Over the past several years we've had virtually nothing but bad news to report on the David Cassidy front. (Talk about your fallen idols!)
We've run story after story of his DUI arrests and convictions ... disappointing and belligerent live concert appearances ... even printed photos of his infamous mug shots ... his reputation and demeanor have been spiraling down the tubes for ages now ... and last week, when he appeared agitated and disoriented on a British talk show, stories started circulating that he had appeared drunk on the air.
I don't know that I believe this to be the case. From the onset you could tell he was having problems properly hearing the questions asked by the British news team assigned to handle the interview. And, in my opinion, based on the line of questioning, they absolutely went out there with the intent to rattle and "rubbish" him. (Scroll down to watch the full-length clip. As one FH Reader wrote in, "Everybody loves a trainwreck.") Cassidy reacted accordingly, letting (as Cyndi Lauper would say) his true colors come shining through ... which is NEVER a pretty sight. The reason this went as big virally as it did is because the public has come to love seeing Cassidy portrayed in an unflattering light.
I would hope that David would be smart enough not to appear intoxicated live on camera while still serving out his probationary rehab sentence ... but as he himself has publicly explained it, alcoholism is a disease. I think what we witnessed was more a case of the long-term effect that this affliction has had on his body and his mind over the years. When I saw him a few months ago, he looked skeletal ... not even alive. He hasn't aged well and this addiction has clearly taken its toll on him physically and mentally. (Some bad plastic surgery hasn't helped his situation either!) It's sad really ... he spent most of his life downplaying the importance of his teen idol status ... and yet now he seems to be sorely lacking the love, affection and attention it afforded him for so many years.
That being said, (and being fully aware of his condition ... and the compromised position it puts him in every time he drinks too much) MY biggest problem with all of this is that Cassidy would even consider getting behind the wheel of a car to drive himself home. Learn your lesson ... you're in no position (or condition) to make this type of a decision ... hire a driver! If your disease gets the better of you, DON'T DRIVE!!! Get somebody else to take you home. And then get some help ... some counseling ... some therapy ... because the years you've already spent doing so still haven't solved the problem. Your inner demons are stronger than ANYTHING else you've learned about yourself and your affliction. Acknowledge this ... and then DO something about it! Each and every time you get behind the wheel of a car in this condition, you jeopardize the lives of every other innocent motorist you may come in contact with.
David was devastated when a fan was crushed to death at one of his concerts in the early '70's ... he had a very tough time getting over the fact that a young girl who adored him and had come out just to see him perform should lose her life this way.
My feeling is that David needs to conjure up the feelings of that horrific experience again and not even THINK about EVER getting behind the wheel of a car again if he's been drinking. Being fully aware of his own illness and the consequences of driving in this condition, making the conscious decision to get behind the wheel anyway is, in my opinion, akin to going out on a reckless murder spree and opening up random fire in a crowd of hundreds of people as there is no way in knowing just how many lives he might endanger when doing so. The very fact that he has been arrested multiple times while driving intoxicated elevates him to serial killer / mass murderer status ... and he needs to recognize this. It's just plain dumb. (For whatever reason, this seems to be a recurring nightmare for Cassidy ... scarier still: how many times HASN'T he been stopped while driving intoxicated?!?! The prospect is staggering.)
Here is our plea ... DON'T DO IT!!! THINK!!! You've been up and down your entire career ... and you're going thru a tough time again right now due to the divorce ... which means you may not be in the right frame of mind to be thinking clearly. STEP BACK!!! Evaluate. Don't risk your own life and the lives of others simply to numb your own internal pain.
"The Higher They Climb The Harder They Fall"??? Yep, that's you in a nutshell. FIX THIS!!!
DAVID CASSIDY: THE GLORY YEARS
Here, '60's Flashback style, is a piece we did on David Cassidy several years ago (2004 to be exat!) as part of our '70's Teen Idol Series ...
We asked some of the women on the list to describe some of the memories surrounding their earliest teenage crushes. Let's face it, many of you were ten years old (or even younger!) when you plastered DAVID's or DONNY's or LEIF's or ANDY's posters on your bedroom walls ... yet there was something about them that turned you on ... musically and physically. I'm not really sure that you could have even understood the physical part of the reaction at such an early age ... most girls on the list said that they simply wanted to MARRY their heart-throb ... it wasn't really a sexual urge as much as a need to feel that he belonged to only you. (LOL)
Being a guy, I never really understood it ... we didn't have those same types of crushes. Sure, back then we debated many of the same things that we continue to debate in FH ... who was hotter: GINGER or MARY-ANN ... SAMANTHA or JEANNIE ... WILMA or BETTY ... and, I WILL admit to having a special fondness for NANCY SINATRA's SUGAR TOWN album cover ... and maybe HERB ALPERT's WHIPPED CREAM Cover, too. (We've certainly shown THAT one a time or two here in Forgotten Hits!)
It seemed different for you girls, 'though. I've had women tell me that they used to kiss their DAVID CASSIDY poster good night every night ... they'd make-out with their pillow, pretending it was DONNY OSMOND ... and, based on the cold harsh realities of life, these are girls who would have been about eight or nine years old at the time they were doing this! One woman said she spent her early adult years looking for someone who had "DAVID CASSIDY's lips" and a young black girl (who would have been about eight when THE BEATLES first hit our shores) was absolutely convinced that SHE would marry GEORGE HARRISON ... without any logical consideration of age, race or probability ... she truly, truly believed it.
