How cool is this?

Worth it to watch the whole thing but Mr. Cassidy's solo starts around the 5:54 mark. Don't you just love how the term "teen idol" was never mentioned in the intros? And there were two bona fide teen idols on that stage. Respect.

I'm back with news...

for any of my Canadian readers who subscribe to the channel "Vision TV". Tune in tonight at 10 pm for their show "Unscripted". Seems our man of interest is the featured guest. Was this posted on his Facebook page? It's not on his website nor mentioned anywhere else save for that channel's site and in online TV listings. Thank you Google Alerts for this bit of news today. Wish I could have given more advance notice but I suppose we should be thankful I didn't receive the alert tomorrow. (To be fair to Google, I haven't checked all my alerts yet - hey, I really needed the break - it could have been flagged before today.) If anyone does watch the show, please report :) It might be possible to view online - I'll update this entry with a link, if so.

Hope you had a nice Easter.

Sounds like....?

r-r-r-ip??

Clodyne has uploaded the clip that generated this screen capture. Even though I'm not a fan of David Cassidy's blond period, his charismatic energy and voice here keep me glued to my screen. And yes, I'd feel the same way if his jeans were two sizes bigger. ;-)

Incidentally, this show is one instance where he is simply introduced as David Cassidy, actor and singer, with a plug for his current or upcoming projects. No mention is made of The Partridge Family or his teen idol reign. If I had come across this show back then, almost ten years past my crush on Keith Partridge, I'm not sure I would have recognized him. (Apologies if I'm repeating myself - I may have mentioned this at one point but can't find it in my entries. Might have been in comments.)

Light Comedic Acting, You Say?

Recognize anyone in this John Laroquette Show clip? How about in this one? He did the music for the show's opening theme as well. Crazy thing is I used to watch this show and I remember the bottled water scene. How did it not register who I was seeing? I, assiduous reader of show credits, missed this?! I swear, the nineties must be to me what the sixties are to hippies: a lost decade.

Just a Great Little Interview

Thanks to Clodyne for this 1990 clip. David is promoting his "David Cassidy" album and looking mighty fine doing it (oh, just shoot me for noticing). What's not to love here? He answers the questions concisely, is self-deprecating AND gracious to boot.

What the heck was I doing at the turn of that decade to have missed this?!

(Don't forget: you can double-click the video and get to YouTube if you want to leave a comment on that video.)

A Sliver of Hope...Maybe Someday

Here's some behind the scene footage from the Partridge Family reunion on the Today show. The four really look at ease around each other. It reminds me of my 10 year (cough, cough) high school reunion not long ago. Hadn't seen these friends in a decade (cough, cough) but once the usual questions were asked and answered, we were all sixteen again. One still looked it. That was freaky. And here's one popular blog entry that views the cast reunion from the whole "everyone is getting older" perspective.

I've read that lots of people are talking about this reunion. True? If so, there's still a sliver of hope that it will trigger another wave of fans "re-discovering" The Partridge Family and subsequently, David Cassidy's solo work (as it happened for me and most regular readers here). It's really only a sliver of hope because so far, everything I've come across on the 'net is pretty superficial. Will people ever get past the cast's looks and ITILY to discover David Cassidy's actual talent? Maybe Someday ;-)




From the Partridge Family Notebook album.

They Came, They Sat, They Conquered

Did we learn anything new? No. Did everyone play nice? Yes. Me happy. You happy?

Missed the grand Partridge Family reunion? Video here.

Thanks to Barbara-Just David for the podcast link to Danny's radio show if you want to hear him call in his radio show from the Today set. Listen at the beginning of the 5AM for the radio hosts talking about the reunion. Danny's first call begins at 6AM, second call at 7AM and his last call in is at the 30 minute mark of the 8AM section. (I confess: I still haven't finished listening to these.)

I knew the "post-mortems" on the show would be a lot funnier than anything on Today. This article is funny but the comments are even funnier. Might update this entry if I can find something else worthy amongst the robot-generated blog entries Google regurgitates.

Actually, I'm surprised at the number of snarkier than snark comments about the show's lameness. Has the public become so hip and cynical that they have to spit on the stuff they held dear as kids? (just realized I've used regurgitates and spit in the same post - is there a theme here?)

A lot of the "articles" make big news of Susan Dey's absence. Terrible wastes of keystrokes - I won't even link to them as I'm sure you all have better things to read. ;-)

Doomed, I tell you.

Thanks to Clodyne for spotting this clip on YT and sharing it with me. It's not about DC but you'll forgive me because he looks great here AND he laughs. Serious ear candy, that laugh. Alas, if only his laughs were pig snorts, we'd be spared this "interest" in him, I'm sure. But no, his laugh is as endearing as those dimples of his. Damn. We were so doomed to fall for him.

Questions you WON'T hear during the Partridge Family reunion

Long-time fans of The Partridge Family know all the answers to the questions that will be asked during next Tuesday's cast reunion on the Today show. It's the answers to the questions that will NEVER be asked that we want!

Seeing as a few of you got the ball rolling in my previous post's comments, here's the idea spun off into its separate entry. In the spirit of good fun (that might verge on bad taste) and in the tradition of David Letterman's top ten lists, here are the TOP TEN Partridge Family questions that will never get asked:

10.Who is getting compensated for appearing on the Today show?

9. Which cast members are profiting from current Partridge Family CD and DVD sales?

8. How much does David think his autograph on Partridge Family memorabilia is worth on eBay? (thanks, Racehorses)

7. Was David "intimate" with any of the three Charlie's Angels who guest starred on the show?

6. Danny keeps mentioning David's hair plugs on his radio show: could we get a close up and take a moment to mourn Keith Partridge's hair?

5. Does David regret revealing his intimate encounter with Susan Dey in his autobiographies?

4. Is it true that previously unreleased songs from the show aren't available on CD because David is asking too much money?

3. Why do David's recent concert press bios state that "HE ALONE" was responsible for seven chart-topping Partridge Family hits?

2. Did Shirley ever have the hots for her stepson and vice-versa?

1. Does David want to be remembered for The Partridge Family or was that then and this is now?

(Joking aside, is Danny seeing a specialist about that perpetual frog in his throat?! It sounds like real bad news. As in take your vitamins religiously and get a throat and chest X-ray every six months bad news. :( )

Who wants to bet that these are the top five questions we WILL hear:

1. Did you ever think that people would still care about The Partridge Family forty years after its debut?
2. Do you mind that you're remembered first and foremost for the show?
3. When you signed on, did you know it was going to be a hit?
4. How did it feel to be adulated that way?
5. What's your fondest memory of the show?

Here's what I will probably email the show:

Longtime fans have seen all the Partridge Family bios so there isn't much mystery left. We want to know the current and upcoming projects of this talented cast. Can we expect any new ORIGINAL recordings from David Cassidy? Also, a lot of his concert-going fans would love to hear him perform material from those three solo RCA albums he did in the mid-seventies.

This year does mark the fortieth anniversary of The Partridge Family's debut on television. Not sure if this cast appearance on the Today show will serve as a proper reunion but it can serve as a memory trigger for those fans who've lost touch with the cast or didn't realize that all four seasons of the show were now available on DVD.

Critics be damned, no other TV show triggers such an immediate feel-good response in me than does The Partridge Family. The show connects me instantly to shiny happy childhood memories and for that, my heart says thank you to the whole cast and crew.

The Partridge Family - What do you want to know?

Next week, NBC's Today Show will reunite some cast members from television's greatest families, including The Partridge Family. If you think there's something left to be discovered about the PF (really?!), you can email the show your question and it might get featured.

