David Cassidy Being Together

David was worried, even scared before that first concert.  What was he going to sing was the first question. Obviously The Partridge Family’s hits. Some songs he liked? Crosby, Still & Nash and Buffalo Springfield?  He was so busy that he didn’t have time to think about his act. What was his performance going to look like?  A lot of important people flew with David for his first concert. Ruth and Wes, the Bell Records’ executives. It didn’t help that the weather was awful. On March 25 and 26, 1971, that area was hit by a powerful storm, and the flight was a nightmare. For a while, it was not certain whether they would be able to land in Seattle at all.  We can only admire David Cassidy’s courage. All the attention of the audience focused only on him. And what an audience. Thousands of screaming girls. One reporter wrote, ‘The adulation would terrify most men.’  Before the concert, David was worried whether the kids would like him. They loved him from...

1970 was very busy, but still David was able to enjoy some free days and privacy. It was obvious 1971 would be more demanding. He was frustrated by not being paid well enough for his hard work. When, at last at home after many hours on the set and in the recording studio, it wasn’t easy to calm down, to relieve stress, and to forget about work.  David was always ‘a night owl’. Morning was never the best part of the day for him so it was hard  getting up very early when new episodes were filmed.  During breaks on the set there were photo sessions and interviews. In the evening long hours were spent at the recording studio. On weekends  he was to promote the show and TPF’s music.  David wasn’t materialistic, but always wanted to get what he felt he deserved. In spring of 1970, he was satisfied with $600 a week. It was even less because he had to pay Ruth Aarons and his agent. In 1969, he earned about $3000, but in 1971 the situation was completely differe...

  Not everything also was going smoothly on The Partridge Family set.  In many teen magazines, there were a lot of interviews, photo stories and information about young actors. How they liked each other and that they had a lot of fun doing the show.  A new magazine was launched, Tiger Beat’s Official Partridge Magazine , just for fans of the show. Full of exclusive information about actors who played the Partridges; Shirley Jones, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, Suzanne Crough and Jeremy Gelbwaks, but first of all about David.  It was true. There was a fantastic atmosphere on the set, and Shirley Jones was a great credit for this. She was warm, calm, very professional and treated young actors like they were her real family. David became very good friends with Susan Dey. There was also a mutual physical attraction, and at the beginning they even dated for a while. Susan was born in December 1952, still a teenager, and her agent always accompanied her on those dat...

  In an interview published at the beginning of January 1971, David told what he thought about The Partridge Family music. He said : ‘The music we do is bubblegum to the trade. I think it’s a little better than most bubblegum. Sophisticated bubblegum. What it’s not is George Harrison. That’s what I want to be doing. That’s what I will do’. At the time, George Harrison’s first solo album recorded after The Beatles split up, was a great hit, and the single from it ‘My Sweet Lord’ number one everywhere. David wanted to become an independent recording artist.  Many people have always emphasized David’s great knowledge of music and its history. The songs and artists his father taught him, and the musicians he loved in the 60s. When something interested him, he got to know everything about it.  Wes Farrell said in an interview conducted during the recording sessions for ‘Up To Date’ album, in November 1970 : ‘David’s level of enthusiasm about the music is like an atomi...

  At first David enjoyed his fame. The attention, the money, and that a lot of popular beautiful women wanted to meet him.  Already in May and June when the filming of the first episodes started, fans appeared outside the studio. More and more with each day. Some fans just wanted an autograph or to have a look at him. But there were also aggressive ones.  Soon getting to work every morning became a difficult task for David.  He regretted being sincere and telling teen magazines reporters where he lived or shopped. Fans discovered his house at Laurel Canyon and he stopped feeling safe at home. He couldn’t rest after working all day long. Just being left alone for a while became nearly impossible.  Neighbors were complaining because of the noise and strangers on the street. That problem was the easiest to solve. He could afford a bigger and more secure house.  For $1500 a month, David and Sam rented a fully furnished house on Haslam Terrace - high up ...

  The work on the show started in May 1970. In the first unaired The Partridge Family’s pilot, Shirley Jones’ character’s name was Connie, and she had a steady boyfriend, played by Jack Cassidy. When the show was sold, the mother’s name was changed, and her boyfriend disappeared.  It was a brilliant idea making Shirley Partridge a single, working mother. There was no strong, dominant father figure in that family, like in many musical real life families in the 60s or 70s. Shirley was a widow, but not a typical one - quite young, very attractive, and her children looked like each had a different father.  She was a great mother. She loved her children, spent a lot of time with them and listened to their problems, but she also disciplined and educated them. There were rules that must be followed at the Partridges’ house, and Shirley’s parental responsibility was indisputable. She was the boss. She had a lot of work running the house. There was always something to be ...

  The origin of the TV show about a singing widow and her five children, called The Partridge Family, after half a century has its own legend, mythology even.  Fans know those stories by heart. About The Cowsills being an inspiration for the show creator, Bernard Slade. About a great movie star, Shirley Jones who decided to accept a TV role even though everybody kept telling her how risky it could have been for her career. But she wanted to spend more time with her family.  And we heard many times she didn’t know until the last moment that her step-son, David, auditioned for a role of Keith Partridge, and that she had no idea he could sing. A lot of fans believe in those stories.  Shirley Mae Jones was born March 31, 1934. In the 50s she appeared in a few popular musical films such as ‘Oklahoma!’ (1955), ‘Carousel’ (1956), ‘The Music Man’ (1962). Beautiful, charming, sweet and sexy, with a wonderful musically trained voice. Also a talented comedic and dramat...

Two weeks after graduation in the early fall of 1968, David filled his backpack and went to New York. The time came, at last, to make his dream come true. His father always kept telling him that becoming a good, reliable, respected actor was a slow, difficult process, a lot of hard work, everything should be achieved in small steps. David was full of enthusiasm and hope. At first, nothing was as he expected.  Living with Jack for the first time in his life was also a difficult experience. His father was controlling, demanding and introduced some rules David never had before and rebelled against them. They quarreled a lot.  David was born in New York City, but never really lived there, so he didn’t have any friends and small chances to make new ones. He commuted long hours to his boring work. He was the youngest in the mailroom of the Deering-Milliken Textile Factory, the other workers were middle-aged.  After work he attended acting classes and took part in count...

Chapter 3 Sex, Drugs and Rock&Roll David Cassidy was a child of the 60s. It was his decade.  He wrote, “To me, the 60s were about freedom.” To the end of his days, he was a hippie at heart. He believed in everything that was fought for during that decade: civil rights, feminism, gay rights movements. He was anti war. He believed in freedom of speech and choice. And there was also new exciting music. And drugs. And sex. The Summer of Love. What’s more he lived in Los Angeles, California, the best place to be in the 60s for a teenager. Especially for someone like David - always ready for a new experience and eager to try everything. It was the happiest and the most carefree decade of his life.  On February 9, 1964 The Beatles sang ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ on the Ed Sullivan Show. A generational event, watched by 73 million Americans. David already played drums and started learning guitar. After watching The Beatles, he begged his mum to let him have an electric g...