Created by Bernard Slade, the series was inspired by and loosely based on The Cowsills, a real singing family in the late sixties. In fact, in its early development the Cowsill children were approached to be featured on the show, though that idea was quickly discarded (The Cowsills rejected the offer when producers wanted to replace their real-life mother Barbara in the cast). The show starred Shirley Jones as mother Shirley Partridge and David Cassidy (Jones' real-life stepson) as her son Keith. The remaining Partridge children were played by Susan Dey as Laurie, Danny Bonaduce as Danny, Jeremy Gelbwaks (replaced after one year by Brian Forster) as Chris, and Suzanne Crough as Tracy Partridge. Dave Madden played Reuben Kincaid, who was their manager and family friend.
The back of the bus, became an icon for the show, due to its Mondrianesque paint design.
The Partridge Family was produced for ABC by Screen Gems television, which was just finishing its run with The Monkees, another show about a fictional music group. The company promoted the success of the show by releasing a series of albums featuring the music of the family band, though most cast members did not actually play on the recordings. A group of studio singers and musicians, led by producer Wes Farrell actually created the Partridge Family sound. Although he was originally cast with the intent to lip sync, just weeks into production David Cassidy convinced Farrell he could sing, and was allowed to join the studio ensemble as the lead singer. Several songs were made without Cassidy as lead, they were featured in some of the early episodes and on the first album. He and Shirley Jones, who sang background, were the only cast members who were actually featured on the recordings. The whole cast would lip sync to the recordings when they performed on each episode, though it was obvious to most viewers that the actors were lip-synching, The Partridge Family became an instant success, not only as a TV show, but as a band that produced actual hit songs.
The Partridge Family's biggest hit came in 1970 with the song "I Think I Love You," which began climbing the Billboard chart in September and peaked at number one in December of that year. The companion LP, "The Partridge Family Album" reached number four. Other Partridge Family singles including, "I'll Meet You Halfway", "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted", and "I Woke Up in Love This Morning" would also chart high on the Billboard chart. The theme songs "When We're Singing", and its successor "C'Mon, Get Happy" were composed by Danny Janssen and Wes Farrell.
The title card for the pilot episode of The Partridge Family was, "What? and Get Out of Show Business?".
As the show and associated merchandizing took off, David Cassidy became an overnight teen idol. Cassidy launched a solo singing career, touring with his own group of musicians and performing Partridge Family songs as well as hits from his own albums. In the midst of his overwhelming rise to fame, Cassidy soon grew tired of the show. In the summer of 1972 he gave a very candid interview to Rolling Stone magazine in which he attempted to distance himself from the squeaky-clean image of Keith Partridge.
By the fourth season, due to declining ratings and Cassidy's looming departure, a feeble effort was made by the producers to breathe new life into the show. They introduced a precocious 4-year-old neighbor named "Ricky Stevens" played by Ricky Segall to occasionally sing children's songs with the band. To no avail, the ABC network moved the show from its 8:30 Friday night slot to Saturday at 8:00, directly opposite the hit All in the Family, against which they knew it would not survive. The show was cancelled, after 96 episodes and ten Partridge Family albums.
The Partridge Family had a brief resurgence in animated form, which saw the family propelled into the future. The animated Partridge Family first appeared when the kids did a series of guest spots on "Goober and the Ghost Chasers". That idea evolved into a CBS Saturday morning Hanna-Barbera-produced cartoon, "Partridge Family 2200 A.D.". It featured new characters Veenie (Keith's Venusian friend) and Marion (Laurie's Martian friend). Danny had a pet robot dog named Orbit. Shirley Jones and David Cassidy did not voice their animated counterparts, and Susan Dey and Dave Madden had very limited involvement with this series. Sixteen half-hour installments were produced for the animated series, which lasted for half a season on CBS Saturday morning (September 7, 1974 - March 8, 1975); on the syndicated Fred Flintstone and Friends, it was retitled The Partridge Family in Outer Space.
Nickelodeon featured a heavily publicized run of the original series in the early- to mid-90s, along with the Brady Bunch, as part of its Nick-At-Nite line-up. The network used interviews and commercials featuring cast members, and even created a new version of the Mondrian-esque Family bus for promotion.