Now, you'll note that the Today site says the PF will appear on Tuesday, March 3 but next Tuesday is March 2. In his most recent post, Scott at C'mon Get Happy says that the show is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2. To be on the safe side, record Tuesday's show. ;-) And yes, DC is scheduled to appear. Imagine that.

Will the Real David Cassidy Please Stand Up?

Self-awareness and self-deprecation: killer combo. Could he be any more irresistible? Compare the David Cassidy in this interview to the one on that Dallas morning show last week (video embedded in my February 6 post). What a difference twenty years make.

Sure Looks Sincere, Doesn't He?

Guess they underestimated his acting talent.



Can anyone tell me what the frig John Lennon had to do with the question? Aside from the random "John Lennon was my BFF, now do you believe I'm cool?!" factor.

Who else is hoping the über-fan dinner guest regales the DC fandom with her meeting come Sunday morning? Who doesn't give a flying fig?

And here's my open letter to David Cassidy, because, well, you saw the video too:

David, I'm so, so, sorry I lost track of you all these years. You hate me because I dropped you like a hot potato, but what did I know? I was twelve. Your show had already been off the air for over four years - I discovered you through reruns, for pete's sake! There were no Partridge Family albums left in the stores when my mother did her Christmas shopping - all she could find for me was "The World of the Partridge Family". But you could have tried harder to reach us, no? You had these great RCA albums you could have hawked. (I was still too young to watch "Police Story".) I'm so sorry I was a fair weather fan. I'm back now. I have seen the light: your voice was unparalleled (no offense but I have trouble saying "is" - you have to admit, it has declined in some respects) and I hate - not as much as you do, of course - that people don't credit your talent beyond being a heart throb. And we know that's not talent, that's genetics. So I'm doing what I can to right my wrongs: I'm blogging my little heart out to get the word out that you are talented and all that mania was deserved. It wasn't just hype. It was your talent and your charisma that shone through and touched us. I've been re-discovering your career for the past ten months now and have yet to tire of your albums (well, not all of them - a couple were crap on a disc, sorry).

But please, you have to do your part. You have to respect your fans enough to realize that we know how conflicted you are about that teen idol business. Don't pander to this overblown fake nostalgia bit and go on about how you love your fans for what they've given you (you went this route to promote "Ruby" and we all know how that turned out...wince.) The majority of us abandoned you! We gave you heartache. We made it so that casting agents didn't give you the time of day. We thought we were too cool for you. I'll even admit to some eye rolling when a friend reminded my teenage self of my young crush on you. "The Harder They Fall" indeed.

But now, I've seen the errors of my ways and I won't stand for anyone disrespecting you or The Partridge Family. Today, I am unapologetic in my stance: "the guy has his issues but he had one of the most beautiful male voices in popular music and he's recorded a sublime version of "Ain't No Sunshine"". I can rattle off your accomplishments almost as well as your hundreds of loyal fans who never abandoned you throughout the decades. I am a born again believer. I'm not alone either. Please. Trust us. No more of these uncomfortable interviews with fake fawning from "on-air personalities". We are above that.

While I'm at it, might as well ask you: can you make your records easier to obtain? I'm trying my darnedest to buy some of your albums but they are OUT OF PRINT. The online store showed stock, I clicked "buy" and waited and waited and waited and finally, I received an email advising me it was OUT OF PRINT and I was out of luck. And how about all those unreleased Partridge Family songs tucked away in vaults? Wouldn't it just be the bees' knees to release those gems for the 40th anniversary of the PF? One last thing: that movie coming up? Once it's wrapped and you're actively promoting it, can you NOT say it's the best work you've ever done? Cause that line is getting, like all of us, kind of old.

"Come on baby, let's start anew..."

"Strengthen My Love"

Catgil does it again ;-)

You know, this song's grown on me. I totally take back my comment about it having a low-budget naughty movie soundtrack vibe. I still think his singing is different in this song though - prefer his earlier stuff for sure - but love how he gives it his all in this performance. And dang, that hair.

Take a bow, sir.