It seemed different for you girls, 'though. I've had women tell me that they used to kiss their DAVID CASSIDY poster good night every night ... they'd make-out with their pillow, pretending it was DONNY OSMOND ... and, based on the cold harsh realities of life, these are girls who would have been about eight or nine years old at the time they were doing this! One woman said she spent her early adult years looking for someone who had "DAVID CASSIDY's lips" and a young black girl (who would have been about eight when THE BEATLES first hit our shores) was absolutely convinced that SHE would marry GEORGE HARRISON ... without any logical consideration of age, race or probability ... she truly, truly believed it.
So this week, we're going to try to dig a little deeper into just what fueled these urges ... and we hope that some of you will share your memories and crushes with us, too. Along the way, we'll look at some of the most popular teen idols of the time and hear some long-since overlooked bubblegum pop.
Today's feature was written by FH list member JACK'S TROPHY WIFE (Laura), who not only made it through the '70's TEEN IDOL craze and lived to tell about it but also buys, sells, trades and collects old 16 MAGAZINES ... and all OTHER types of rock-related magazines ... with her hubby, JACKJ13. Thanks for the inspiration ... we hope you'll enjoy some of the other comments as well!
David Cassidy, Rock Me Baby, circa October 1972.
Today's feature was written by FH list member JACK'S TROPHY WIFE (Laura), who not only made it through the '70's TEEN IDOL craze and lived to tell about it but also buys, sells, trades and collects old 16 MAGAZINES ... and all OTHER types of rock-related magazines ... with her hubby, JACKJ13. Thanks for the inspiration ... we hope you'll enjoy some of the other comments as well!
David Cassidy, Rock Me Baby, circa October 1972.
THIS 45 spent a lot of time on my older sister's Close & Play, especially during our marathon dance sessions on the front porch. (We were too young to be embarrassed dancing on our front porch, after dark, with the porch light on, on the main highway of a small town. At least I was; perhaps she should have known better.) According to his autobiography (which I no longer own, because someone ran off with it, so I cannot give you an exact quote), David was horrified to learn that his vocals on Partridge Family songs were speeded up to make his voice higher and thus theoretically less threatening and more appealing to young girls. Fortunately for those of us dying to be threatened by our teen idols, David eventually released this solo (correct speed) number, a delicious shock. This wasn't the David of the old days who told us to come on and get happy. THIS David was a midnight man!
---Jack's Trophy Wife / Laura
---Jack's Trophy Wife / Laura
DAVID CASSIDY was the consummate teen idol ... at one time, he was getting more fan mail than THE BEATLES at their peak. Between constant television exposure through THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY and solo concert tours on the weekends, he may have TRULY been the hardest-working-man-in-show-business, despite what JAMES BROWN says!
Between his hits with his stepmom SHIRLEY JONES and their fictitious PARTRIDGE FAMILY and his solo smashes, CASSIDY hit the Pop Top 40 a dozen times between 1970 and 1972, topping the charts with I THINK I LOVE (1970) and DOESN'T SOMEBODY WANT TO BE WANTED (1971) and scoring Top Ten Hits with I'LL MEET YOU HALFWAY (#2, 1971), I WOKE UP IN LOVE THIS MORNING (#9, 1971) and CHERISH (#3, 1971).
According to a "Fact Sheet" he filled out for 16 MAGAZINE back in January of 1970, his favorite singing group was THE BEATLES (he covered their PLEASE PLEASE ME and hit The British Top 20 with it), his favorite individual singer was ANTHONY NEWLEY, his favorite TV Show was LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE, his favorite actor was MARLON BRANDO and his favorite food was lobster. He likes "girls who are bright ... I can't stand dumb girls" and he dislikes "plastic people."
(And all this time you thought it was
DONNY who had the PUPPY LOVE!!!)
CASSIDY continues to wow them live in concert ... in fact, he finally c'mon and got happy a few years ago and now performs most of his solo and PARTRIDGE FAMILY hits in their original arrangements. A live concert DVD and Greatest Hits CD have both been released in the past year ... pretty amazing since DAVID spent nearly two decades denouncing the whole KEITH PARTRIDGE connection. (His infamous ROLLING STONE "Naked Lunchbox" cover pretty much told all his female fans, 13 and under, that he really was a "Rocker" and was having sex with any willing "of age" follower! He goes into much greater and graphic detail in his autobiography, C'MON, GET HAPPY ... listing many of his sexcapades)
The music that LAURA selected for today is CASSIDY's 1972 rocker-image attempt, ROCK ME BABY, a #26 pop hit in Cash Box Magazine. (Track posted above)
We've also added one of his prettier solo ballads as well ... COULD IT BE FOREVER went to #15 in Cash Box the same year ... and was a #5 smash here in Chicago.
We've also added one of his prettier solo ballads as well ... COULD IT BE FOREVER went to #15 in Cash Box the same year ... and was a #5 smash here in Chicago.
ok you asked for it ...
In the early 70's, when I was no more than 4 or 5, it was David Cassidy, ALL the way! I had a real thing for the Partridge family ... used to pretend that they were my family ... I wanted Keith to be my older brother! I even begged my mom to buy me a corduroy maroon pant suit (couldn't find velvet) with a frilly blouse underneath the vest, so that I could dress like them.
Mary Ruth
What was it?
Lawdy! That's easy!
Hormones, of course! lol
AuntyBellum
What was it?
Lawdy! That's easy!
Hormones, of course! lol
AuntyBellum
16 CONNECTION: DAVID CASSIDY first began appearing in 16 MAGAZINE back in the late '60's ... editor GLORIA STAVERS sensed that he had teen-idol sex appeal after catching his appearances on television dramas like BONANZA and IRONSIDE ... a year and a half before THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY made its television debut. Once that series became a teen hit, CASSIDY grabbed the headline banner of 16 MAGAZINE for every issue released between January and October of 1971! (The next 15 issues seemed to rotate between CASSIDY and newcomer DONNY OSMOND!)
