In Memory David Cassidy In the 1970s

David Cassidy was born in 1950 and died in November 2017 after multiple organ failures and the onset of dementia. David was one of the biggest global stars in the 1970s after fnding fame in the cult USA TV show The Partridge Family.

The TV show not only made him a teen heartthrob as a good looking actor, but the show allowed him to prove his singing credentials too.


The show proved popular, but the fame had its toll on several, if not most, of the starring cast. In the midst of his rise to fame, David Cassidy soon felt stifled by the show and trapped by the mass hysteria surrounding his every move. In May 1972, he appeared nude on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in a cropped Annie Leibovitz photo. He used the article to get away from his squeaky clean image. Among other things, the article mentions Cassidy was riding around New York in the back of a car "stoned and drunk."

Once "I Think I Love You" became a hit, Cassidy began work on solo albums, as well. Within the first year, he had produced his own single, "Cherish" (from the album of the same title), which reached number nine in the United States, number two in the United Kingdom, and number one in Australia and New Zealand. He began tours that featured Partridge tunes and his own hits. Though he wanted to become a respected rock musician along the lines of Mick Jagger, his channel to stardom launched him into the ranks of teen idol, a brand he loathed until much later in life, when he managed to come to terms with his bubblegum pop beginnings.

Publicity photo for The Partridge Family, 1972

Ten albums by The Partridge Family and five solo albums were produced during the series, with most selling more than a million copies each. Internationally, Cassidy's solo career eclipsed the already phenomenal success of The Partridge Family. He became an instant drawcard with sellout concert successes in major arenas around the world. These concerts produced mass hysteria, resulting in the media coining the term "Cassidymania".




 By way of example, he played to two sellout crowds of 56,000 each at the Houston Astrodome in Texas over one weekend in 1972. His concert in New York's Madison Square Garden sold out in one day and resulted in riots after the show.^] His concert tours of the United Kingdom included sellout concerts at Wembley Stadium in 1973 In Australia in 1974, the mass hysteria was such that calls were made to have him deported from the country, especially after the madness at his 33,000-person audience concert at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

As part of the TV show family, he had several big US and UK hits. I Think I Love You reached number 18 in the UK in in 1970,followed in 1972 by a No. 11 hit called Its One Of Those Nights (Yes Love)  and the Neil Sedaka cover Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, which reached No.3. Another cover Looking Trough The Eyes Of Love also reached the top ten in 1972.

David was too big to stay in the show and became a huge solo star, making him the slightly naughty teen heartthrob, compared to the Donny Osmond and Michael Jackson teen stars at the same time.

1972 saw David had his first solo UK hit with Could It Be Forever getting to the Number 2 position.The next single also a hit in 1972 went to the top position in the UK charts. How Can I Be Sure written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, and originally recorded by The Young Rascals on their 1967 album Groovin'.

David was now a superstar at the very highest level. However, the next single only reached No.11and was called Rock Me Baby. 

In 1973 he would have his best year with hit singles starting with a No.3 hit I Am A Clown with the B side called Some Kind Of A Summer.

The big No.1 was Daydreamer. Written by Terry Dempsey and produced by Rick Jarrard, "Daydreamer" was Cassidy's second and final No.1 single in the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top of the chart in October and November 1973. The song was a double-A side with a cover version of Harry Nilsson's "The Puppy Song" on the B-side. The single was the 10th best selling single in the UK in 1973.

The song also appears on David Cassidy's 1973 UK No.1 album Dreams Are Nuthin' More Than Wishes.

David Cassidy on NATIONWIDE IN 1972,

David Cassidy it this week documentary clip

David on BLUE PETER in 1972

More hits followed in 1974 with the No. 9 hit If I Didn't Care and the Beatles cover of Please Please Me. 

1975 gave David a No.11 hit with a cover of the Barry Manilow  hit song I Write The Songs , which was written by Bruce Johnston who was a former member of The Beach Boys. His last big chart hit in the 1970s was Darlin.

David Cassidy annual 1974

In the 1970s David Cassidy

In the 70’s teen-idol stakes you were either a David or Donny type of girl (I’m given to understand after talking to my sister!). In our family it was David who ruled as demonstrated by my sister’s multitude of posters and hogging of the TV whenever he was singing about daydreaming or puppies or whether something could be for ever. Thirty years on I can also admit to liking him but obviously at the time I insisted I was only watching the TV waiting for Pan’s People. David was born into show business and was launched into the pop world via The Partridge Family.

In the sitcom he was in a singing group alongside Shirley Jones (his real life stepmother) and Susan Dey. I don’t remember much of the shows because I spent most of my time looking at Susan Dey’s legs (I was a growing boy) but they launched The Partridge Family into the real recording world with David on vocals.


 As to be expected, the run of hits corresponded with the airing of the show from ’70 to ’73, their biggest success being a number 3 with “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”. David Cassidy was however destined for bigger things than just being the singer in a television based show and was launched as a solo artist, alongside working with The Partridge Family, in 1971 – with his looks and singing ability coupled with well written songs and corporate merchandising he was a teen idol in waiting. He didn’t have to wait too long for the adulation to find him and in April 1972 he had his first hit with “Could It Be Forever”.

   

With a subsequent string of hit singles (“How Can I Be Sure”, “Daydreamer” for example) and sold-out tours (complete with requisite screaming fans and tabloid headlines) it seemed nothing could go wrong in his career. Obviously such a statement always precedes something negative and here it was the fans need to be near David. 

At a concert in May 1974 at White City a rush to the stage caused a number of fans to be hospitalised and killed one 14 year old. Whilst there were a couple of hits after this David’s time on the teen idol bandwagon had come to an end. David Cassidy had never intended to be ‘just’ a teen idol and fell back on his acting abilities when the pop charts no longer beckoned, receiving an Emmy nomination in 1978 and appearing on Broadway in the early ‘80s. Finally in 1985 he returned to the charts for the last time with “The Last Kiss”.
In 1972 David had a top twenty hit with Rock Me and in 1973 he had a No.3 double A side with I am a Clown and Some Kind of Summer.

1974 gave  us two top ten hits with If I Didnt Care and the Beatles cover of Please Please Me.

Even in 1975 he had more chart hits with the amazing I Write the Songs and Darlin.

In 2017 he retired from performing, owing to onset of Dementia.

David died  in 2017 aged 67.

Here is David in 1972 being interviewed on the BBC show Nationwide.