From Chicago Sun-Times
'Partridge' ride still a hit with Cassidy

May 6, 2005


They drove around in that goofy school bus and wore those silly vests and frilly shirts. And beginning in 1970, "The Partridge Family" was one of the biggest prime-time hits on ABC. The show followed the exploits of a California family-turned-rock-band that traveled the country in a Rubik's Cube-colored school bus. The show starred Shirley Jones, David Cassidy (Jones' real-life stepson), Danny Bonaduce, Susan Dey and Dave Madden (as the family's manager). Their songs (though only Jones and Cassidy actually sang on the show) became real-life pop hits, and included "I Think I Love You," "Come On Get Happy" and "I Woke Up in Love This Morning."

"The Partridge Family: The Complete First Season" was released this week on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The three-disc set features all 25 episodes from the first season, plus bonuses including a special feature that lets the viewer instantly "jump to" the musical numbers in each show.

Cassidy, who was in Chicago recently for a weeklong stint at a guest DJ on WJMK-FM oldies radio, talked about life as a Partridge and a disc jockey.


Q. You have a great voice for radio.

A. Thank you so much. I have no experience in being a radio guy. I just wanted a chance to do my own show of sorts, to play my own music. I was so influenced by the music I heard on the radio back in the '60s.

Q. How excited are you about the DVD release?

A. It goes beyond anyone's expectations. I mean, the show is known around the world. I was just an actor/musician playing it and I didn't realize how it actually changed the lives of many people who watched it and listened to the music. When you sell 25 million records and you're not even a real band, there's a reason for that.

Q. What was the show like in the beginning?

A. That first year, the network just looked at the script for the pilot and decided they loved it, and we didn't even have a series mapped out. The description of my character was so bland: 16-year-old guitar player, lead singer who fixes the bus. I mean, there are shows in the beginning where I had four lines. It wasn't until the second and third years that the writers locked in on what they wanted the show to be.

Q. How difficult was it for you to separate the careers of Keith Partridge and David Cassidy?

A. Midway through the first season, I was playing stadiums, arenas, baseball stadiums. It was me out there playing the Partridge stuff as well as the rock music that really mattered to me. I was the only one on the show who was working after everyone else went home. I was in the studio until midnight and playing concerts on the weekends.

Q. What's the coolest tidbit about "The Partridge Family" music?

A. "I Think I Love You" became one of the top five selling singles of all time. And the first three Partridge Family albums went triple platinum. That translates into 10 or 15 millions copies apiece. I'm terribly proud of that.

Miriam Di Nunzio

From Chicago Sun-Times.