David Cassidy on the Web
Beyond TEEN IDOL
David Cassidy has a wide-ranging resume after 40 years
January 22, 2011
By Renee Prusi
Journal Staff Writer, The Mining Journal
www.miningjournal.net
MARQUETTE - David Cassidy promises the audience at his upcoming shows at the Island Resort and Casino they'll hear the songs they want to hear.
"I will be doing all of my hits," Cassidy said in a telephone interview. "It will be a musical journey through the years, with lots of songs they'll enjoy."
Cassidy has put together a varied four-decade career which includes starring on Broadway, guesting on numerous television shows and headling a Las Vegas extravaganza called "EMX" that ran for years.
First gaining international attention as a teen idol and star of the 1970s classic television show, "The Partridge Family," Cassidy has sold more than 25 million records including the best-selling single, of 1971, "I Think I Love You."
He's on tour this winter, with his next stop at the Island, which is located just outside of Escanaba in Harris. His shows are at 8 p.m. EDT Friday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 29. Tickets are $20.
It won't be his first visit to the Upper Peninsula.
"It's a beautiful part of the world. I was in the Yoop years ago, in the winter when the temperature was 12 below," Cassidy said. "I grew up in New York where the temperature got down to zero, so it wasn't that unusual an experience for me.
"Despite what people think, I am not some Southern California kid," he said with a laugh. "But I do live in Florida now."
The son of actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward, Cassidy traces the genesis of his career to a particular moment in time.
"The beginning of my musical life was when I heard The Beatles on 'Sullivan'," he said. "I was 13 years old and the next day, I went out and bought my first guitar. I've been playing ever since."
But unlike most other teens who grew up in The Beatles era, Cassidy had the chance to befriend the Fab Four.
"I got to know John (Lennon) and Paul (McCartney) well," Cassidy said. "Ringo (Starr) lived in my house for awhile quite a few years back. Ringo needed a place to stay and he heard I was going to be out of the country for awhile. When I got back to L.A., Ringo had to move out.
"And I met George (Harrison) a few times, too."
Cassidy got to know Lennon especially well.
"John was a great person," he said. "I got to play with him sometimes."
Cassidy's parents were both from working-class families, with no show business background, but instilled a love of music in their son starting at an early age.
"My parents were into Gershwin," he said. "They loved the great Big Bands. My Dad loved Count Basie and my Mom loves Cole Porter. So I had a lot of that around me."
In his youth, Cassidy himself enjoyed the songs of Carole King, Gerry Goffin and Neal Sedaka.
"After The Beatles broke in this country, I fell in love with their music. And BB King, Jimi Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield and Cream," Cassidy said. "I saw Hendrix four times and (Eric) Clapton three times.
"Years later I played the same show with Clapton, in 1990," he said. "I still think Eric is the greatest all-around musical talent as a singer, songwriter and guitarist. I love how he evolved."
John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers were another special favorite.
"Mayall hired Clapton when Clapton was 17 and it is some of the greatest music you'd ever hear," he said.
Cassidy also enjoyed the music of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green."Lennon, Clapton, Mayall... those are my musical heroes," he said. "I pay homage to that, what raised me, in my show, all the way through to the music of today."
In the years since David Cassidy posters and lunchboxes were coveted by young women everywhere, he has diversified his resume, writing theme songs for television shows and scores for productions as well as producing and directing.
"It's all the stuff I wanted to do all along, the creative stuff," he said. "When I did 'The Partridge Family' I was so pigeonholed by who that guy was.
"But I am so grateful for everything I have in my life," Cassidy said. "Hollywood does not define me. Anyone who knows me would not associate me with that word 'Hollywood.'
"Community service is important to me. It's important to be a citizen in this life," he said. "We are blessed to be living in this country and I try to never forget that."
While he lives in Florida during the winter, once warm weather rolls around, Cassidy spends most of his time in upstate New York.
"I promise you, Saratoga, New York, is my favorite place in the world. It's a perfect spot for me," he said. "I breed horses and that's Mecca for horsebreeders. I love to watch my horses train."
Cassidy's official website is www.davidcassidy.com.
