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.