The Oprah Winfrey Show

February 12, 2008

This show was recorded in Chicago in February 5th and aired in the US on February 12th.

David began by singing The Partridge Family hit "I Think I Love You" in his first Oprah Show appearance.

David says the success of "I Think I Love You" reflects the culture of the time-an era where people gathered together to watch their favorite live television on one of only three networks. "The time was very different, and you have to remember the world was very innocent," David says.

David talks about his old hits, which he says were crafted by the best in the business. "Some of the greatest musicians that ever, ever lived, I worked with and played with," he says. "I soaked it up like a sponge. In those five years, I couldn't have had [a better] education. I couldn't have bought it if I had $10 million."

David says he truly loves The Partridge Family and his experience on the show. "I have always," he says. "People I think have misunderstood me about it because after I ended it and I went through all of that madness, I wanted to distance myself so I could become creatively, artistically, something else. Something more."

After David finished his last tour, he says he felt lost and wasn't sure how to reconcile how he saw himself and how the rest of the world saw him-as an idol. "It's an albatross. You're an idol, you're a sex symbol, you're all that stuff," he says. "No, what I am is, I'm a songwriter, I'm an actor, I'm a singer, I'm a writer, I'm a producer, I'm a director, and I've done all of that."

David said John Lennon gave him the advice he needed to move on. "John Lennon said to me, 'You now need to begin what I've been doing-which is demystification,'" he says. "If anybody knew, he knew. And because I respected him and I grew up, he was kind of my hero, to become friends with him and to also know him and to know and to see him evolve 10 years later-he called himself a house husband. And for me, it had such an impact."

Eventually, David said he was able to overcome the face that was plastered across lunchboxes and magazine covers and start new projects. "It took me about five, seven years, and I began working in the theater," he said. "I went back and tried not to compete with my fame."

David said that nothing changed his life more dramatically than his two children-Beau and Katie.

Beau, who's 17, wants to follow his dad into the music industry, but David says he wants him to finish college first. "I feel that way now not just about my children, but I've been around a lot of children working in show business. I wasn't. I was out of high school," he says. "He's so sophisticated as an artist. I want him to have all the tools because when he goes out there, don't think people aren't gonna say, 'Oh, here's David Cassidy's son, let's see what he's got,' you know? And I worry for him for that reason."

David's 21-year-old daughter, Katie, is a working actress. "She's a beautiful, beautiful girl, and she's becoming a very accomplished young actress, and she cares about her craft," David said.

David finished the show with his performance of another Partridge Family favorite, "I'll Meet You Halfway."