Saturday, September 19, 2015

David Cassidy

DAVID CASSIDY TODAY:

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. 

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.

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



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.



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

 
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!)

 

Friday, September 18, 2015

Top 10 On This Date ... In 1968

Here's the way Billboard Magazine ranked 'em on September 18, 1968 ... 

10.  Hey Jude - The Beatles  
First week in The Hot 100 and already a Top Ten Hit!  Two weeks later it would top the chart ... (Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA" delayed that journey by a week) ... where it would stay for the next nine consecutive weeks, easily becoming the biggest hit of the year.  Clearly still a popular track ... it topped Ron Smith's OldiesMusic.com Labor Day 500 for the 7th time ... out of 14 charts ... a couple of weeks ago ... and remains the biggest hit of The Beatles' career

 9. Hello, I Love You - The Doors
A catchy tune by Morrison and Company that topped The Billboard Chart for a couple of weeks in early August

 8. Hush - Deep Purple  
These hard rockers took a Billy Joe Royal pop hit, fuzzed it up and scored a Top Five Hit.  It would remain their biggest chart success until 1973 when "Smoke On The Water" went all the way to #2



 7. You're All I Need To Get By - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell  
One of eleven hits by this Motown duo.  Two years later, Tammi would be gone.  By the end of 1968, you'd find Marvin Gaye on top of the charts with the biggest hit of his career, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine".

 6. The House That Jack Built - Aretha Franklin
Back in the day when Billboard used to chart both sides of the same single separately, this side made The Top Ten in September of '68.  It actually out-performed its flipside, "I Say A Little Prayer", yet THAT'S the one you hear on the radio all these years later.  "The House That Jack Built"???  Not so much.




 5. 1, 2, 3 Red Light - The 1910 Fruitgum Company
We got a chance to visit with Frank Jeckell of The 1910 Fruitgum Company a couple of weeks ago when the group performed here in Chicago at The Arcada Theatre.  1968 was a very big year for bubblegum music ... and this one of the biggest hits of that genre.




 4. Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
A Summer Anthem ... and, without a doubt, one of the most popular and longest lasting hits of the '60's.  Counter-culture back in the day ... but good old rock and roll some 47 years later.

 3. Light My Fire - Jose Feliciano
We already caught The Doors at #9 with their latest, "Hello, I Love You".  Here, Jose Feliciano takes a completely different spin on The Doors' first chart-topping hit "Light My Fire".  You rarely hear THIS one anymore either.




 2. Harper Valley P.T.A. - Jeannie C. Riley
It would top the chart the following week.  This "novelty" hit made a quick run up the charts and remains one of those mystery One Hit Wonders all these years later.

 1. People Got To Be Free - The Rascals
No longer "Young", Felix Cavaliere and Company took a political stand with this one ... and it held down Billboard's #1 Spot for five straight weeks.



Here in Chicago on the recently renamed WLS Hit Parade, "Hey Jude" was already #1 (leaping from #20 the week before.)  Incredibly, it would only stay at #1 for a week, replaced a week later by "Fire" by The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown", who had a three week run at the top of the chart.    

In at #2 were The Beach Boys with "Do It Again", a bit of a "comeback" record for The Boys Of Summer.



The Ohio Express held down the #3 spot with "Down At Lulu's", a song we featured a few weeks back in Forgotten Hits.  (Toldja bubblegum was big in '68!)    

The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown were at #4 with the aforementioned "Fire", followed by The Who at #5 with "Magic Bus", The Beatles again at #6 with "Revolution", the flipside to "Hey Jude", the Don Fardon version of "Indian Reservation" at #7 (Paul Revere and the Raiders would top the chart with their version of this track three years later), the Aretha flipside "I Say A Little Prayer" holding down the #8 spot, "Hush" by Deep Purple at #9 and "My  Special Angel" by The Vogues at #10.



Biggest premier this wee on the Chicagoland Chart?  "Shapes Of Things To Come" by Max Frost and the Troopers, the VERY FIRST Forgotten Hit ever featured, over the long Thanksgiving Weekend in 1999.


