David Cassidy on the Web
David Cassidy's journey takes him to Hemmens
February 12, 2010
By Karen Sorensen
Sun-Times Media
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun
David Cassidy has been a TV heartthrob, Broadway star and Las Vegas showman, but it doesn't take much to get him talking about his first real love: rock music.
Asking him whether he intends to do any covers during his Feb. 13 concert at Elgin's Hemmens Cultural Center launches a discussion about the Beatles. And that prompts other memories -- Buffalo Springfield playing at his high school, seeing The Doors at the Whiskey A Go-Go, being at Cream's last concert, where Eric Clapton's legendary performance of "Crossroads" was recorded.
"I grew up in the mid- to late-'60s. The Beatles broke when I was 12 years old," Cassidy, 59, says. "I met them all. I met Paul several times, and I knew John very, very well. He was really a mentor to me."
While he had his share of No. 1 records during his "Partridge Family" days, and just five years ago saw his CD "Then and Now" go platinum, Cassidy never achieved the rock fame he craved when he was younger.
If that once bothered him, it doesn't show these days. Cassidy knows his ability to ride the waves of a career that's been up and down has given him tremendous opportunities.
Among the highs was the lead role in the original Broadway production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," a co-starring role with Laurence Olivier in a West End production of "Time" and chance to share the stage with his half-brother Shaun in "Blood Brothers," which they performed on Broadway and in a U.S. tour. His $75 million "EFX" show in Las Vegas was seen by more than a million people, and he followed that with two more Vegas shows, "The Rat Pack is Back!" and "At the Copa."
Last year he was back on television in ABC Family's "Ruby & the Rockits," which co-starred his half-brother Patrick and was produced by Shaun. All three are the sons of legendary actor Jack Cassidy.
"I've had such an amazing journey as an actor, producer, writer," he says. "I've been so fortunate to have been a really successful guy, and you can't be successful if you're not selling tickets."
Cassidy will give only about 20 or 25 concerts this year, of which the Hemmens show is one, because he's doing an independent film -- his first movie role in about 15 years. Although he declined to disclose the project's title or other details because the contract hasn't been signed, he says it will be like "Mamma Mia!" -- "in that genre, a high-energy thing."
"I think it's going to be very fun," he says. "It's a great role for me."
As for his Hemmens show, he says he's tailoring something special for his fans, who have remained so faithful over the years. Their voices may be "an octave lower" than when they were screaming for him during his "I Think I Love You" days, he jokes, but their enthusiasm has never waned.
"I might just be doing something special for Valentine's Day," he says. "It's a great thing to go out and celebrate. ... A lot of what I do is about relationships, about the positive aspects of love."
But lest you think those rock roots won't be showing, he adds one more thing: "Tell them we'll be blowing the roof off the place."
David Cassidy will perform at the Hemmens Cultural Center.
When: 8 p.m. Feb. 13
Where: Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Center, Elgin
How much: $25 to $75
Contact: Call 847-931-5900 or visit www.hemmens.org
