been doing this since 2002 and yet this concert at Tuacahn is my very first FRONT ROW seat. I'm thrilled!"'
California is close compared to the distance some are traveling. Rose Cooney, of Bromley, Kent, in England, is also traveling to the show with three other friends from the United Kingdom and one from Germany. Cooney wrote that they all met online and became friends through their "fanship of David Cassidy."
Autumn Bonner, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, is making her first trip to Utah to see the show. It will be her 14th time seeing Cassidy perform.
"He puts on a great show," Bonner wrote. "I just love his breathy voice and sweet singing. É He is still sexy and the women love him. (Some a little too much)."
Carol Williams of Littleton, Colo., is unable to make it to the show. But Williams wrote that she has been a fan for 37 years, ever since she saw him on "The Partridge Family."
"From the moment I saw him, I was IN LOVE!" she wrote. "And I was only 12 years old! Now at age 50, I think I love him even more!! In fact, I consider David Cassidy my 'hobby.'"
She even has a "David Room" in her house filled with posters, albums, ticket stubs, autographed pictures and other Cassidy memorabilia. She acknowledged in her e-mail that her husband and grown daughter think she is "crazy" but the other Cassidy fans understand.
Because Cassidy has such a devoted fan following, Williams said his concerts are about more than the music. It's a way for fans across the world to get together.
"What keeps us all coming back?" she rhetorically asked in the e-mail. "It's definitely the sex appeal. David Cassidy oozes it."
The Spectrum even spoke with one fan, Lizbeth Pierce of Paris, Ill., on the phone. She has seen Cassidy in concert more than 2,000 times. Pierce said she is meeting a friend in California and driving from there to the Tuacahn show.
Pierce said she has met Cassidy in person more than 200 times and said that he knows her by name. Although he's famous, Pierce said Cassidy is very much like everyone else.
"He's just a human being that makes a living acting and singing," she said. "He's a versatile actor and singer and appeals to a variety of audiences age wise."
Pierce said she admires Cassidy's stamina at age 58. But she added that he still knows how to entertain, often interacting with the crowd.
Sheena Easton
Although the response was not nearly as overwhelming as that of the Cassidy fans, The Spectrum also received one reply from a Sheena Easton fan. A man named Miguel from Chile said she performed last year in his country.
"We really enjoyed her performance," he wrote. "She even sang two songs in Spanish."
Easton began her career in a British reality TV show called "The Big Time" in 1980. It serialized her attempt to get a record contract. She finally got the contract and set off on a career filled with chart-topping hits like "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" and "Modern Girl."
She also collaborated with artists as diverse as Prince ("Sugar Walls") and Kenny Rogers ("We've Got Tonight"). With such diversity she became the only artist to have a top three hit on each of the key U.S. Billboard charts: Adult contemporary, country, dance, pop and R&B.
Easton also returned to TV for a short stint on "Miami Vice" and has acted in a variety of other television shows and movies.
Both Cassidy and Easton played in Broadway musicals during their careers. Cassidy starred in the original production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" while Easton appeared in both "Man of La Mancha" and "Grease" in the 1990s. They both also found success later in their careers with Las Vegas shows, even collaborating for "At The Coco." (editors note: At the Copa)
Tickets are available for their concerts at Tuacahn by visiting www.tuacahn.org or by calling 800-746-9882.
What: David Cassidy in concert
When: 8 p.m. Friday, May 9
Where: Tuacahn Amphitheater, 1100 Tuacahn Drive, Ivins
Tickets: $24 to $36
Contact: Call 800-746-9882 or visit www.tuacahn.org
