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.
It's One of Those Nights
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and you sit in the dark and say to yourself "I miss her"
It's one of those moods when your body broods
and you conjure up her picture and you kiss her
It's one of those things for the pain it brings
you say to yourself "Hey couldn't I live without it?"
Well, I think so, on the other hand, I doubt it
like waves upon the shore
And I nod my head, whoa yes love, I'd welcome you again
if you knocked upon my door
If you didn't, I'd seek you out love, I'd track you down for sure
like a thousand times before
Whoa, yes love, I'd welcome you again like you know I've done
before
Ahh.........yes love, you know I did before
Ahh.........yes love, you know I did before
And so it goes it's a cold in your nose
it's a pain in the neck, it'll make you a wreck if it gets ya
It's so insane 'cause for all the rain
when you ask yourself could you do it all again, you betcha
I hear a voice say you got no chance
and it makes me mad and I shout, "Oh yeah, who says so?"
Well, of course not, on the other hand, I guess so
Whoa, suddenly she's crashing through my mind
like waves upon the shore
And I nod my head, whoa yes love, I'd welcome you again
if you knocked upon my door
If you didn't, I'd seek you out love, I'd track you down for sure
like a thousand times before
Oh, yes love, I'd welcome you again like you know I've done
before
Ahh.........yes love, you know I did before
Ahh.........yes love, you know I did before
Ahh.........yes love, you know I did before
The Partridge Family's song It's One of Those Nights is about missing someone deeply and feeling the pain of their absence. The lyrics describe a particular mood where one sits in the dark, conjuring up memories of the person they miss and longing to be with them again. The artist speaks of their doubts about being able to live without that person, despite the pain they may bring. The singer imagines the person showing up at their door, signifying that they would welcome them back into their life. The lyrics also touch on the frustration that comes with missing someone, as well as the conflict between wanting to move on and the desire to go back to the way things were.
The song's emotive lyrics are relevant to anyone who has struggled with missing someone they love, as well as the internal debate about whether or not to welcome that person back into their lives. The use of metaphors such as waves upon the shore emphasizes the emotions that the artist is feeling, and the metaphors of a pain in the neck and a wreck make the lyrics relatable to listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
It's one of those nights when you turn out the lights
and you sit in the dark and say to yourself "I miss her"
This is one of those nights when you're alone in the dark and feeling her absence
It's one of those moods when your body broods
and you conjure up her picture and you kiss her
You're in a melancholy mood, imagining her and wishing she was here
It's one of those things for the pain it brings
you say to yourself "Hey couldn't I live without it?"
Well, I think so, on the other hand, I doubt it
You acknowledge the pain she's caused but you're not sure if you could really live without her
Well suddenly she's crashing through my mind
like waves upon the shore
And I nod my head, whoa yes love, I'd welcome you again
if you knocked upon my door
If you didn't, I'd seek you out love, I'd track you down for sure
like a thousand times before
She's on your mind again and you're willing to take her back, or even pursue her if she doesn't come back on her own
Whoa, yes love, I'd welcome you again like you know I've done
before
Ahh.........yes love, you know I did before
Ahh.........yes love, you know I did before
You've welcomed her back before and you're willing to do it again
And so it goes it's a cold in your nose
it's a pain in the neck, it'll make you a wreck if it gets ya
It's so insane 'cause for all the rain
when you ask yourself could you do it all again, you betcha
I hear a voice say you got no chance
and it makes me mad and I shout, "Oh yeah, who says so?"
Well, of course not, on the other hand, I guess so
The pain and insanity of missing her can drive you crazy, but you're willing to take the chance again
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Madelow56
Hands down, my all time favorite Partridge Family song.
@bufb
Mine too
@liberatomauriziosantavener8333
Concordo è la mia favorita anche per me POESIA..
@pjames8712
Mine TOO!!!
@kevvymac
Same :)
@ericbarash6842
This reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Adult Contemporary chart in 1972.
@denisenicolewilsonmendez3497
Love the innocence of this song and the 70s! I wish it were still like that!
@jimogrady1131
Denise Nicole Wilson Mendez Most of us 8th graders were drinking Beer in 1976. So much for us Catholics being Catholics drinking beer at 14 years old. Us boys went crazy there was girl that looked like Steavie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac.
@keithtaylor1864
Me too!
@johnager9428
Denise life will never be like that time again, enjoy what we have ❤️