Happy Halloween and other wishes

Posted about a great Halloween song by David a week ago. Go have a listen but come back to wish Happy Birthday to Clodyne! This one's for you, chère amie :-) May the coming year be as generous in its blessings to you as you are to us with your David Cassidy fansite.

So is this the reason we fell for him so young?

You know how the producers said they cast David Cassidy in The Partridge Family because he had a non-threatening sexy and androgynous look about him that they knew would be a big hit with the pre-teens? Maybe they really were on to something:

"Women who are ovulating prefer men who are more masculine and "more... genetically unrelated," ...; women who aren't ovulating prefer guys who are more feminine and genetically more similar...."

Read about the scientific theory behind our crush here. Interesting how some of his young female fans from back then are "re-discovering" him now, perhaps at a, uh, certain time in their life? ;-) Dare to chime in?

Oh, and here's an example of young DC's non-threatening sexuality.


Let's all thank Annie Leibovitz for capturing that image. I've a feeling we're not the only generation that will appreciate it.

Homage to David Cassidy's Keith Partridge

So, David Cassidy does not care to be remembered for his role on The Partridge Family. I really don't understand why. Does he not realize how awesome his acting was in that role? Keith Partridge might have been a simple guy but David Cassidy gave him three-dimensional life. Yes, David Cassidy was so good-looking that it still hurts to watch him on DVD but his looks alone don't explain Keith Partridge's appeal or why the character is still remembered so fondly today.

It's David Cassidy's credible performance in the PF musical numbers that inspired countless of young people to pick up a guitar or a hairbrush and sing their hearts out (e.g. Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls). And to think he didn't care for the music he sang back then! I don't recall one musical segment where he looks uncomfortable singing the material. Serious kudos for just keeping a straight face as lead singer of the make-believe band.

He had great comic timing. One of my favorite moments is in episode 15 of Season 3, "For Whom the Bell Tolls", when Keith and Laurie arrive home to discover that a "burglar" is inside their house leaving with their couch. Crouching in the bushes beneath the living room window, the pair debate what to do and Laurie tells Keith he must stop the thief. When Keith balks, she accuses him of being afraid. All his protests are for naught when the "burglar" (really their band manager Reuben Kincaid) pokes his head out the window and says "hi". Keith's surrender is total and instantaneous, with both hands in the air and a gulping "Take my money." Well played.

The show didn't offer him much chance to play the serious card but I loved him in "Partridge up a Pair Tree" (Season 1, episode 21), when Keith buys a clunker of a car and is forever borrowing money from his family. He has no money to take out his girlfriend, Carol, and ends up having a couple of serious talks with her to discuss his predicament. Totally believable teenager here. (He does look as if he's about to crack up when watching the veggie slicer demo but that's not supposed to be a serious scene ;-))

Where is the shame in this role? Keith Partridge was a straightforward character in a show with an implausible premise but David Cassidy couldn't have played him more perfectly. He was riveting as Keith Partridge. So many fans of the show still have fond memories of Keith Partridge today, almost forty years later. Just because it's not Shakespeare doesn't make it a legacy to disown.

An actor could be remembered for worse things.

David-bashing? I don't think so

Some David Cassidy fans seem to think that if we criticize him or his work, we are bashing him. I thought I'd address this in a separate blog entry rather than in a comment buried in a thread.

I truly believe that you can be an objective fan. We are not twelve years old anymore and have developed some critical thinking along the way. Some of his stuff is great; some of it is bad. Sometimes he's gracious with fans; other times, he's an ass. I would think that David Cassidy, of all people, would appreciate some objectivity from fans seeing as he complained of the fanaticism in his heyday. Try and find some critical coverage on his performances or work back then. Apart from that Rolling Stone article - and even that focused more on the phenomenon that he was, rather than his actual talent - there really isn't much. He wasn't a god then (just looked like one...) and isn't a god now. Objectively critiquing his work and public behavior is not David-bashing. It's appreciating him as a real person, with talents, faults and qualities.

