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.
Stephanie
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What would life be like with you
I've just been wondering and I'd sure like to see
If you've been a thinkin' the same about me
And I'm doin' all I can do
All but the growin' and that's up to you
Stephanie, your eyes are free
You can see things as they appear to be
I don't have to tell you how much I really care
You and I both know about the love that we share
And I'm doin' all I can do
All but the growin' and that's up to you
And I'm doin' all I can do
All but the growin' and that's up to you
And I'm doin' all I can do
All but the growin' and that's up to you
And I'm doin' all I can do
All but the growin' and that's up to you
And I'm doin' all I can do
All but the growin' and that's up to you
And I'm doin' all I can do
All but the growin' and that's up to you
The Partridge Family's song "Stephanie" is a beautiful, gentle, and thoughtful tune about a young man who is enamored with a girl named Stephanie, whose blue eyes and free spirit fascinate him. The song is essentially a love letter from the singer, expressing his admiration and affection for Stephanie, and wondering if she feels the same way about him. He reassures her that he deeply cares for her and speaks about the love they share.
The song's chorus, "And I'm doin' all I can do, all but the growin' and that's up to you," is an invitation to Stephanie to take a chance on him and see where their love might lead. It's a sweet and simple sentiment that captures the essence of young love.
The song itself is musically beautiful as well, with a gentle and undulating guitar riff that underscores the tender lyrics. The melody is soft and lilting, perfectly matching the romantic and wistful tone of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Stephanie, whose eyes are blue
Stephanie, with bright blue eyes, I think about what life would be like with you
What would life be like with you
I wonder about the kind of life we would share together
I've just been wondering and I'd sure like to see
I'm curious about your thoughts and I hope to know them someday
If you've been a thinkin' the same about me
Perhaps you have also been wondering if we fit well together
Stephanie, your eyes are free
Stephanie, you have the ability to see things clearly and make choices
You can see things as they appear to be
You have a clear view of reality and can make rational decisions
I don't have to tell you how much I really care
I don't need to express how deep my feelings are for you, because we both know it already
You and I both know about the love that we share
We share a mutual love for each other and we acknowledge it
And I'm doin' all I can do
I am doing everything in my power
All but the growin' and that's up to you
Except for growing our relationship, which depends on you as much as it does on me
And I'm doin' all I can do
I am doing everything in my power
All but the growin' and that's up to you
Except for growing our relationship, which depends on you as much as it does on me
And I'm doin' all I can do
I am doing everything in my power
All but the growin' and that's up to you
Except for growing our relationship, which depends on you as much as it does on me
And I'm doin' all I can do
I am doing everything in my power
All but the growin' and that's up to you
Except for growing our relationship, which depends on you as much as it does on me
And I'm doin' all I can do
I am doing everything in my power
All but the growin' and that's up to you
Except for growing our relationship, which depends on you as much as it does on me
Contributed by Thomas M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.