Thursday, September 17, 2015

Thursday This And That

Can't wait to see Burton Cummings at The Arcada Theatre this Friday Night ...
He's sold out all three times he's played there ...
ALWAYS a great show (and Burton tells me the band is tighter than ever because they've been playing so much.)  Just a few seats left so you'd better act quickly if you want to catch this rock and roll legend live in concert.
Other upcoming shows at The Arcada:
Poco and Firefall - next Friday (9/25)
Ronnie Milsap - Sunday, 9/27
Neil Sedaka, October 4th
Los Lonely Boys, October 10th
Night Ranger, October 13th
Leon Russell, October 16th
Dave Mason, October 20th
Kansas, October 22nd and 23rd
Mickey Gilley, October 25th
Blood, Sweat and Tears, October 30th
Tanya Tucker, November 1st
Sheena Easton, November 6th
Johnny Rivers, November 14th
Christopher Cross, November 21st
America, November 28th
JUST ADDED:  Todd Rundgren, December 1st (now THERE'S somebody you don't often get a chance to see!!!)  Caught him with Ringo Starr a few years back and he was awesome!
Michael McDonald, December 5th  (Christmas Show)
The Lettermen, December 6th  (Christmas Show)
Felix Cavaliere, December 11th  (Christmas Show)
Ronnie Spector, December 13th  (Christmas Show)
The Ides Of March, December 18th  (Christmas Show) 
By the way, we're trying to put together a special holiday Forgotten Hits Get-Together for this show ... email me if you'd like to attend!  (More details to come)
Visit The Arcada Theatre Online Box Office here for more ticket information:
 
And, speaking of Ringo Starr, don'tcha wish you had the money to buy some of THIS stuff?!?!?
 
How's this for a charity auction?  Ringo is auctioning off 800 items he has had for ages. 
Imagine owning the actual drum set he used for the Beatlemania period of 1963 / 1964 to record "She Loves You," "Can't Buy Me Love" and other hits.  It was also used by Paul on his first solo album, so he was sitting at this set when he recorded every instrument used on his great song "Maybe, I'm Amazed."  And, it was the set used in the movie "A Hard Day's Night."  They say it will bring $300,000 - 500,000.  I think it will probably bring a million.
Each of their famous "White Albums" had a number on the front cover.  The lower the number, the earlier it was made ... thus, low numbers are worth more money.  This 1968 album had songs like "Birthday" and "Back in the USSR".  Mine is numbered over 1 million, which is still considered to be a low number from the 60's.  Ringo is selling NUMBER ONE!  I can't imagine he has had the FIRST copy all these years. 
Lots of cool stuff.  He found old photos never published and will have a book out next month of those.  Pretty neat stuff!
Clark Besch
This undated photo provided by Julien's Auctions shows Beatle Ringo Starr's first 1963 Ludwig Oyster black pearl three-piece drum kit    one of the items up for bid.
 
Lots of Micky Dolenz / Monkees news here ...
I've been saying it for years now ... he's gotta be the Hardest Working Man In Show Business!!!  (kk)
 
Congratulations again to this year's nominees for The America Pop Music Hall Of Fame ...
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, The Association, Lou Christie, the Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, Sam Cooke, Dion and the Belmonts, Fats Domino, Bob Dylan, the Four Tops, Connie Francis, the Grass Roots, the Jackson Five, Tommy James and the Shondells, the Lettermen, Barry Manilow, the Rascals, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Neil Sedaka, Smokey and the Miracles, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, the Temptations, Three Dog Night and Dionne Warwick
That's quite a list ... Herb Alpert, Tommy James, The Lettermen, Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals, Neil Sedaka, The Temptations and Three Dog Night all have shows coming up here locally between now and the end of the year ... and The Association, Lou Christie and The Grass Roots were all just here recently. 
This is QUITE a list!  Best of luck to all the candidates!  (kk)
 
Thanks kk!
Tommy Scheckel / Paul Revere and the Raiders
 
Thanks so much for your kind words and your vote ... always appreciate you mentioning me on your blog.
Heading out to CA to perform with Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell this weekend.
Thanks again for the support.
Lou Christie
 
FH Reader Chet Coppock isn't so sure one of these candidates really belongs in "The Pop Music Hall Of Fame" ... 
 
kk, 
I've been busy as hell working on a new project ... I will begin blogging again soon.
Meanwhile, does Rod Stewart, the vintage Rod Stewart, qualify as a pop star? 
When I think of Stewart I think of the flamboyant British bull who gave us the unforgettable "Every Picture Tells a Story" album back in '71. I might even grit my teeth and think of Stewart vamping his way thru "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"   
Is that pop star material? 
Perhaps, in this era where there is really no real form of definitive pop or rock music, maybe hot Rod does qualify for the Pop Music Hall of Fame.  
Where oh where is our next great form of rock 'n roll? Somewhere, some place, some kid is messing around with chords that will introduce us to rock's next great phase.  Hey, acts like Pearl Jam and U2 now qualify as Rolling Stones-style oldies acts. 
Sadly, rock 'n roll as we know it and love it has been irrelevant for 20 years. Tell me anything rock has
produced over the past two decades that mad your pulse race as it did back in the 60's, 70's and 80's.  
Chuck once sang Hail Hail Rock 'n Roll. Sadly, that seems to have become a funeral dirge. Thank the good lord we have Ron Onesti keeping the oldies alive and well at the Arcada.
Chet Coppock  
Author: Buffone - Monster of the Midway
The very definition of what today passes as rock and roll has been SO altered over the years.  We've mentioned before how an artist like John Cougar Mellencamp and a song like "Hurts So Good" ONLY played on the rock stations when it first came out ... but today is middle-of-the-road faire all day long, along with AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" and other former "hard rocker" tunes.
Rod Stewart?  I was never much of a fan (maybe it was the panty hose) ... and certainly not of his disco phase hit "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" ... but I do like the idea of a Pop Music Hall of Fame ... and the diversity of the artists previously inducted and now up for nomination.  For me NOTHING will ever beat a good pop song ... it just makes you feel good ... and I don't care if it's some well-crafted classic by The Beatles or The Beach Boys ... a mid-'60's gem by The Turtles, Tommy James and the Shondells or Paul Revere and the Raiders ... or something as recent as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham ... NOTHING tops feel good rock and roll.  (kk)   
 
Hey Kent,  
I wanted to comment on the Johnny Cash Documentary, in particular "10 Things We Learned From 'American Rebel'" for which your blog provided a link. 
Check out #9, where it reads "One of the inmates in attendance (during the making of Cash's Grammy-winning 1969 At San Quentin LP) was 21-year-old Merle Haggard.  Really!!?? The fact is if Haggard was there at all, he was more like 42, give or take. He was born in April of 1937. As interested as I was in 'American Rebel' at the outset, I now have to wonder what other glaring inaccuracies there may be within it.  
Also, many of the things "... Learned From 'American Rebel'", can also be learned from the movie "Walk the Line.", which was at theaters ten years ago!   
Let me conclude with a "Cash fact" I picked up years ago when he was interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Air". 
In composing the song "I Walk the Line", Johnny Cash got the line, "I keep my eyes wide open all the time.", by paraphrasing what he had read in a Dale Carnegie book advising salesmen to, "Keep your eyes wide open all the time." Cash was huge fan of sales books, at least in the early days.  
Bill Fortune
Although it's already aired several times, I've yet to see the new Johnny Cash documentary ... but absolutely want to do so.  (Maybe it's On Demand???)
But I totally agree with you ... once you find a point played up as "fact" that is so COMPLETELY and obviously wrong, it's pretty hard to accept anything else you're being told that you may not be as familiar with as the whole truth, the absolute truth, and nothing but the truth.
Still I plan on checking it out.  (My Mom was a HUGE Johnny Cash fan.  One year when I was a teenager our family drove down to Murphysboro, Tennessee, to see his house ... and my Mom stole a rock out of Johnny Cash's driveway ... which she then proudly displayed on the mantel of our fireplace for many years to come!)  kk
 
Check it out ...  
 
After the huge success of the original theatrical release (along with one of the biggest selling CD's of last year), Disney is now making an animated version of Guardians of the Galaxy ...
Which means a whole new album of great '70's music is being released as a soundtrack.
Cash in when you can, I guess ...
Just proves what I've been saying here for the past fifteen years ...
Great music is great music ... as long as you give people a chance to hear it!
 
"Love And Mercy", the Brian Wilson biopic we gave mixed reviews to earlier this year, is now available on home video in both the DVD and BluRay format ... and yes, we DID order a copy.  (Like I said, I know I'll end up watching this again someday ... and probably SEVERAL times at that.)  Also on its way to me is the Glen Campbell documentary, "I'll Be Me".
For more on BOTH of these great artists, be sure to check out the story and link below ...
 
 
From Tom Cuddy ...
 
GLEN CAMPBELL: He's Lost the Ability to Communicate    
He's in late-stage Alzheimer's and living at home with his wife
Glen Campbell has been moved from a healthcare facility and is now living at home with his wife, Kim 
She says that Glen is in late stage six of Alzheimer's -- with stage seven being the most severe.   Glen Campbell's wife Kim gives an update on his condition ...
"He's lost the ability to communicate verbally. He really doesn't understand anything anyone ever says to him. He can still say short phrases like, 'I love you,' and 'Where have you been?' I've been married to him for 33 years, so I just intuitively know what he needs." 
Kim adds that, like many Alzheimer's patients, he can be combative at times and has even unintentionally given her a black eye.
 
Tom also sent us a link to this interview with our FH Buddy  Lee Loughnane of Chicago, talking about the future of this iconic band ... 
 
re:  David Cassidy:
I am confused by both sides in this conversation.  I acknowledge David's issues, the feedback coming through his audio and the search of news people for a story ... BUT ... WHOSE songs were they asking him about?  That part was so set-up to provide failure if nothing else was.
Shelley
The poor connection was obvious before the very first words were uttered (scroll down to view if you haven't already seen it.)  David was clearly agitated by their questions and, I think, rightfully so.  These "journalists" seemed to have an agenda to play up his bankruptcy filing and focused on very little else.
However I'm probably MORE surprised by the fact that Cassidy was so in-your-face about the fact that he went through this filing to basically screw his wife of 28 years out of half her rightful share of their assets ... yet nobody is talking about THIS part of the conversation.
Without question, David Cassidy has had some SERIOUS issues these past few decades.  Clearly an alcoholic (which we've addressed several times in this column ... and David freely admits ... and HAS admitted to in his published biographies, attributing much of it to his family's history, while also acknowledging his fear that he didn't pass this disease on to his own son, now 23), he seems to have emotionally overreacted to the questions by these British reporters, causing many to speculate that he was drunk during the interview.
It's pretty much the way he's appeared most of the times I've seen him over the past 30 years.  (An appearance at The Arcada Theatre earlier this year was embarrassing, disturbing and out of control.  Honestly, I have no need or reason to ever go see him again ... and am surprised that he has any fanbase left.)
As for the songs you're asking about, every one of those was a HUGE David Cassidy solo hit in England during and after The Partridge Family era.  "Daydreamer" went to #1 in 1973, "How Can I Be Sure" to #1 in 1972, "Could It Be Forever" to #2 in 1972 and "Cherish" was a US Hit as well (#3, 1971).  All were part of the question "Which of your hit songs best describes your mood today?" ... actually a pretty good question (and perhaps the most intelligent one asked by this British pair of reporters.)
Cassidy's career last much longer in Britain than it did in The States ... and he could probably easily sell out numerous venues over there if he chose to do so.  However David ALSO admits that on his last tour of England, he made about $600 ... so hardly worth it in the scheme of things!  (kk)
 
First, I'd like to say that I really enjoy your blog.  I came across it about two weeks ago.  
Second, I don't believe that the British TV show did anything to Mr. Cassidy.  I was at his infamous performance at the South Point casino in Las Vegas on July 1, 2012.  He was drunk then and from his actions since then, he hasn't changed.  In case you didn't hear about that performance here is a link.
I didn't walk out because I enjoy a trainwreck as much as the next guy ... LOL
Again, good job on your blog
Gil McAuliff
Bolingbrook, IL
We've seen David drunk and belligerent on more than one occasion live on stage, verbally abusing both this band and the audience members ... it doesn't make for a very entertaining show.
While I wasn't much of a fan at the time (hey, it just wasn't cool for a 16 or 17 year old guy to be a David Cassidy fan back then ... and I resented being told that I sorta looked like him), I came to respect what he went through as a teen idol at the time ... and found his survival of that era quite fascinating and interesting.  (I HIGHLY recommend his book
"C'mon Get Happy - Fear and Loathing on The Partridge Family Bus".  It is a VERY entertaining read ... which I just did again for I believe the fourth time ... recently.