Not properly rehearsing "Mae" before a performance? You can call that lazy. You can also call it self-sabotage. There are not many other rational explanations for that fact seeing as he knew this was a top song request from fans for months prior to that tour. Seriously, what's up with that? To use an analogy the twelve year old in us will understand, that's like skipping class, not doing any homework all semester and studying the material for the first time the night before the final exam.

With fans like these, who wants a career?

Thank you American Girl for your comment in the previous thread alerting us of official word about "David Sunday's Disaster". Are these statements (bolding mine) really the best way for David Cassidy's manager to address the situation?

"He did get irritable – as fans got angry and nasty because he wouldn’t do exactly what they wanted. He’s not an object, he’s a person. Others tend to forget that. The reason he left was because A) he threw up in the bathroom and felt sick as a dog; and B) he didn’t want to anger any more fans by not cooperating fully with their excessive demands. David loves his fans and is very cognizant of their support over their years and appreciates it."

Angry and nasty fans with your excessive demands, shame on you! And the PR mess gets messier.

About those pictures...

David Cassidy removing those Partridge Family pictures from the table at The Hollywood Show had nothing to do with his attitude about the past but rather everything to do with avoiding legal problems. Apparently, the show acquired the pictures without copyright. That's how someone in Mr. Cassidy's camp explained it to someone on a certain David forum.

Hmm. Doesn't wash with me. Sorry. If that were the case, why say "That was then, this is now" to explain the removal of the pics? If that were the case, why not just say so to the always-so-understanding-and-forgiving DC fans? If that were the case, why refuse to sign the PF-era paraphernalia brought in by fans?

I'm starting to wonder if the reason is as simple as vanity, as a reader here mentioned in a recent post. It must be difficult to go to a show like this and be constantly reminded of your heyday when your good looks blinded everyone to your talents. Does he see those pictures of himself and wonder "What if...?" and "Damn, I should have appreciated those years more?" Or simply, does he just hate those years so much that he hates the reminders just as much? I dunno.

I know that I've heard him disparage his THEN looks during his recent concerts and interviews with comments such as "Who's that? Oh, she's pretty!" when looking at old posters of himself with his gorgeous long locks and "my gayest cover ever", referring to the Cherish album cover. Does he hate his THEN looks thinking perhaps that if he had looked different, we wouldn't have fallen for him so and turned him into a teen idol? His looks were slightly different pre-PF yet his appearances on TV shows still managed to elicit enough fan mail to teen magazines to show he was garnering a following of young admirers.

If a time machine could take David Cassidy THEN and transport him forty years later to NOW, I'm convinced he'd be just as big a teen sensation now as he was back then (not that he wanted to be, I know!). Zac Efron and the Jonas Brothers have nothing on young DC. Is it just me or does his look back then have a timeliness to it? I feel that way about his music too so might I be duping myself because I've been in a DC/PF bubble these past few months?

He was drop dead gorgeous AND adorable as a puppy: his fate as a teen idol was sealed, Partridge Family or not.


Ok, so maybe Joe Jonas could give young DC a run for his money. :-)

Looks like a THEN concert to me!

Mind you, there's plenty of time for him to cancel still. Dare to buy tickets?

Nothing to do with David but...

I can't resist sharing funny shit.

Here's a then pic to compensate for the lack of David content.

Happy Halloween

It's decided. I'm blasting this song all evening as I open the door for the little neighborhood trick or treaters. They're getting David Cassidy and chocolate. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

Now, I'll just need one person to ask me "who's singing that cool song?" so that I can reply "why, that's David Cassidy" and my evening will be made.

"Where do we go from here?"

I don't think most David Cassidy fans were enamored with the dance remixes and now, "Ruby" wasn't renewed. If you were DC's manager, what projects would you suggest to him? Here are some of my ideas.

-Collaborate with Bill House and Gerry Buckley on some songwriting again and get back in the recording studio! More bluesy stuff please...This is fabulous and so is this. Did DC write these lyrics or did Gerry Buckley?

"Fell out of a dream
Bendin' out in the streets
Lost love just pulled the rug out under me
My resistance was low
With only bruises to show
Just a fool that turned another cheek again"
-"Take this Heart" on "Home is Where the Heart is"

Not bad. Not bad at all.

