The oldest of three sons born to Shirley Jones and Broadway entertainer/television star Jack Cassidy, he first found success as a teen idol, following in the footsteps of his elder half-brother, David Cassidy of TV's The Partridge Family. He went to Beverly Hills High School.
He released several successful singles in the late 1970s. His first single, "Morning Girl", a The Neon Philharmonic classic, didn't chart in the USA but did well in Europe.[citation needed] His second single, a cover version of The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron", hit #1 in the United States in 1977, and he, like David, became a major teen idol. He achieved two further top ten singles with cover versions of Eric Carmen's "That's Rock 'N' Roll" and "Hey Deanie" in 1977 and his first three albums also sold well. Cassidy and his mother Shirley Jones of the Partridge Family are the only mother and son to each have a song reach number one on the Billboard Hot One Hundred Charts.[citation needed] Cassidy also achieved chart success and toured in Australia.
Cassidy starred opposite Parker Stevenson in the popular The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries television series, which ran for several seasons on ABC-TV, starting in 1977. In 1987, Cassidy joined the cast of the Daytime Soap Opera General Hospital for several months, playing the character of Dusty Walker from 1987–1988. He was first in a series of young, male, blond actors to appear on General Hospital, followed by Chris Aable in 1988 and Steve Burton in 1989. Cassidy made his Broadway debut in 1993 in a production of Blood Brothers alongside brother David Cassidy - the first time the two brothers had ever appeared together professionally. Along with Petula Clark who played the mother, this production was a major success and achieved great critical acclaim.
Among his credits as a TV producer were the creation of the short-lived Fox Television Network Action/Adventure series Roar, which starred the then-unknown Heath Ledger. Other writing and producing credits include Cold Case, The Agency, and the creation of American Gothic as well as the 2005 ABC series Invasion.
Cassidy has two children from his first marriage with model Ann Pennington, and one child from his second marriage, with actress Susan Diol. On August 28, 2004, Cassidy married a third time, to producer Tracey Turner, with whom he has two children.
Break for the Street
Shaun Cassidy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The husband carries on his trade
Working hard nine to five
A corporate example of the middle class staying alive
Safe at home his lovely wife
With whom he shared a simple life
Suddenly finds she's needing more
She was seventeen, he was twenty one
A virgin till the day that she was married young
So incomplete
Break for the street
Oh break for the street
Oh break for the street
And so she runs into the night
Believing all that once was right
Trying hard to understand
She finds herself collapsing in the arms of another man
She was thirty six and he was twenty one
Before it began it was over and done
So incomplete
Break for the street
Oh break for the street
Oh break for the street
Break for the street
Oh break for the street
Oh break for the street
Oh break for the street
Oh break for the street
Break for it
Shaun Cassidy's song "Break for the Street" tells the story of a married couple who are both struggling in their own ways. The husband is overworked and underpaid, but he carries on working hard to support his family. He is the epitome of the middle class working hard to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the wife is at home yearning for more. She longs for the love that they once had but has since faded away. She was married young, at the age of seventeen, and was a virgin until then. She has always felt somewhat incomplete, but now with their love gone, she needs to break for the street to find something more.
The chorus of the song encourages her to break for the street, to go out and find what she needs. She runs away into the night, believing that she can find what she once had. She tries to understand her own feelings but finds herself collapsing in the arms of another man. The second verse tells us that she's now thirty-six, and the young man she's fallen for is just twenty-one. The affair is over almost as soon as it began, leaving her feeling even more incomplete than before.
The song shows how sometimes even the most stable-looking relationships can fall apart, and people can feel trapped in their lives. The woman in this song is searching for something more in her life, hoping to find what she's missing before it's too late. The lyrics are thought-provoking and poignant, and Cassidy's voice carries the emotions through the song beautifully.
Line by Line Meaning
Over worked and underpaid
The husband is constantly burdened with work but barely compensated for it.
The husband carries on his trade
He is surviving in life by doing his job dutifully.
Working hard nine to five
Living up to the corporate expectation of doing a 9-5 job.
A corporate example of the middle class staying alive
He is emblematic of the middle class, pushing themselves to survive in this corporate world.
Safe at home his lovely wife
His wife is living a secure life at home.
With whom he shared a simple life
They used to have a carefree and uncomplicated existence together.
Suddenly finds she's needing more
She feels like something is missing from her life.
Longing for the love that died so many years before
She wants to rekindle the lost love that had been lost from their life.
She was seventeen, he was twenty one
They got married when she was just a teenager and he was in his early twenties.
A virgin till the day that she was married young
She hadn't been intimate with anyone before her wedding day as she was a virgin.
So incomplete
She feels like she is not whole.
Break for the street
Trying to escape from the life she had.
Oh break for the street
A plea to break free from her life.
And so she runs into the night
She tries to run away from her life in the middle of the night.
Believing all that once was right
Thinking that her life is going to be okay.
Trying hard to understand
Making an effort to comprehend her life and its values.
She finds herself collapsing in the arms of another man
Finally giving up and having an affair with another man.
She was thirty six and he was twenty one
The man she had an affair with was much younger than her.
Before it began it was over and done
Their affair was short-lived and brief.
Break for the street
Escaping from the desolation and despair within.
Oh break for the street
Urging to break free from the monotony of life.
Oh break for the street
Escaping from the shackles of her mundane life.
Oh break for the street
A plea to break free from all the negativity in her life.
Break for it
A final plea to escape from the unbearable emptiness of her life.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SHAUN CASSIDY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind