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.
Breaking up Is Hard to Do
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Down, doobie doo down, down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down, down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down, down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down, down
Down, doobie doo down
Don't take your love away from me
Don't you leave my heart in misery
If you go then I'll be blue
'Cause breakin' up is hard to do
Remember when you held me tight
And you kissed me all through the night
Think of all that we've been through
'Cause breakin' up is hard to do
They say that breakin' up is hard to do
Now I know, I know that it's true
Don't say that this is the end
Instead of breakin' up I wish that
We were makin' up again
I beg of you, don't say goodbye
Can't we give our love another try?
Come on, baby, let's start anew
'Cause breakin' up is hard to do
They say that breakin' up is hard to do
Now I know, I know that it's true
Don't say that this is the end
Instead of breakin' up I wish that
We were makin' up again
I beg of you, don't say goodbye
Can't we give our love another try?
Come on baby, let's start anew
'Cause breakin' up is hard to do
Doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
(Breakin' up is hard to do)
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
(Breakin' up is hard to do)
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
(Breakin' up is hard to do)
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
(Breakin' up is hard to do)
The song "Breaking up Is Hard to Do," performed by The Partridge Family, is an emotional and sentimental ballad about the difficulty of ending a relationship. The song starts out with a series of "doo" and "down" sounds that are repeated throughout the song before the lyrics finally begin. The lyrics express the singer's fear of losing his/her love interest and the pain that breaking up would cause. The singer reminisces about the good times they had together and pleads with their partner not to leave them. They express the desire to work things out and start anew so that they can avoid the pain that comes with breaking up.
The song is a classic example of the doo-wop sound that was popular in the '50s and '60s. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but they express a sentiment that many people can relate to. The song was a huge hit for The Partridge Family, and it remains a popular song to this day. The catchy melody and relatable lyrics make it a timeless classic.
Overall, the song conveys the message that breaking up is not easy, and it is a sentiment that has continued to resonate with people over the years. It is a great example of how music can touch people's emotions and help them to express their feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't take your love away from me
Please don't stop loving me or end our relationship
Don't you leave my heart in misery
Leaving me alone will cause me a lot of emotional pain
If you go then I'll be blue
If you leave, I will be sad and depressed
'Cause breakin' up is hard to do
Breaking up is a difficult and painful process
Remember when you held me tight
Think back to the times when you held me in your arms
And you kissed me all through the night
The moments when you kissed me for hours in the night
Think of all that we've been through
Recall all the experiences, both good and bad, that we have shared together
'Cause breakin' up is hard to do
Breaking up is a difficult and painful process
They say that breakin' up is hard to do
The popular belief is that ending a relationship is difficult
Now I know, I know that it's true
From personal experience, I agree that breaking up is hard
Don't say that this is the end
Please don't tell me that this is the final goodbye
Instead of breakin' up I wish that
Rather than ending things, I really wish that
We were makin' up again
We could reconcile and be together again
I beg of you, don't say goodbye
I am pleading with you not to say farewell
Can't we give our love another try?
Can we not attempt to repair our relationship and try again?
Come on baby, let's start anew
Let's begin afresh and start over together
'Cause breakin' up is hard to do
Breaking up is a difficult and painful process
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marco Juliano
Down, doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down
Dont take your love away from me,
Dont you leave my heart in misery,
If you go then Ill be blue,
Cause breaking up is hard to do.
Remember when you held me tight
And you kissed me all through the night?
Think of all that weve been through
Cause breaking up is hard to do.
They say that breaking up is hard to do,
Now I know, I know that its true
Dont say that this is the end
Instead of breaking up I wish that
We were making up again
I beg of you, dont say goodbye.
Cant we give our love another try?
Come on, baby, lets start anew,
Cause breaking up is hard to do.
They say that breaking up is hard to do,
Now I know, I know that its true
Dont say that this is the end
Instead of breaking up I wish that
We were making up again
I beg of you, dont say goodbye.
Cant we give our love another try?
Come on, baby, lets start anew,
Cause breaking up is hard to do
Doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down (Breaking up is hard to do)
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down (Breaking up is hard to do)
REPEAT AND FADE
Kendrick Harris- Kenfinity
Alright! There's NOTHING can stop our unparalleled bonds from being broken up. Stay safe everyone!
Kevin Gavigan
According to the Wikipedia article for "At Home With Their Greatest Hits" (the album on which this appears) the lineup on this version includes David Cassidy (lead vocals), Shirley Jones and The Love Generation (background vocals), Larry Carlton (guitar), Larry Knechtel (keyboards), Joe Osborn (bass), and Hal Blaine (drums).
{{edit}} I did a bit more research into the making of this version, and it also features Graham Nash on percussion, with Wes Farrell as the producer and Mike Melvoin as the arranger.
salchst
I love this version. Funny thing is, it brings back an old memory of a family camping trip Upstate New York when I was a teen. Here's the weird part: This song was playing on the jukebox at the campground. The speed of the machine was adjusted TOO SLOW, and it made David sound kind of like an old man! Great memory, though! (I still enjoyed the record, regardless of the mal-adjusted speed.)
Michael Glickman
For those wondering, the musicians are lead vocalists David Cassidy and Shirley Jones; backing vocalists Jackie Ward, John Bahler, Tom Bahler, and Ron Hicklin; guitarists Dennis Budimir, Larry Carlton, Louie Shelton, and Tommy Tedesco; bassists Joe Osborn and Max Bennett; drummer Hal Blaine; and keyboardists Larry Knechtel and Mike Melvoin.
Ben Loudermilk
The musicians who played on this and pretty much every other Partridge family song were known as "The Wrecking Crew"
Chris Hansen
wonderful cover of Neil Sedaka hit.
Marco Juliano
Down, doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down, doobie doo down
Dont take your love away from me,
Dont you leave my heart in misery,
If you go then Ill be blue,
Cause breaking up is hard to do.
Remember when you held me tight
And you kissed me all through the night?
Think of all that weve been through
Cause breaking up is hard to do.
They say that breaking up is hard to do,
Now I know, I know that its true
Dont say that this is the end
Instead of breaking up I wish that
We were making up again
I beg of you, dont say goodbye.
Cant we give our love another try?
Come on, baby, lets start anew,
Cause breaking up is hard to do.
They say that breaking up is hard to do,
Now I know, I know that its true
Dont say that this is the end
Instead of breaking up I wish that
We were making up again
I beg of you, dont say goodbye.
Cant we give our love another try?
Come on, baby, lets start anew,
Cause breaking up is hard to do
Doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down (Breaking up is hard to do)
Come-a, come-a
Down doobie doo down down (Breaking up is hard to do)
REPEAT AND FADE
Tina_marie Murphy
I am in David Casssidy heaven, listening to David Cassidy,sb vocals.🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
Steven
Dam old music is hard to beat. DINOSAURS unity.
Alejandro Ramirez
70 por siempre.