-Record a Christmas album and include the original PF "My Christmas Card to You" and his more recent "Do You Believe in Magic". Difficult to suggest other songs because you don't want songs that have so many classic interpretations that comparisons are endless but there must be some good, lesser-known holiday season songs that would benefit from his smooth voice!

-A lullaby album. Don't you wish this were longer (from 0:55 to 1:36)?

-Audio books. Posted about this idea before.

My project ideas focus mostly on his voice. What can I say, I think it's fab and has loads of personality. Who has ideas for guest starring roles? Other genres to sing? After "David's Sunday Disaster", perhaps some fans will say he should simply retire to his horses, but I can't help wanting to discover more of his talent. It's not totally tapped yet.

Here's his young velvety voice. Enjoy!

David Cassidy singing ITILY on Oprah

I mentioned in my previous post that I remembered this performance as not sounding so great. A reader kindly refreshed my memory by sending me the link to the video on Oprah's site. Thank you kind reader. He's not singing out of tune but the song has a slightly different arrangement/tempo here than the original. The audience is certainly boogie-ing. No unmentionables are strewn about and he doesn't serenade anyone in the audience.

I must have been thinking of another TV appearance. I'd better start those memory exercises...if I could just remember where I put them ;-)

Money, Money..

Jane, over at her infamous fan site (well, it IS infamous for DC fans), summarized David's appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2008.

"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.""

Oh, but you did, David. You did buy that education. Remember all those merchandising royalties you never got paid?

Now, what I want to know is where does he get five years? I'm assuming he's referring to the Partridge Family music. Isn't that four years? Does he round up the years, the way he rounds up his height?

And was I alone in being embarrassed by his performance on that show? I saw it once - probably on YT - and recall a lot of awkwardness from serenaded audience members. Didn't he sing ITILY out of tune? It didn't sound good at all. That's what I remember.

Here's David singing about money, making it sound sexier than it already is. Song written by Wes Farrell, Danny Janssen and Bobby Hart; appears on the PF's "Bulletin Board" album.

How can we help? Do we even want to?

Two great posts over at the C'mom Get Happy site today (kiethlives' very insightful one at 3:58 and Scott's hilarious one at 5:07) about David's Sunday Disaster (that's what I'm calling it now, folks - almost sounds good enough to eat, no?) but one tidbit particularly caught my attention: "it's going to hit the tabloids next week".

Crap. Once it hits the tabloids, that's it, it's everywhere. People love to mock celebrities and their bad behavior. And it soon becomes a dog pile. (For the record, we are not dog piling here; we are discussing, assessing, bemoaning and speculating. We are doing a lot of things but we are not dog piling.) I can just hear radio announcers having a field day mocking David and the Partridge Family. It makes me wince. It makes me angry. It's undeserved. Well, maybe David's attitude deserves something akin to mocking, but how dare they disrespect the PF! So what do we do? Email them our dissertations on why The Partridge Family still deserves a following forty years after it debuted? Request they play David's version of "Ain't No Sunshine" instead of looping the ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-baba refrain of ITILY while they laugh in the background?


Then again, maybe it'll hit the tabloids and nothing will happen. It'll be like your first birthday party where you invite your whole class and two people show up.

Something else caught my attention in Scott's post: did David really call a woman in the audience at a concert the *c* word? That is beyond bad. Was he drinking? It doesn't excuse the behavior - it just explains it. Did this incident hit the press at the time?

With a publicist like this, who needs bad press?

Have you seen the latest update on Sunday's "mishap" on the "C'mon Get Happy" bulletin board? Scott actually contacted David's publicist and was told to "get a life". Seriously?! Hmmm. In one of my first blog posts, "Get a life!" is how I imagined people would respond to my admission that David Cassidy was on my mind a lot since I rediscovered him. In these past few months, I've spent many hours researching David's career and discovering his recordings. More than once have I asked myself if he was really worth all that time and effort. Sunday's incident and his publicist's sardonic response lead me to conclude that he isn't.

Apparently, The Partridge Family "is not how David cares to be seen or remembered." David Cassidy really doesn't get it, does he?

In a review of one of David Cassidy's concerts back in 2001, Mary Ladd had this to say about him:

"David Cassidy, the adult version, strikes me as someone who could throw a temper tantrum real good and clean, like a shock (sic) put. He's like that kid on the playground who can't take a joke and is therefore the butt of all of them. Not happy with the sound level at Incahoots, David Cassidy kept complaining about it, giving stern looks to the loitering stage hands. Ominous looks backstage and then turning back to smile at the fans, as if to say, "No, my children, it’s not you." It brought the room down."

According to Ladd, Cassidy takes himself too seriously. The review can be found here.

Discuss. If you still care. And haven't gotten a life yet.

Damned If This Ain't Classless

I wasn't there but this account seems impartial enough to be believable. Guess Mr. Cassidy is still ambivalent about his past as a teen idol. "That was then; this is now." It's unfortunate for him, but for the most part, David Cassidy will always be, first and foremost, a teen idol to his fans. Even more so to fans who attend an event that mainly celebrates nostalgia and memorabilia. Any star who doesn't want to be associated with his past shouldn't participate in this type of show. Such events don't exist to promote careers: they exist to make fans happy and generate cash for celebrities and the organizers.

Seeing his name on that show's roster surprised me. Part of me had trouble believing he'd do this type of event, especially since "Ruby" was not renewed. I was doubly surprised to see the PF pics one could order by mail for an autograph.

Here are my theories about his requests though: I've read that he's had a few eye operations to repair optic nerves in one eye. Flashes might blind him which would explain why he often refuses photographs. Limiting the number of autographs might be linked to the painful skin condition he's written about having on his hands. Still, these "reasons" don't excuse the divo behavior. They just warrant a matter-of-fact explanation to very understanding, forgiving fans.

What happened, David? Did you forget that if it weren't for your loyal fans, you'd be pumping gas somewhere? Do you still resent how much fans cherish The Partridge Family? Why do you insist on proving you aren't worthy of all the adulation?

If you want your fans from THEN to be fans NOW, how about endearing yourself to them instead of treating them with contempt? Throw in a free "Then and Now" poster/bookmark/mouse pad or other promo trinket with the autographed picture for which they paid so dearly. You really want to make them love you NOW? Include a CD single of "Ain't No Sunshine" from that release.

David's website features this recent pic of himself performing in Bensalem. Lots of shots of his fans too. He should take another look at those; he seems to have forgotten them.

Are you lonesome tonight?

I've often read that David hates to sing "Doesn't Somebody Want to be Wanted" because of its spoken part. Yet, he sings "Echo Valley 2-6809" in concert and it has a spoken part. My theory is that the spoken words in the first song hit just too close to home for Mr. Cassidy during the Partridge Family period. He's often mentioned how lonely he felt at the peak of his fame because he was so isolated from the real world.

'You know, I'm no different than anybody else
I start each day and end each night
It gets really lonely when you're by yourself
And where is love?
And who is love?
I gotta know'

-spoken part in "Doesn't Somebody Want to be Wanted", songwriters: Wes Farrell, Jim Cretecos and Mike Appel

Or maybe he just thinks they're crappy lyrics. ;-)

I Need This. Santa, do you hear me?

Ok, so I don't "need" it. I need food, water, air, love and a strong sense of self or whatever else is on that pyramid scheme Abraham Maslow had going. I want this. But on a certain spiritual level, I need it too.

The two male celebrities who left the biggest impression on me photographed together. (Right click on the title and open in a new window.) This picture is so cool on so many levels for me. Where to start? David Cassidy was my first celebrity crush, a man whose looks back then make me ache for a time machine and a genie to grant me three wishes today. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been the epitome of discipline to me ever since I discovered bodybuilding in 1980.

How did they meet? I wonder if they are at Arnold's place here? Probably. It looks like a picture of Joe Weider on the wall. They could be at his buddy's place. The picture was taken in 1977, so in that post-PF, pre-Man Undercover, "low period". David looks a bit "mellow" here, no? Might have something to do with what's in the bottle Arnie's holding. Funny to see these two physical opposites next to each other. Cassidy doesn't look as small as one would expect next to the "Austrian Oak". Well, the camera does add ten pounds. ;-)

Thank you, Mr. Diltz, for another amazing photograph. Order your own print here.