Shawn Cassidy--That's Rock and Roll (1977)

     Shawn Cassidy is known, much like his half-brother David (they shared the same Dad, Jack Cassidy, while Shirley Jones was his Mother) as 70's teen idols. However, that was the about the only similarity. Shawn had what would be considered a "normal" teen idol trajectory: the music came first, then other doors opened. David's early career would have been more akin to Davy Jones, in that the music was created FOR television as well as radio.
     Also, as much as Shawn loved music, the acting bug bit early. (he used to beg his mom to get a spot part on 'The Partridge Family', but she refused citing that he needed to focus on his studies), Since he never had to burden being typecast ala Keith Partridge, when he won the gig to play in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, people saw it a novelty, but the transition was a smooth one. In fact, the show outlasted his life on the music charts.
       This opened up more opportunities to act and in 1980-81 he was cast in the show, "Breaking Away". For most of the 80's and into the 90's, he followed the path of his parents, spending most of his time on the stage. Since the mid-90's however, he has concentrated on writing and producing for television for shows like, "American Gothic", "Invasion", and "Blue Bloods".
     "That's Rock and Roll" was his second hit in the late summer of 1977, and the first of two written by ex-Raspberries front man Eric Carman (the other one was Cassidy's next hit, "Hey Deanie").

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David Cassidy--Cherish (1971)

     For the last 20 years, David Cassidy has done a lot. Recording, some TV, but just like his dad, Jack Cassidy, stage acting is where he has made his name.....

      If your under the age of 40.

      If you are over 40  no matter how hard you may try, he will be Keith Partridge. The star-maker machinery of television did such a good job of marketing, that it's virtually impossible to separate the two. If you think it's hard for you to do that...just think how hard it was for him to escape it. In fact, he couldn't, and never seemed to make peace with it as until he embraced that character, and went in another direction artistically.

     But looking at it with more of a critical eye, it's easy to see that as good as his singles were (solo and with The Partridge Family), he had a charisma on the screen that went far beyond his singing talent. In fact, when he was hired on in 1970, no one knew he could even sing. Before they went into the recording studio, he talked music director Wes Farrell into letting him try out for lead singer spot.

     "Cherish" was a hit for The Association in 1966, and was Cassidy's first solo single. In the previous year, The Partridge Family had 4 hit singles, and three hit albums. David's first outing reached #9 and was his only top 20 hit. It's always interesting to think what would have happened if he had not been typecast. On one hand, he might have been the rock singer he thought he wanted to be, but it's pretty certain that he wouldn't have had the success, which eventually led him down the road to find his true calling.

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Happy Birthday to David Cassidy

I've been doing this blog almost every day for 4 months now without ever resorting to ask the question, "what would my readers want to see?". Oldies music is such a broad subject, that I figured that whatever I wrote about...it would be read. This morning there are two birthdays that caught my eye. One was Tiny Tim, the folk singer who's, "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" was a hit in the late 60's.....and then I see the other and quickly cave to what I know will be a much more popular blog....shame on me.

The debate among middle school girls in the early 70's was, "David Cassidy or Donny Osmond". I never fully understood (until much later) why Michael Jackson wasn't in the debate, but was always amused how little talent entered into the equation. Of course, from the early 60's till now, talent had little to do in the "teen idol" star maker machinery. The story of David Cassidy was one of who wanted to go the path of a rock musician, but followed the door (Television) that was open to him. Unfortunately, the "machinery" behind the door almost ate him alive, but as opposed to many teen idols, he re-invented himself and has enjoyed a long and fruitful career as an actor/singer.

As we look back 40 years we see that the actual music of The Partridge Family and David Cassidy has held up incredibly well. Much like the Monkees, they were made for TV, but the music written was top notch pop. What separated them from the other TV groups was the fact that Cassidy was a true charismatic figure who not only looked good on the screen, but had a great voice. In interviews I've seen over the years, he has come to peace over who he was, and who he is now which is always great to see....so those of us on the Bus which him a great 61st birthday. And....we'll have that blog about Tiny Tim soon....I promise....:--)

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