Love Is All That I Ever Needed. Chapter 12. Run Boy Run..
The Partridge Family’s records sold in great numbers in 1971.
The third single, ‘I’ll Meet You
Halfway’, was another Top 10’s hit, and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June
12, 1971.
In August, the third album was released. It was originally titled ‘The New Partridge Family
Album’, but was renamed at the last moment as ‘Sound Magazine’, and peaked at number 9
on the Billboard 200 chart in September.
The single from that extraordinary album, ‘I Woke Up
In Love This Morning/Twenty-Four Hours A Day’ got to number 13.
‘Sound Magazine’ is a marvelous album, which should be regarded as David Cassidy’s first
solo record. For the first time, his strong, warm, rich and fabulous young voice wasn’t speeded
up as it was on the first two albums. He insisted on it.
‘Sound Magazine’ is one of the best pop
albums from the first part of the 70s. Pop music at its best - sophisticated, wonderfully arranged
and played, perfectly sung by David. The songs’ lyrics are not for kids, very adult oriented.
How could anyone call that wonderful music “bubblegum”?
Of course, the Partridge Family
from the tv show wasn’t real, but the musicians who played in the studio were truly the best.
Mike Melvoin, Larry Knechtel, Louis Budimir, Louie Shelton, Hal Blaine, great backing vocals
by John and Tom Bahler, Ron Hicklin and Jackie Ward. And David Cassidy.
Three songs were written by Tony Romeo, including ‘Summer Days’, a pop masterpiece,
arranged by Mike Melvoin and John Bahler.
’I’m On My Way Back Home’ (Bobby Hart and
Jack Keller), was such a happy and positive song, great to sing along with David, ‘Twenty
Four Hours A Day’ a very catchy and charming number with David’s great vocal. ‘I Woke Up In
Love This Morning’ (Irwin Lewine and L. Russell Brown), a great rock number.
Another hit from
that album. Paul Anka’s ‘One Night Stand’, so moving in a very mature David’s interpretation.
‘Echo Valley 2-6809’ (Kathy Cooper, Rupert Holmes), one of the most popular TPF’s songs.
And a real gem, the last track from ‘Sound Magazine’, a song which should have become a
great hit. So different from any other TPF’s recordings. Funky and soul rather than pop. Full
of passion and longing. Written by David Cassidy. With Wes Farrell’s credit/help. ‘Love Is All
That I Ever Needed.’
After just one year, David Cassidy not only became a tv star and a teen idol, but also a
sensational concert act, a great pop singer, and very talented songwriter. Whenever there was
occasion, he worked to improve his guitar skills, and in every concert there was one or two
songs where he played a guitar, a piano or the drums.
Four weeks after the gall bladder operation, David was still very weak and skinny. Recovery
and strength was a long process and he had other health problems. A small tumor on his back
had to be removed. Skin infections had to be covered up with make-up. He was promised a
longer break, but first, there were a lot of things to do.
The production of the Season 2 of The Partridge Family restarted, and he had to record two
more albums in 1971. Once again, he was working from early morning to late night, and on
the weekends was playing concerts.
The recording sessions for the album called ‘A Partridge Family Christmas Card’, were on
August 25, 26 and 28. Ten Christmas classics and one new song, written by Tony Romeo,
39
‘My Christmas Card To You’. All songs were masterfully played, great harmonies, but first of
all wonderfully sung by David. ‘My Christmas Card To You’ should have become a Christmas
standard. There was such joy in that song even that David didn’t like Christmas much when he was a
child. His parents were often on tour at the time, and his sadness and longing was heard on
some of the songs from this album. It was released in November by Bell Records and became
the best selling Christmas album in the USA during the Christmas season of 1971.
Also, in August, David appeared with his father on a very popular tv program, ‘Merv Griffin
Show’. Jack Cassidy was the host that day and interviewed his son. Unfortunately, no video
has survived, only a recording of their conversation so we know the interview wasn’t easy for
David. Jack asked him very personal questions, and it looks like he enjoyed his own son's
embarrassment. He even asked David if it hurt him being from a broken family. Or if his old
friends abandoned him after he became a teen idol.
David was evidently surprised by those
questions and tried to give honest answers.
At the end they sang ‘Danny Boy’, first only David,
and his voice was truly magical.
It’s difficult to believe but when David returned to playing concerts again on August 14 (at first
he had to perform with surgical belt), he performed every single weekend through December
5, usually on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Everywhere.
In 1971 he gave 34 concerts in
Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York,
Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. For each concert, he flew
from Los Angeles and returned late on Sunday or early morning on Monday.
On August 28 David gave 3 concerts, on the same day, at Steel Pier in Atlantic City.
Steel Pier is a 1,000 foot long amusement park built on a pier of the boardwalk in Atlantic City,
New Jersey. Opened in 1898, a very well-known and popular venue. Thousands of people
arrived when David was to perform there. Maybe 30,000. Maybe more. No security to speak
of. No other way to get to the entrance to the stage. The only way was going all the way
through the crowd.
For the first concert David arrived and left in an ambulance, but some fans guessed he was
inside. For the second, he dressed up as a girl. He had a wig, glasses, put on lipstick and
rouge, and changed sneakers for clogs. He astonished himself when he looked in the mirror.
He changed into a very attractive girl.
There was something about him, or maybe all great actors could do this. Makeup, using
another voice, altering his hair, and the way of walking can change them into someone
completely different. David used disguises in his private life too, and no one could recognize
him.
It worked beautifully. A lot of boys noticed the sexy girl, and no one suspected it was actually
David. But he didn’t like being disguised as a woman.
For the third time, he walked to the stage with a girl, his publicist. David hid his hair under a
hat, put the shades on, and raised the collar of his windbreaker. They pretended to be a
couple, being very interested in each other, kissing. When they were almost to the entrance
to the building, someone recognized him, and grabbed the hat.
David made it to the door and
saved his own life. When he was spotted, people started screaming and pushing each other to get to him, to touch him, to have a fragment of his clothes, a chunk of his hair-a piece of
him. It was a very scary experience. He could have been killed by his own fans.
Everybody wrote that David’s concerts brought a lot of money, and a new word appeared:
‘Cassidysteria’. It was evident that it was David on stage - not Keith Partridge. The Billboard’s
reporter wrote in October 1971 :’The cut of his jumpsuit leaves no doubt that David is a big
boy now. It’s not a boyish charm he projects with moves that are a lot closer to Tom Jones
than to Davy Jones.’.
He got a proposition to play Madison Square Garden on Thanksgiving
weekend, but Ruth Aarons thought it was too early for David to perform there. She said :’We
know we’d get 10,000, but the idea is to sell it out.’ Besides, David had no time to prepare for playing MSG in November, and not a single free
day until December.
In October, he appeared twice on a very popular tv program, The Glen Campbell Goodtime
Hour.’ On October 1, The 50th Annual Photoplay Gold Medal Awards was broadcast on it.
Glen Campbell presented David the award for The Most Promising Actor.
On October 24 he was on the Glen’s program again. This time as a guest star. With Glen
Campbell he sang a medley of the Everly Brothers’ songs, and another one of the biggest
Partridge Family’s hits. David looked sensational, so amazingly beautiful and very confident.
He was aware of the love of the audience. The girls were screaming when he appeared on
stage.
He had one thing to do before a long-awaited, promised holiday. One more album.
Already in 1971 David recorded three Partridge Family albums. They were extremely popular.
In November in the US, on every single day about 200,000 copies of TPF’s records were sold.
But the studio wanted more, and it was obvious that David had the potential to become a
superstar in his own name - a great pop singer David Cassidy..
His first solo album, ‘Cherish’, was recorded in October 1971 with the same musicians,
arrangers and producer (Wes Farrell) as Partridge Family’s albums.
But was different, more
mature and soulful. Lindsay Planer wrote in a review published on AllMusic:’ There is a
maturity there that many of his previous songs lacked (..) overall ‘Cherish’ is an admirable first
time out and, above all, continues to display the vocalist's theatrical sensibilities and
performance style.’
First and foremost, David Cassidy was an actor. For him singing a song was a kind of acting
task. He was a great interpreter and always very aware about the meaning of the song, and
what the lyrics meant for him.
Tony Romeo wrote three songs for David, including a very personal ‘I Am A Clown’. There
were three songs written by Adam Miller (another Wes’s protege). ‘Could It Be Forever’, a
great pop classic, was written by Wes Farrell and Danny Janssen, Wes with Bobby Hart were
authors of ‘I Just Wanna Make You Happy’. Kim Vassey penned a dramatic, emotional and powerful ‘My First Night Alone Without You’. This song was later covered by many artists.
Last
but not least was the first song David wrote all by himself. The music and the lyrics. From start
to finish. Ricky’s Tune. So different from other album’s tracks. A marvelous, soulful, strong
ballad written when David’s beloved dog Ricky (once called Sam) died after a fight with another
dog.
The title song. ‘Cherish’, was a cover of the Association’s hit from 1966. David Cassidy made
this song his own. It’s the most famous of his hits, and the most popular among his fans to this
day.
The single ‘Cherish’ was released in October 1971 while the album was still in production. It
became number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in December 1971, and the same month,
on December 25th, it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 9.
It was the only ever
David’s Top Ten Hit in his native country. It sold more than 1 million copies in the US alone.
Comments
Post a Comment