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.
Singing My Song
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Singin' my song and they're singin' along
All of my problems are oh so small
All of my problems are so small
[Chorus:] I sing it um ba de dumb ba de da dee dee
dum ba de dumb ba de dumb ba de dada
Ba de dumb ba de dumb ba de da dee dee
Singin' it out in the mornin'; singin' it out in the night
Makin' it clear 'cause I want them to hear
We can make everything quite all right
We can make everything all right
[Chorus:]
Doo doo.....
Yes, I know! I know when a heart sinks low, so low, so low
We can talk to one another;
For the love is strong and it can't go wrong
[Chorus:]
The Partridge Family's song Singing My Song is a catchy and uplifting tune that expresses the joy and power of music. In the first verse, the singer shares how they are singing their song out to the people, and how everyone is joining in. The chorus is a fun and catchy collection of sounds and words that reinforces the joyful message of the song. In the second verse, the singer talks about singing in the morning and night, hoping to reach people with their message of hope and positivity. The final verse is a message of love and support, reassuring everyone that they can talk to one another and things will work out.
The overall message of Singing My Song is very uplifting and positive, which is typical of The Partridge Family's music. The song expresses the power of music to unite people and to provide comfort and hope in difficult situations. The choice of words in the chorus is particularly interesting, as it seems to be made up of nonsense words, but is still very catchy and memorable. This shows the power of music to convey emotion and meaning, even when the words themselves do not make sense.
Line by Line Meaning
Singin' it out to the people; singin' it out to them all
I'm performing my music for everyone to hear
Singin' my song and they're singin' along
The audience is enjoying and joining in with my music
All of my problems are oh so small
Music has helped me forget my problems and focus on the positive
[Chorus:] I sing it um ba de dumb ba de da dee dee dum ba de dumb ba de dumb ba de dada Ba de dumb ba de dumb ba de da dee dee dum ba de dumb ba de dumb ba de da
These are just nonsensical syllables used to fill in for the melody of the song
Singin' it out in the mornin'; singin' it out in the night
I'm singing anytime and anywhere because I want to be heard
Makin' it clear 'cause I want them to hear
I'm being intentional with my music so that the audience can understand my message
We can make everything quite all right
Through music, we can come together and make everything better
[Chorus:] Doo doo.....
This is still just a filler for the melody of the song
Yes, I know! I know when a heart sinks low, so low, so low
I understand the pain of a broken heart and the power of music to heal it
We can talk to one another; For the love is strong and it can't go wrong
Through music, we can communicate and connect with others and nothing can ruin the bond we share
[Chorus:]
Once again, the nonsensical syllables are just to fill in for the melody
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Billy Sherrill, Glenn Sutton, Tammy Wynette
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
talrplr
..to this day, I think this is one of the best bass performances ever....Joe Osborn totally kills it in this tune....God bless The Wrecking Crew!!
Vallin Sfas
CREDIT! He's the other reason I got into it...with a pick!
Arthur Liccione
Great song for so many reasons. I am 57 and it seems like yesterday,
Riley0205
I think this is the song that made me fall in love w/DC. He ROCKS on this!! Thx for posting.
7beers
Next to the Beatles, the Partridge Family are, for me, serious contenders for best pop act ever. Move over Stevie, Fleetwood, Jethro, MJ, David, Freddie, and all the rest. I kid you not. No other band, next to the fab four, had as many high-quality songs. Maybe Elton and the Stones.
talrplr
This song has the best bass guitar lines I have ever heard...and I have heard a LOT....Unreal
Joyce Tyner
Yes
sivvybee
One of the bset songs David ever did.
LULA PETRY
You're an editing genius. Keep 'em comin' I'm a fan of yours....and the PF of course!
Dennis Hardy
I was kind of sad when they replaced Jeremy(Chris) with Brian yet i can understand also. Jeremy wasn't beating those drums convincingly enough. But i learned to like Brian as well. PF was great show. RIP Suzanne.