Died On This Date (November 21, 2017) David Cassidy / Former Teen Idol
themusicsover David Cassidy
April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017
David Cassidy, who became one of the biggest teen idols of the ’70s passed away after being hospitalized with kidney and liver failure. He was 67. Born into a show business family – his father was actor and singer Jack Cassidy, his mother, actress, Evelyn Ward – Cassidy began his career as a stage actor. He made his Broadway debut when he was just 18. At 20, he was offered the superstar-making role of Keith Partridge, on a new television show musical comedy that was loosely based on real life family pop band, the Cowsills. His stepmother, Shirley Jones who his father married after divorcing Cassidy’s mother, played his mother on the show. The program was hugely popular, and Cassidy – who played the band’s front man, quickly became a teen idol around the world. During the course of the show, the Partridge Family released eight studio albums and several compilations and singles. Cassidy and Jones, backed by session players, were the only cast members on those recordings. Their single, “I Think I Love You,” reached number one on the Billboard Singles Chart in August of 1970. What followed for Cassidy were countless magazine covers, concerts in front of 30,000+ screaming fans, and television appearances across every network. His solo albums during the mid- to late-70s even outsold those by the Partridge Family. Unfortunately for Cassidy, he wanted to be seen as a true rock star in the vein of Mick Jagger, but his adoring fans wouldn’t let him escape his bubble-gum teen idol image. While the hysteria eventually died off, Cassidy continued to record, perform live, and act in one form or another for the rest of his life. In his final years, he continued to endear himself to his most loyal fans, by adding question and answer segments at the end of his concerts.
What You Should Own
Barbara Cowsill was the performing mother of the Cowsills, the real life inspiration of The Partridge Family. The family began playing together in the late ’50s and began making records in 1965. In 1967, the group was signed to MGM Records and Barbara joined her children in time to record their first album. The album included the single, “The Rain, The Park and Other Things” which climbed to #2 on the pop charts and sold in the neighborhood of three million copies. Over the next few years, the group scored million-selling hits with “Indian Lake” and “Hair.” In 1969, the family were offered their own sitcom playing themselves, but that the part of Barbara would be played by actress, Shirley Jones. They declined the offer without Barbara, so the show was re-cast and re-christened The Partride Family. Since the ’70s, the group has continued to peform and record in various forms. Barbara Cowsill passed away from emphysema on January 31, 1985. She had been a heavy smoker since the age of 15.