David Cassidy on the Web
NOW PLAYING Classic acts from the '50 s, '60 s and '70 s continue to perform. Here's what one of them is doing.
October 4, 2012
By Steve Smith
www.presstelegram.com
As frontman for TV's fictitious family pop group, "The Partridge Family," for four seasons on ABC in the early '70 s, David Cassidy was a teen idol who racked up millions of real-life album and singles sales. As Keith Partridge, teenage singer for the group, he scored seven Top 40 pop and adult contemporary hits, beginning with the group's debut single, "I Think I Love You," in 1970 that went to No. 1 on the pop chart here and in Canada.
The Partridge Family's first four albums went Top 10 and albums five and six reached No. 18 and 21 respectively.
However, their seventh album, "The Partridge Family Notebook," from late 1972, only hit No. 41 and its eighth, "Crossword Puzzle" from 1973, died at No. 163 and the ninth, "Bulletin Board," also from 1973, hit No. 124 on the adult contemporary chart and failed to chart at all on Billboard's pop album chart and the group's run was over. The TV show was cancelled after its final episode ran on Mar. 23, 1974.
He then launched a solo career that saw him score a No. 15 LP here with "Cherish." In the U.K., he was more successful, releasing two albums that hit No. 2, including "Cherish," and two others that hit No. 20 and 22 respectively.
As a singles artist, he scored four Top 40 singles in 1972 during the TV show's run. His solo career in Britain saw nine of his singles reach the Top 10 from 1972-1985.
The truth is that Cassidy never wanted teen idol stardom. He wanted Jimi Hendrix-style (who he idolized) stardom, i.e., genuine rocker cred.
That didn't happen, so over the past few decades he's come to accept his former teen idol stature and he forged a highly successful career, that includes extensive music theater, including runs on Broadway and London's version of Broadway, the West End. In the '90 s, he replaced Michael Crawford in the dazzling Las Vegas show, "EFX," where, with complete creative control, he retooled the extravaganza, adding and cutting tunes and turning it into one of the most popular shows on the Strip.
Now, a still youthful 62, Cassidy continues to perform concerts, delighting fans of "The Partridge Family" and of his solo career. This weekend, he's got concerts in Ashville, N.C. and Alexandria, Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Next month, he'll headline in Britain in a revue, "The Once In A Lifetime Tour," that also features English singer-songwriter Leo Sayer and British pop band Hot Chocolate.
