Unwilling to rest as a one-hit wonder when its first big hit, The Monkees, went off the air in 1968, the television production company Screen Gems wasted no time in trying to repeat its success. On September 25, 1970, in the 8:30 p.m. time slot immediately following The Brady Bunch, ABC premiered a program that would give Screen Gems its second TV-to-pop-chart smash: The Partridge Family.
If the Beatles served as the inspiration for The Monkees, it was the real-life family act the Cowsills that inspired Screen Gems to dream up The Partridge Family, but the family demurred when it learned that actress Shirley Jones, and not Barbara Cowsill, would be playing the role of Shirley Partridge. Undaunted, Screen Gems hired four non-singing child actors for the roles of Laurie, Danny, Chris and Tracy Partridge and one future teen idol, David Cassidy, for the role of Keith.
In the pilot episode of The Partridge Family, the five children of a widowed single mother convince their mom to join them in their garage recording sessions and then watch their first record, “I Think I Love You” become a #1 pop hit. In a case not so much of life imitating art as of a brilliant marketing machine replicating its earlier success, the song “I Think I Love You” raced to the top of the real-life pop charts less than two months after its television debut.
However, hits like “I Think I Love You” and “I Woke Up in Love This Morning” were not actually recorded by a five siblings and their mom in a garage. The Partridge Family’s hits were recorded by some of the best professional musicians working in Los Angeles at the time, including drummer Hal Blaine and the other studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. The Partridge Family did, however, launch David Cassidy on a short-lived career as an actual pop singer, and it also, according to news reports, inspired some misguided runaways to show up on Shirley Jones’ Beverly Hills lawn in the hopes that she might adopt them into her television family.
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Divorced mom. 5 kids … with 5 different fathers. The fathers were all black or illegal immigrants … and are never seen or mentioned. Mother became a lesbian in Season 2, and then grew a dick in Season 3. All the kids were either addicted to drugs or alcohol. By the season finale, all were either in jail, or dead. Basic storylines were how fucked up White America is, and the joys of diversity and inclusion. The show won a total of 63 Emmy Awards.
—– Partridge Family / 2019
Don’t forget, driving around in a stolen bus with a giant BLM sign on the side and Al Sharpton playing DeAndre Kincade, their hapless manager.
I saw a commercial yesterday (I usually mute and turn my head from commercials) for “The Wonder Years,” the black Wonder Years. UnEffingBelievable
They spend the entire series wondering where their fathers went……the wonder years.
You should have worked “stunning” and “brave” in there somewhere. Maybe “The show won a total of 6 million Emmy Awards for being stunning and brave.”
No need to thank me.
Note that she was not depicted as divorced. I think people forget how bad the stigma surrounding divorce used to be. Back before the Feminist cancer had metastasized to the terminal proportions it has achieved today and the strong nuclear family was still understood by everyone to be the ideal.
I read his bio and in my opinion the success Cassidy had with this show destroyed his life. Maybe he didn’t have much of a chance to begin with, given his parents were your typical Entertainer scum, but the ‘teen idol’ thing wound up killing him (slowly, but that’s worse). I finished his book feeling sorry for the guy. Worship belongs to God alone; giving fellow human beings that kind of adoration just cannot be good for anyone, spiritually or mentally. See also: Elton John.
Finally, The Cowsills were awesome!
His problem is that he always wanted to be a rock star, not a teen idol, and that’s a transition that is difficult to make. Instead of simply enjoying all the money pouring out of his ass and the women pouring themselves into his bed, he was always looking for something he couldn’t have.
I always wanted to bang Shirley Jones
But, would Shirley want to bang you?
I mean, you have that really huge forehead.
NTTAWWT
I figured a post like this would be the first one after the article.
Or a very young Carol Brady
Cassidy admitted years later he had a crush on her while doing the series. I wonder if she ever invited him to a Wesson oil party?
Lori was my 2nd crush. 1st was June Lockhart from Lost in Space and those pointy points.
I found it interesting when someone did an electronic voice and laugh comparison of Shirley Jones and Hitlery Clinton and they match almost identically. Later saw some comparisons of SJ and HC’s bio-identicals.
I didn’t watch TV except a few brief periods as an adult, but whenever I saw this on while passing, it creeped me the hell out for some reason. I didn’t stick around to find out. I always found TV creepy. I already know I am weird.
Ken- If TV creeped you out way back then, you REALLY need to pass now. I think TV has done more to harm humanity morally and mentally than any other thing throughout history. If the Partridge family were on today SJ would have been waaaay to white for the part.