Would David Cassidy's career been different if he hadn't "actually" sung the Partridge songs

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Pizza, Jul 10, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Originally members of The Love Generation, founded by John and Tom Bahler, were to be the voice and sound of the Partridge Family. A few of those songs made it to record and on the show, most notably "Together (Havin' a Ball)" which was in the pilot and I think in early commercials promoting the show.

    Despite having an amazing voice, (my opinion), I feel David Cassidy had the stigma of being viewed as a bubblegum singer by the public from performing the Partridge Family songs (which I love).

    Would his career have been even shorter if all he did was mouth the words like the rest of the family members or would he have been able to more easily escape the image of being a teen idol and been more credible as an "actor" by not actually being the singer of the songs?

    What do you folks think?
     
  2. Chuckee

    Chuckee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate, NY, USA
    Probably unknown.
     
    Bill Larson and Hoover Factory like this.
  3. BeatleStair

    BeatleStair Senior Member

    Location:
    Fort Wayne, IN
    Yes I think it would as I don't think the music would have been nearly as successful without Cassidy's vocals. It was his vocal performances that I think really sold the songs . The show may or may not been as successful either but my guess it too wouldn't have been as big a hit either.

    Unknown but my guess is we wouldn't be talking about this right now if Cassidy hadn't provided the vocals.
     
    2141, Rocketdog, gregorya and 4 others like this.
  4. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    He would have been a teen idol any way you look at it, unless he just broke into the business doing some off the wall experimental music. Even if he had fronted a rock band, the label would have taken that face and made posters of it.

    In all likelihood he might not have been successful at all.
     
    Rocketdog, qwerty and Wombat Reynolds like this.
  5. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    The records and TV show as a whole would have been less successful without his amazing vocals. Can't see how that would have helped his career, which saw him get as big as a performer could get and build a name that got him bookings for the rest of his life.

    He would have done better in the long run if he had embraced the basis for his fame rather than seeming ashamed of it, and if he had abstained from alcohol.
     
  6. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    That's for sure.
     
    PDK, majorlance and Rfreeman like this.
  7. Chuckee

    Chuckee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate, NY, USA
    Would have been worse for him if he didn't actually sing the songs, who would see him in concert if he wasn't singing the songs. He ended up doing musicals, he became known for his singing.
     
    Rfreeman likes this.
  8. Tanx

    Tanx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I think lip-syncing would have shortened the show's run considerably. They would have been crazy not to use his voice.

    From his autobiography, I would say his career ups and downs were pretty much due to demons that had nothing to do with the music industry.
     
  9. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Maybe he wouldn't have gone the route of singer. Just because he can sing (a lot of folks can, though his voice is exceptional) it doesn't mean that becomes the career choice and path. He might have focused more on the acting side. The Partridge Family show would have suffered without the star actually being the singer but it would have gotten him known as an actor more so than a singer. Folks get pigeonholed in on area despite have more skills. Shirley Jones knew her movie career would be done if she did a TV show.
     
  10. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    He had his demons. I still think he couldn't escape the teen idol image. It's like the guy who played the Beave on Leave It To Beaver, he wasn't ever going to escape that image and continue as an actor. And maybe the same would have been true for Cassidy if he didn't sing. Its not like the cast of the Brady Bunch went much further than their show roles.
     
    Tanx and Rfreeman like this.
  11. Chuckee

    Chuckee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate, NY, USA
    He did keep up with acting, I don't think he was a great actor, but the role in the Partridge Family was perfect for him.

     
    hi_watt likes this.
  12. phillyal1

    phillyal1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    philadelphia, pa.
    I was listening to some old musicals that featured the singing of his father Jack Cassidy. Quite a resemblance.
     
    Hep Alien likes this.
  13. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I watched the show. I still remember cringing at that title, "David Cassidy - Man Undercover." They were still trying to capitalize on the teen idol image more so than the actor. They should have just called it "Man Undercover." It wasn't that bad of a show though it didn't have a whole lot of ways to grow in story.
     
    Chuckee likes this.
  14. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    I always did think that Cassidy had a voice that was worthy of better songs than what he got given to sing on Partridge family records. For example I thought his version of the song "Cherish" left the Association's version in a quivering heap. However whether that would have been sufficient for him to become successful or whether he needed that leg up through his exposure in the Partridge Family is something we'll never know.
     
    hi_watt, Hep Alien and Tanx like this.
  15. Just the title makes it seem like some kind of satire.
     
    Pizza likes this.
  16. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    I dont think there was any lack of quality in the songs. As pop songs they were phenomenal. He might have preferred doing Hendrix style material, but if you ask me there are dozens of Partridge Family songs that are better songs then Pruple Haze or Foxy Lady from a songwriting perspective. Sure they weren't on the level of Over the Rainbow.
     
  17. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    As for the Partridge family's songs being "phenomenal" as pop songs, clearly the public agreed with you, since they were massive hits, but I thought most of them were pretty ordinary by the standards of the time. It would never have occurred to me to mention Hendrix though so that seems a straw man argument.
    Is this idea about doing "Hendrix style material" something he was actually quoted as saying?
     
    majorlance likes this.
  18. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    The two times I saw him live he made a point of playing a Hendrix tune (probably PH or FL) and saying that was what he really loved as a guitar player and that he regretted being stuck playing tunes like I Think I Love You instead of stuff that would let him really rock out like that. So yes, I am reacting to specific comments I heard him make and saying he should have been happy to have such great material written and arranged to suit his voice rather than wishing he had someone else's career. He made a much better Keith Partridge than he would have made a Jimi Hendrix.

    For some odd reason I have also seen Micky Dolenz pull out Hendrix tunes in concert to express his "coulda been a rocker" side - though it least he could cite the "we asked for Jimi to open for us" story as a tie in.

    Also not saying the P.Fam songs were better than other 70s pop songs, just that they were better songs than some of the late 60s psychedelic excuses for guitar pyrotechnics that charted then.
     
  19. edenofflowers

    edenofflowers A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular!

    Location:
    UK
    In a way he was cursed with good looks. He's an outstanding pop singer and I think if he was a singer/songwriter he'd have been huge. Cassidy cast as a sort of David Gates/James Taylor solo acoustic balladeer would have broken banks as well as hearts.
     
    Hep Alien and Hoover Factory like this.
  20. Hoover Factory

    Hoover Factory Old Dude Who Knows Things

    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    The show was a spin-off of an episode of “Police Story.” Sort of an early version of “21 Jump Street” - Cassidy plays an undercover cop trying to infiltrate a High School drug ring. The original “Police Story” episode is really quite good - Cassidy was nominated for an Emmy for his performance. The subsequent spin-off TV Show was not able to recapture the excellence of that episode.
     
    JFS3, mtvgeneration and Hep Alien like this.
  21. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    Yes, well I'm not a massive Hendrix fan either. I'd rather hear that voice doing something in between the extremes of Partidge Family and Jimi Hendrix. A pity he couldn't have hooked up with Jimmy Webb. Of course, that would only work if he was happy singing those kind of songs.
     
  22. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    I like Cassidy too, but noticed the times I’ve seen him in concert that he had a tendency to being prickly and condescending towards the fans.

    Some years ago I saw him in concert with Davy Jones with my future wife. Davy opened the show and was fun and engaging with fans, even inviting some on stage with him while he sang ‘Daydream Believer’. During the intermission Jones was in the lobby signing autographs.

    Then Cassidy came on for the second half and while he did perform the PF hits, he changed the arrangements on some of them. He also performed songs like ‘Hush’ where he showed his chops as a guitar player. Still, he chided some fans who wanted him to sign some albums or PF lunch boxes.

    After the show, my fiancé heard from some of the female fans and the vibe she got was that they loved Davy Jones set, but were put off by Cassidy’s attitude.

    From the male fans I heard from, they knew every song Davy sang, but outside of a couple of songs, they couldn’t name or remember any of Cassidy’s Partridge Family hits. I guess that could be one of the reasons for David Cassidy’s frustrations
     
    edenofflowers likes this.
  23. David Cassidy was forever typecast when he appeared as an actor on The Partridge Family. It was good for his career that he actually sang (and very well) rather than lip-synched and he would have been better off if he had embraced his role at least for the time. As others have suggested it was personal problems of his own that hurt him.
     
    Rfreeman likes this.
  24. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    Really interesting question and a hard one to answer. According to bios of DC, he had desires to be an honest-to-goodness "Rock Star"; in my view, he never exhibited a significant talent in that direction after the PF were over and done with. Was he a songwriter to any degree? I'd think he should have attempted to get a band together and take his music in a whole other "more serious" direction than he had the opportunity to within he confines of the image the TV show had imprisoned him in. let's not forget someone like Ricky Nelson who, over time, gained a good deal of respect from the Pop/Rock world despite coming from a TV show which pertrayed him as a goody two shoes. Why couldn't DC have done the same? Maybe better management would have helped. It's a shame of a career when you think about it; while the music of the PF were pure Pop (much of it, quite good), I still feel that the show could have served as a very helpful stepping stone in attaining the level of "serious respect" he desired and, in my opinion, deserved.
     
    joy stinson and Ryan Lux like this.
  25. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    He did give it a legitimate try. He left Bell after PF and signed up with RCA and did three pretty good and interesting albums. At that point, I feel he was suffering Partridge Family backlash from the public and market and could have done the greatest rock album ever and no one but a few would listen to it.

    He knew his name had a stigma attached to it. When he pitched his theme song for the John Larroquette Show he did it under an alias and they bought it. He almost had a legit music comeback with Lyin’ to Myself but the record label folded in the midst of it.
     
    DK Pete, mtvgeneration and Hep Alien like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine