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 Means I'm In Love With You
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I ain't been eating right
Just seeing you and me together
Together
We'll I've been skippin' down the cobblestones
Talkin' to myself alone
Sleepin' by the telephone
Ever since we talked that night
Flying like a summer kite
My momma says I ain't been right
I believe it
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
Got myself together if I say so myself
Love is going to get me by, by
Jack in the beanstalk
Climbing all the way to the beautiful sky
To the beautiful sky, to the beautiful sky
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
Got myself together if I say so myself
Love is going to get me by, by
Jack in the beanstalk
Climbing all the way to the beautiful sky
Beautiful sky, beautiful sky, beautiful sky, together
'Cause it mean if we're together if I say so myself
Love is going to get me by, by
Jack in the beanstalk
Climbing all the way to the beautiful sky
To the beautiful sky, to the beautiful sky
I can't sleep at night
I ain't been eating right
Just seein' you and me together
Together, together
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
The Partridge Family's song It Means I'm In Love With You is a classic love song that talks about the thrill and excitement of being in love. The song has a happy upbeat melody, and the lyrics are full of enthusiasm and anticipation that comes with love. The singer confesses to not being able to sleep or eat right because of the person they are in love with.
The lyrics also reveal that the singer is constantly thinking about their love interest, even when they are not together. They enjoy the feeling of being in love and the impact it has on their life. The lyrics "Got myself together if I say so myself; Love is going to get me by, by" suggests that being in love has given the singer a new sense of purpose, and they are determined to make it work.
The chorus "Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love; Cause it means I'm in love with you" repeats throughout the song, emphasizing the excitement and joy that comes with being in love. In summary, the song is a fun and energetic celebration of the power of love.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't sleep at night
I have trouble sleeping at night because I am so consumed with thoughts of you
I ain't been eating right
I have lost my appetite and have not been able to eat properly since I began experiencing these feelings for you
Just seein' you and me together
Simply imagining a future where you and I are together fills me with happiness
Together, together
Being together with you is all I want
Well, I've been skippin' down the cobblestones
I have been in such a good mood since meeting you that I feel like skipping down the street
Talkin' to myself alone
I cannot stop thinking about you and I often find myself talking out loud to myself about you
Sleepin' by the telephone
I cannot stand the thought of missing your call, so I sleep with the phone next to me
And I like it
I am enjoying this feeling of being in love with you and all the excitement that comes with it
Ever since we talked that night
From the moment we had that conversation, I have not been able to stop thinking about you
Flying like a summer kite
I feel like I am flying because of the exhilarating feeling of being in love with you
My momma says I ain't been right
Even my mother has noticed that something has changed about me since meeting you
I believe it
I know that what my mother is saying is true because I feel it too
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
All of these feelings are because I am completely in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
All of these feelings are focused on you because I am head over heels in love with you
Got myself together if I say so myself
I have managed to keep myself together despite the overwhelming feelings I have for you
Love is going to get me by, by
I believe that my love for you will help me get through any obstacles that come our way
Jack in the beanstalk
I feel like I am on a magical adventure every time I think about you
Climbing all the way to the beautiful sky
I am willing to do whatever it takes to be with you, even if it means climbing to great heights
Beautiful sky, beautiful sky, beautiful sky, together
I envision a beautiful future together with you, filled with love, joy and happiness
'Cause it mean if we're together if I say so myself
I truly believe that we are meant to be together and that we can make it work
Love is going to get me by, by
My love for you will help me overcome any obstacle that we may face
Jack in the beanstalk
My love for you makes me feel like I am on a magical adventure
Climbing all the way to the beautiful sky
I will do everything in my power to be with you, even if it means reaching for the stars
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
All of these feelings are because I am completely in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
All of these overwhelming emotions are focused solely on you because I am deeply and crazily in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
All of these feelings are because I am completely and irrevocably in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love with you
All of these emotions revolve around one person, and that is you, because I am completely and hopelessly in love with you
'Cause it means I'm in love, I'm in love
Everything that I am feeling comes down to one simple fact: I am truly and undeniably in love with you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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