In 2000 two different made-for-TV movies aired on different networks; Both "Come On Get Happy" and "The David Cassidy Story" attempted to tell the story behind the series. While the movies were criticized as being somewhat inaccurate, they did recreate some of the imagery and music from the original series. "Come On Get Happy" even featured another replication of the bus, which was later auctioned off on eBay.
A modernized version of the bus was created for a new promotion in 2004, when VH1 premiered In Search of The New Partridge Family. This talent competition in the format of American Idol sought a new cast for a contemporary version of the sitcom. The elimination type program aired seven episodes in which a panel of judges selected a new Partridge Family cast from auditioners across the country. The resulting pilot episode of The New Partridge Family aired in January of 2005, but due to low ratings VH1 opted not to produce any more episodes.
The first two seasons of the original series were released as of October 2005 on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Also, at the same time Arista Records released a new music compilation, "Come On Get Happy!: The Very Best of The Partridge Family," which included four previously unreleased tracks.
Despite the prefabricated nature of the "band", the Partridge Family's records were some of the best arranged and produced of their day. Much care was given not only to the overall sound, but even to show that sound would translate to AM radio, then the major outlet for pop music. The writing was equally good, at least on the early albums. However, as ratings and record sales began to drop, so did the quality of the material.
Blue Christmas
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll have a blue Christmas without you
I'll be so blue thinking about you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
It won't, won't mean a thing if you're not here with me.
I'll have a blue Christmas, that's certain
You'll be doing all right with your Christmas of white
But I'll have a blue, blue Christmas.
I'll have a blue, blue Christmas without you
I'll be so blue just thinking without you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Oh, it won't, won't mean a thing if you're not here with me.
I'll have a blue Christmas, that's certain
And when that blue heartache start hurtin'
You'll be doing all right with your Christmas of white
But I'll have a blue, blue Christmas
Yeah, I'll have a blue, blue Christmas.
The Partridge Family's "Blue Christmas" is a melancholic and heartbreaking tune that conveys the loneliness and sadness one feels during the Christmas holiday when they are separated from their loved ones. The song is about someone who is missing their partner during the holidays and is anticipating a blue, blue Christmas because they will not be there to celebrate it with them. The song starts with the opening lines "I'll have a blue Christmas without you, I'll be so blue thinking about you," which sets the sad and lonely tone for the entire song, letting us know that this person will be spending their Christmas in sorrow.
The singer, who is the singer, expresses his feelings of sadness and pain as he thinks about how he will have a blue Christmas without his partner. He highlights the contrast between his and his partner's Christmas, with him experiencing a blue Christmas, while his significant other will be having a white Christmas. The lyrics depict the singer's constant thoughts about his partner and how he wishes his partner was with him to celebrate the joyous occasion. He knows he won't feel the same way without his partner there with him, and the decorations and the festivities will lose their meaning.
In summary, "Blue Christmas" portrays the emotions of holiday sadness, heartache, and loneliness. Although Christmas is meant to bring joy and happiness, it can also trigger the feeling of loneliness in people who are away from their loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll have a blue Christmas without you
I will experience a sad Christmas because you are not with me
I'll be so blue thinking about you
I will feel depressed while remembering you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
There are red ornaments on a green Christmas tree
It won't, won't mean a thing if you're not here with me.
The decorations and holiday spirit will be meaningless if you are not here with me
I'll have a blue Christmas, that's certain
I am certain I will have a miserable Christmas
And when that blue heartache start hurtin'
When the sorrow becomes unbearable
You'll be doing all right with your Christmas of white
You will be okay with your happy, untroubled Christmas
But I'll have a blue, blue Christmas.
However, I will have a deeply unhappy Christmas
I'll have a blue, blue Christmas without you
I will have an extremely unhappy Christmas in your absence
I'll be so blue just thinking without you
Even mere thoughts of you will make me feel sad
Oh, it won't, won't mean a thing if you're not here with me.
The holiday celebrations will have no significance, as you are not here with me
Yeah, I'll have a blue, blue Christmas.
I will certainly have a deeply unhappy, sorrowful Christmas
Contributed by Alexander O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.