David Cassidy on the Web
Cassidy returning to region that launched his meteoric career
May 20, 2010
By Diana Nollen
http://gazetteonline.com
David Cassidy is thrilled to be coming to Eastern Iowa, where his career began.
He says an AM pop radio station in Cedar Rapids was the first station to play "I Think I Love You" in 1970, about two months before "The Partridge Family" aired and became its own phenomenon on ABC-TV.
He doesn't remember the radio station's call letters, but does remember its effect.
"On the one station that played it, my first and only record went from nowhere off the charts to No. 1 in one week. They said it was requested more than any other record they'd ever had," he says by phone Thursday afternoon from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"After about six weeks, it was No. 1 in the country."
Fast-forward 40 years. On Thursday morning, his agent called to see if he could perform Saturday night (5/22/10) at the Riverside Casino Event Center. Rick Springfield had just become ill and needed to postpone his sold-out concert, reschedule for Nov. 6, 2010.
"I said I'd love to do it. I'd love to acknowledge the people there. . I'm going to do a lot of Partridge Family hits and David Cassidy hits," he says. "It means a lot to me for the people to come out after giving me such a remarkable career, selling 30 million records, because it all began right there, in Cedar Rapids."
Cassidy, who just turned 60, hasn't been resting on his laurels since the Partridges parked their groovy bus.
He emerged from a genetically blessed pool that just keeps growing. The son of actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward, his big break came at age 19. That's when he stepped into stardom as dreamy Keith Partridge, the big brother of a musical clan led by his real-life stepmom, Shirley Jones. Of those sitcom siblings, he was the only one who really sang and played on the albums.
His real-life trio of half-brothers - Shaun, Patrick and Ryan Cassidy - are all in showbiz. So is his wife, songwriter and author Sue Shifrin; his daughter, actress Katie Cassidy, who plays Ella in TV's "Melrose Place" and can be seen on-screen now in "A Nightmare on Elm Street"; and his son, Beau, who has finished his first year at Boston University and will likely follow in the family footsteps.
As a teen idol, Cassidy touched off an international storm of screaming and swooning, setting concert attendance records he says remain unbroken. He still sounds a little amazed that he drew 71,000 fans to the Melbourne (Australia) Cricket Ground, one of the world's largest stadiums, compared to about 57,000 he says flocked there for Paul McCartney.
Among the songs that made hearts flutter were "Cherish," "I Woke Up in Love This Morning" and "Doesn't Somebody Want to be Wanted."
Since those halcyon days in the '70s, he's starred on Broadway in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and with brother Shaun and Petula Clark in "Blood Brothers." He's done theatrical touring shows, played Vegas for six years, has made other forays into television and films and is enjoying a vibrant concert touring resurgence.
He's most proud, however, of things that can't be measured in dollars and cents.
"Of being someone who has survived an enormous amount of early fame and of being a parent - having two children I'm really proud of," he says. "My work ethic has carried me through the dry times."
FAST TAKE
What: David Cassidy in concert, replacing a sick Rick Springfield
When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 22, 2010
Where: Riverside Casino Event Center, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside
Tickets: Free admission to Springfield ticket-holders showing those tickets from 7 to 8 p.m.; remaining seats go on sale at the door at 8 p.m. for $30; open to ages 21 and older
Springfield rescheduled: Nov. 6, 2010; tickets previously purchased for Saturday (5/22/10)transfer to that date
Springfield refunds: Present ticket and valid photo ID at the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort Gift Shop
Information: www.riversidecasinoandresort.com/events/event-center.php
(JAG Entertainment) David Cassidy, who juggled simultaneous teen heartthrob careers as '70s TV idol Keith Partridge and in his solo recording career, is coming to the Riverside Casino Event Center on Saturday night. He's stepping in for Rick Springfield, who is sick and had to postpone his sold-out concert to Nov. 6. Springfield tickets will be honored at Cassidy's concert and the rescheduled performance.
