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.
Something's Wrong
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I call you on the phone,
And your voice seems so cold, I know something's wrong
Something's wrong
When my friends all laugh at me,
Cause they see what I don't see, I know something's wrong
I wish you'd only told me,
I was buying all the lies that you sold me,
But I'd rather go on even if something's wrong than
Try to get along without your love, baby,
Try and get along without your love
Something's wrong each time I try to kiss you,
I can see that soon I'm gonna miss you
My baby
Cause you don't love me like you used to,
And your "used to" is something I've grown used to.
Something's wrong.
Asked you out and you said "fine.",
Now you've never got the time, I know something's wrong
Something's wrong
You would smile and answer "yes",
Now you always make me guess, I know something's wrong
I can tell by the look in your eyes,
There were times you've been feeding me lies,
But I'd rather go on even if something's wrong than
Try to get along without your love, baby,
Try to get along without your love
Something's wrong each time I try to kiss you,
I can see that soon I'm gonna miss you
My baby
Cause you don't love me like you used to,
But I'd rather go on even if something's wrong than
I can't try to get along without your love, baby.
Try to get along without your love, no no,
Try to get along without your love, baby.
The Partridge Family's song "Something's Wrong" is a heart-wrenching ballad about a deteriorating relationship. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the various signs that something is amiss in the relationship. When the singer calls their partner, the partner's voice sounds cold, indicating that they are not as emotionally present as they used to be. To make matters worse, the singer's friends seem to know something that they do not, suggesting that the partner is behaving differently when the singer is not around. When the singer attempts to kiss their partner, they realize that the passion is gone and they are going to miss them when they're gone.
The chorus of the song emphasizes that while the singer is aware that things are wrong, they would rather continue on with the relationship, even if it means something is not right. They highlight that the alternative feels unbearable – to try and get along without the partner's love would be too painful. The song beautifully conveys the complicated feelings that come with a failed relationship. It highlights the pain of letting go of something you've grown used to, even if it's no longer healthy.
Line by Line Meaning
Something's wrong
When I call you on the phone,
And your voice seems so cold, I know something's wrong
The singer knows that something is off when they call their lover on the phone and their tone is cold.
Something's wrong
When my friends all laugh at me,
Cause they see what I don't see, I know something's wrong
The singer's friends are able to notice something is wrong with the relationship that the singer cannot see.
I wish you'd only told me,
I was buying all the lies that you sold me,
But I'd rather go on even if something's wrong than
Try to get along without your love, baby,
Try and get along without your love
The singer realizes that they have been fooled by their partner's lies, but they would rather stay in the relationship even if there are problems than be without their partner's love.
Something's wrong each time I try to kiss you,
I can see that soon I'm gonna miss you
My baby
Cause you don't love me like you used to,
And your "used to" is something I've grown used to.
The singer can tell that their partner no longer loves them like they used to, and even though their 'used to' state is something the singer has grown accustomed to, they know they'll miss their partner when they're gone.
Something's wrong.
Asked you out and you said "fine.",
Now you've never got the time, I know something's wrong
The singer realizes something is wrong when they ask their partner out and, after initially agreeing, their partner never has time for them.
Something's wrong
You would smile and answer "yes",
Now you always make me guess, I know something's wrong
The singer notices that their partner used to be open and honest with them, but now they are evasive and unclear in their responses, indicating that something is not right.
But I'd rather go on even if something's wrong than
I can't try to get along without your love, baby.
Try to get along without your love, no no,
Try to get along without your love, baby.
The singer is willing to stay with their partner even if things are not perfect because they cannot bear the thought of losing their love and having to try to live without it.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOBBY HART, DANNY JANSSEN, WES FARRELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind