Week of June 11: Listen To the Sound of The Partridge Family

By Sylvia Gurinsky

The current popularity of music-oriented programs such as Fox's "Glee" and "American Idol" recalls the most successful program that had music as an engine - "The Partridge Family."

Created by Bernard Slade, who wrote for "Bewitched" and helped create "The Flying Nun," "The Partridge Family" ran for four seasons (1970-74) and 96 episodes on ABC. It was loosely based on the experiences of the Cowsills, a real-life family band. At one point, the Cowsills were targeted to star in a series, but for various reasons (including the fact that Shirley Jones had already been cast as the mother), they didn't.

Jones, already a movie star and Academy Award winner for "Elmer Gantry," was cast - as Connie Partridge, according to the 1970 fall preview issue of TV Guide. The name was later changed to Shirley.

David Cassidy, Jones' real-life stepson (His father, Jack Cassidy, was Jones' husband at the time; his mother is actress Evelyn Ward, who appeared on various shows during the 1950s and 60s.), was cast as Keith Partridge, the oldest son. He and the other cast members - Susan Dey (Laurie), Danny Bonaduce (Danny), Jeremy Gelbwaks (Chris) and Suzanne Crough (Tracy) were slated to lip-synch the songs, which were to be performed by the Ron Hicklin Singers and the Wrecking Crew. Jones, known for her gorgeous voice from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals "Oklahoma" and "Carousel," would also sing on the soundtracks.

In fact, the two songs in the pilot ("Together/Having a Ball" and "Let the Good Times In") were performed that way. But something funny happened on the way to success: Slade and company discovered David Cassidy could sing. Man, could he sing.

The show aired back-to-back with "The Brady Bunch" in ABC's successful Friday night lineup. What made it better than "Brady," besides the music, was the family's socially conscious nature and the snappy scripts, whose writers included Susan Harris ("Soap," "The Golden Girls"), Michael Leeson (creator of "The Cosby Show"), Martin Cohan ("Diff'rent Strokes") and many more. Dave Madden played Reuben Kincaid, the group's manager.

Guest stars included two of the three original "Charlie's Angels," Jacklyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett, as well as Rob Reiner (while he was playing Michael Stivic on "All In the Family"!), Bert Convy, Harry Morgan, Ray Bolger, a young Jodie Foster, Meredith Baxter, Vic Tayback ("Alice"), Arte Johnson ("Laugh-In") and on and on.......

What keeps the show beloved, above all, is the music. Wes Farrell was the music producer and wrote or co-wrote 33 songs that were heard on the series. Other composers included Paul Anka, Carol Bayer (Sager), Neil Sedaka, Tony Romeo - and David Cassidy.

"I Think I Love You," written by Romeo, was probably the biggest hit, released even before the show had its first broadcast. The music was diverse, ranging from the R & B-influenced "Bandala" (Farrell and Eddie Singleton), to the soulful "One Night Stand," (Farrell and Anka) "I'll Meet You Halfway," (Farrell and Gerry Goffin) "Every Song Is You" (Terry Cashman and Tommy West), and "Together We're Better" (Romeo and Ken Jacobson). During the run of the show, seven albums and a Christmas album were released.

Collectors continue to snap up records, lunchboxes and other artifacts from the show, including a model of that psychedelic bus (with the legendary "Careful: Nervous Mother Driving" written on the back). The bus was a 1957 Chevrolet model.

The entire series is available on DVD and there's a great website, "C'mon Get Happy" (the show's second theme song) with comprehensive information about the show and the songs:

http://www.cmongethappy.com/home.htm

Here's one of the best songs, "Point Me In the Direction of Albuquerque," written by Tony Romeo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eekbr2EtSyg

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing (and singing)!