Song:Cherish
Album:Could It Be Forever...The Greatest Hits
David Cassidy was best known as the star of the 70s sitcom The Partridge Family with his stepmom Shirley Jones. Because Cassidy did his own singing, Bell Records producer Wes Farrell spun Cassidy off as a solo act. The 1972 single Cherish was Cassidy's only top ten hit. He was born Apr. 12, 1950 in New York City. His parents were actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward. Because they were touring, Cassidy was raised by his maternal grandparents in West Orange, NJ. His dad married Shirley Jones in 1956 and they had three sons including Shaun Cassidy who was also a singing star. Cassidy moved to Los Angeles in 1969 and he landed The Partridge Family in 1970. Though the show was a big success, Cassidy did not enjoy working on it. Nor did he like the mass hysteria of being a teen idol. Not surprisingly, he wanted to record his own music. His debut solo album Cherish was released in 1972. The ironic thing was the album was produced by the same people who produced The Partridge Family records. Wes Farrell was the producer. Tony Romeo, who wrote I Think I Love You, wrote most of Cassidy's songs. And Los Angeles studio musician group The Wrecking Crew played on the record. So it's not surprising that fans didn't know The Partridge Family from David Cassidy. Cherish reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. That song was written by Terry Kirkman of The Association. It topped the charts in 1966. When Cassidy toured, he sang his own songs and Partridge Family songs. It all came to a head when a girl died in a crowd crush at a 1974 London concert. Cassidy decided to quit touring and The Partridge Family. This comp has solo and Partridge Family hits. He moved to RCA and his three albums did OK especially in England. He tried to get into TV with the Police Story spinoff David Cassidy: Man Undercover but the show was cancelled after one season. Cassidy next recorded in 1985. By this time he was doing mostly live theater. He recorded again in 1990. Cassidy seemed to come to grips with his teen idol stardom late in life. He did Q&A sessions at his shows. He admitted alcoholism in 2008. But then he was arrested twice for DUI. He collapsed at a recording studio in 2017 and Cassidy died of liver failure on Nov. 21, 2017 at age 67. Here's a video of Cherish by David Cassidy.
I still remember that TV show and watching as a child growing up. I later heard he hated doing that show. It's to bad, it was a good, fun show and the acting was good and there was talent and a good story-line. I heard about his alcoholism. I was not surprised, just very saddened to hear of what happened to him. I remember his work and singing. Rest in Peace David Cassidy.
ReplyDelete