Cherish, Part 3. The Book

-

 


At first it was exciting, fame overnight, interviews, photo sessions, money , girls following him everywhere..waiting outside the studio and his house ..trying to touch him, girls willing to do anything for him ,  fainting or sqeaking at the sight of  their idol...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPzLjE7Fvz4

Some girls were agressive, some  obsessed by him ,they wrote  strange letters, there were fans who moved to Los Angeles to be near David, he was mobbed , he was hurt several times. Security on tours and in every day life became a serious problem , he didn't think only about his own safety but also about his fans'. David felt trapped and really frustrated that fans loved not him but the image which was created for them. It didn't help that he was also a manipulator, it was his job , he had a contract , he wore those skintight jumpsuits, knew what was expected from him by audience and people who paid him and made money on him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTppP88xhhY

And when he resigned in 1974 and was almost free, this terrible tragedy happened at  one of the last concerts..After that he didn't decide to go touring for the next 11 years..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGuq4i6TPr4

David Cassidy and his fans. It's a fascinating story and at last we have a book about it : 'Cherish . David Cassidy A Legacy Of Love' , edited by Louise Poynton, published in April 2020 (David's 70th birthday) by Unicorn. If someone would like to know why David Cassidy was loved so much and still is, will find the answer in this book. 'He took us to a magical place and belonged to us ' Louise wrote in an introduction. Yes, so true, and behind those amazing stories we can see the man, David Cassidy , someone complex,  with his own demons, provocative and self-involved , sophisticated and smart, funny and charming ,but at the same time also  someone very sensitive ,vulnerable and depressive ,even naive,  very private but also full of compassion, who really cared about his fans. Someone real, good and bad, as we all are..

I'm in awe of Louise, she read all those memories fans sent her from all over the world, she had to make a selection and contact with each fan, she met in person with many , heard their stories and browsed through all the memorabilia..It must have taken a lot of time.. I know, because  my memories are also in the book and we've exchanged about it at least 6 emails and I've been just one of  hundreds...She talked with David's friends and colleagues who'd worked with him over the years, she asked photographers to search through their archives , and there are photos in this book we have never seen before.What more , the book is beautifully edited by her, I can't imagine how difficult it was, and it's so important the way the book looks. There have been many publications about David very badly published. 'Cherish' was nominated for a Best Book award in the US. https://www.amazon.com/Cherish-David-Cassidy_A-Legacy-Love/dp/1912690802

The book also has a podcast https://thedavidcassidyconnections.libsyn.com/ , Louise talks with David's friends or people who worked with him, and  with fans, they share their memories and pay tributes. And last but not least  Louise Poynton hosts a radio show on .https://www.242radio.com/. What can I say ..I wish I had such an energy.. Thank you Louise, amazing labour of love. As David said when asked about his fans : 'The best'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtgvlfdLqkE




Comments

  1. Louise Poynton2/23/21, 2:46 PM

    These daily blogs are fascinating. Thank you Weronika for being part of David's legacy. Make Something Special Happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Weronika2/23/21, 4:24 PM

      Thank you Louise for your kind words. Our friendship across the borders is a true David Cassidy's legacy. As you have written in your fabulous book - May his legacy shine a light over the world forever.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kay Lenz, an Actress

-
Image
Don't get me wrong, I'm not writing today's blog just to gossip about DC's private life, it's because I always admired that amazing woman, Kay Ann Lenz. She had birthday yesterday. 3 years younger than David, a few years older than a typical DC's fan.  In the 70s I heard quite a lot about Kay Lenz . She was very popular in Poland, like the rest of the cast of 'Rich Man, Poor Man'. That tv series was shown in my country I think in 1978, and everybody watched it, also a lot was written about the cast. So one day I read that Kay's husband was a former teen idol, David Cassidy. There was also a pic and I thought that it was just wonderful, I thought they were the most beautiful couple in the world. There was something very moving about Kay. I thought she was different than typical American actress. Such beautiful eyes, but her beauty wasn't an ordinary kind, not for everybody so to speak. When I was a teen I couldn't put in words what I thought a
Read more

They Said I Changed A Lot..

-
Image
Let's first listen to something which was not released, why they didn't want David singing that song is a great mystery for me. Listening to his young, sincere, innocent and magical voice is one in a kind moving experience. You can just imagine David sitting next to you, with his guitar...and.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PbghG6czuw&t=6s Amazing. And of course we believe in David Cassidy and love songs. When I became a real DC's fan in 2018, there was something I used to discuss a lot with my English friend B. How David Cassidy kept changing. A completely different person in each decade. Or even more often. It was something difficult to understand for me. The many faces of David. Each album different from the previous one, different style and even his voice.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4gvxt1WgaA B. thought there was nothing unusual about how David was changing, and I simply didn't follow his career from the beginning, I didn't grow with him, I didn&#
Read more

'I Just Hated Being In The Show..'

-
Image
Last week someone posted a screenshot of the article from May 1974, unfortunately without the date or the name of the paper. Written by a popular journalist Roderick Gilchrist, I think it was Daily Express. We can read that this interview took place at London Weekend Television's Building, on the day before the DC's last concert in Manchester.  And David said, "I feel like the door to the cage has just been opened. And, any minute now I'm going to be able to fly right away from my prison. I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel because I'll be free again.." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG0hjhwKx5s His prison..Of course there have been other teen idols in the history of pop culture, but somehow for those from the 70s it was like someone put a curse on them. Nothing David Cassidy recorded later in life hasn't changed a bit that first opinion some people had of him and his music. My FB friend, Laurie Eby has written, "I researched 'New Y
Read more