Can I be any lazier with this blog? Oh, yeah, I'll just send you directly to Catgil2's YT channel and you can bypass me completely :) Admission: I have not watched this whole clip uninterrupted yet but that bow at the end? One of the most endearing things he does on stage. Perfect mix of pride and gratitude.

Thanks for sharing Catgil!!

Australian fans?

Seems rage on ABC1 had a retro show on January 16 that featured a 1976 interview with David Cassidy (the one from the Russell Harty show perhaps?). One fan left a thoughtful comment on rage's message board but that's pretty much the extent of my findings. I'd love to hear more about this interview. If anyone out there heard it, please share. Thanks!

Here's a drool-worthy 1976 performance from our person of interest. Thanks again to uploader extraordinaire Catgil. Let's keep specs on clip below quiet, lest it gets yanked once more, ok? ;-)

"I Am a Clown"

Here's another DC clip from the eighties - the whole decade was a bad dream, à la Dallas, ok? - thanks to Catgil2 for sharing. From his debut solo album "Cherish", "I am a Clown" could veer dangerously close to maudlin territory but Cassidy usually reins it in with his sincere delivery, no doubt accepting how accurately songwriter Tony Romeo described him with those lyrics. Even casual DC fans can recognize the bitter truth in the portrayal. In the 1973 concert performance captured in the "Weekend at Wembley" documentary, the line "Tell me you love me, make me real" gives me goosebumps. Here, his rendition is serviceable, hardly goosebump-inducing and I wonder if the pianist is playing at the right tempo or if it's a YT synchronization issue. The live clip from 1973 is embedded below - thanks to Scarpett for sharing.

Embarassingly Craptastic

There is just no way that I can get into this song. And this performance with the ghost of Romance past floating in the background is so embarrassing that I have to look away. The Romance album is dance/pop dreck of the highest order and I shall continue to skip over it as I appreciate David Cassidy's discography.

A Young Daydreamer

Here's a treat for you all. Clodyne, yet another eagle-eyed reader, shared this recently uploaded YT clip with me. Paying it forward, as a good fan should.

Is it me or is his disdain for the the song showing here? Brace yourself, for all is forgiven with that killer dimpled smile at 1:00. Yes, the show mucked up the title of the song as "Daydreaming" instead of "Daydreamer" and no, I have no flipping clue where this was filmed. On a ship at night? In a truck yard? As for that white suit, this clip is from 1974, so it is possible that this is the same suit he wore in that Partridge Family/My Three Sons Thanksgiving Special. And from the oohs and aahs at the end, I wouldn't be surprised if he were singing this live.

Passionate resolutions

It's the end of another year. Feel any older? After reading the text below, you might feel just plain old. Someone forwarded me this un-credited list recently - it's probably appeared in your mailbox too by now - and I modified it slightly.

The people who are starting university this year were born in 1991.
They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
The compact disc was introduced eight years before they were born.
They have always had an answering machine.
They have always had email.
They have always had cell phones.
They have always had the Internet.
They have always had VCRs and video cameras.
They have always had cable.
They never swam in the ocean and thought about Jaws.
They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

Now do you feel old? Sorry about that.

Anyway, my point with all this? Time flies. Spend what you can of it on what thrills you. If you don't know what thrills you (besides David, of course), I hope that you find it in the New Year.

Here's David wishing us passion.

Don't let the time fool ya
It's got a way of slippin by
If you let it it's gonna rule ya
And leave you high and dry
It's too easy to get lazy
If you don't use what you got
It might even drive you crazy
So get up and move and get hot

-"On Fire", written by David Cassidy and Bill House

"Winter Wonderland"

The man certainly can do justice to a tux. Too bad he lightened his hair though. He looks striking with dark brown hair; borders on ordinary with lighter hair. Hmm. Could that have been the goal?



Jones and Cassidy sounded different in "The Partridge Family" version, didn't they? I do believe it is Shirley Jones on lead here.