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.
Cherish
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside
You don't know how many times
I wished that I had told you
You don't know how many times
I wished that I could hold you
You don't know how many times
I've wished that I could mold you
Cherish me as much as I cherish you
Perish is the word that more than applies
To the hope in my heart each time I realize
That I am not going to be the one
To share your dreams
That I am not going to be the one
To share your schemes
That I am not going to be the one
To share what seems to be the life
That you could cherish me as much as I do yours.
Oh I'm beginning to think
That man has never found
The words that could make you want me
That have the right amount of letters
Just the right sound
That could make you hear
Make you see
That you're driving me out of my mind
Oh I could say I need you
But then you'd realize that I want you
Just like a thousand other guys
Who say they'd love you
With all the rest of their lives
When all they wanted was to
Touch your face, your hand
And gaze into your eyes
Cherish is the word I use to describe
All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside
You don't know how many times I wished that I had told you
You don't know how many times I wished that I could hold you
You don't know how many times I wished that I could mold you
Into someone that could cherish me as much as I cherish you
And I do
Cherish you
The Partridge Family’s hit song “Cherish” is a ballad about unrequited love. The lyrics express the deep feelings the singer has for someone who does not feel the same way. The word “cherish” is used to describe the intense emotion the singer has for the person he is addressing. He wishes he could tell them how he feels and hold them close, but they do not reciprocate these feelings. The lyrics also express the singer’s realization that he will never be able to share his dreams or schemes with the person he loves. He feels that he will never be able to experience the love that he holds within his heart.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of the word “cherish” to the singer. He uses the word as a way to describe the intensity of his feelings, which are hidden deep within him. He wishes that the person he loves could feel the same way about him as he does for them. He believes that if they were able to “cherish” him as much as he does for them, they could experience a deep and fulfilling love. However, the bitter reality is that this will never happen.
In summary, the song “Cherish” is a beautiful ballad about unrequited love. The lyrics express the depth of the singer’s emotions and the pain he feels knowing that the love he desires will never be reciprocated.
Line by Line Meaning
Cherish is the word I use to describe
I want to express the intense emotions I feel for you and the best word to describe it is cherish
All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside
I have an immense love for you that I have kept hidden inside my heart until now
You don't know how many times
I wished that I had told you
I regret not telling you how I feel about you and I have wished to say it to you several times
You don't know how many times
I wished that I could hold you
I have wished to hold you in my arms numerous times because I desire your touch
You don't know how many times
I've wished that I could mold you
Into someone who could
Cherish me as much as I cherish you
There have been times when I wished I could change you into someone who would love me back as ardently as I do
Perish is the word that more than applies
To the hope in my heart each time I realize
My hope of being with you fades away every time I comprehend how far apart we are
That I am not going to be the one
To share your dreams
I am not the one whom you would share your aspirations with
That I am not going to be the one
To share your schemes
I cannot take part in your plans and ideas in the way I want to because of my position in your life
That I am not going to be the one
To share what seems to be the life
That you could cherish me as much as I do yours.
I feel that I am going to miss sharing a relationship as fulfilling as the one I envision with you
Oh I'm beginning to think
That man has never found
The words that could make you want me
I am starting to believe that no one has ever found a way to make you feel attracted to them, and thus I cannot either
That have the right amount of letters
Just the right sound
That could make you hear
Make you see
I do not possess the vocabulary to win your heart over and convince you of the sincerity of my love
That you're driving me out of my mind
Your presence in my thoughts is constantly making me restless and uneasy
Oh I could say I need you
But then you'd realize that I want you
If I expressed my need for you, I am afraid you would not understand that my real desire is for you
Just like a thousand other guys
Who say they'd love you
With all the rest of their lives
When all they wanted was to
Touch your face, your hand
And gaze into your eyes
I don't want to be like other men who have said they love you and just wanted to be physically close to you for their own pleasure
And I do
Cherish you
Despite everything, I want you to know that I truly love and cherish you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BRIAN KELLY MCKNIGHT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@barrypeters3578
Don't think he could have chosen a nicer song to cover. His voice is instantly recognizable, and his delivery is superb. Even now in my senior years I can understand why he was such a phenomenon !
@baseballboys4727
He was so beautiful, I didn't realize how good a voice he had. RIP David❤
@lynnbarratt8229
Bless him. I was 15 and had all his records, posters on my wall, watched the partridge family, he was my 1st love. I'm now 66 and thrilled that I remember that special time.
@cinnamongirl64
This song is absolutely beautiful, it shows the unmistakable talent of David’s voice, a sad loss in music.
@julieb3879
There will never be another David Cassidy..
No one will ever come close to hes unique Vocals... loved him for over 50 years 🥰😢💜💔
@De_Los_Her
He had it all: talent, looks, charisma. RIP handsome angel. 💋
@annmarie7488
David's version was perfection. No one has ever sang quite like him. Such a beautiful soul.
@juliemumof3291
I grew up with him. I was one of the thousands of teenagers who fell In love with him, but we all grow older and live life for real. R.I.P David.
@daveoliver5200
Never gets old, loved his voice.
@randyscottmcnally7149
A very peaceful voice and song !! Easy to listen to and sing along . Hard to believe he is gone SO YOUNG !!!