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.
There's No Doubt In My Mind
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You won't be staying very long
Ah, but you're gonna find if you hang around awhile
you will remember me when you're gone
CHORUS:
You may not think that my love counts for much
But you'll remember me, baby, every single time we touch
One of these days you're gonna wish that you were mine
Don't be mistaken baby you won't be wastin' any time
There's no need to pretend that we can foresee
just how long these days will last
But I tell you I intend that the time you spend with me
won't be forgotten when it's past
CHORUS
REPEAT AND FADE
The lyrics to The Partridge Family's song "There's No Doubt In My Mind" speaks to a fleeting romance with a lover who is not expected to stick around for long. Despite knowing that the romance is not going to last, the singer still offers their love and presence to the lover while they are in their company. The lyrics also suggest that even if the lover doesn't place much value on the singer's love now, they will remember them every time they touch in the future.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the message that the singer's love for their lover may not seem consequential now, but it will be remembered in the future. The singer speaks with a confident conviction that the lover will eventually realize their true feelings and regret not being with them. Although there's no definite way to predict how long the days will last or how long the lover will stay, the singer assures that the time spent with them would not be forgotten.
Overall, the lyrics tell the story of profound affection and devotion directed at someone who is only around temporarily. The message of the song is that even if the love is not reciprocated or valued now, it will be remembered, and the lover will eventually understand their significance.
Line by Line Meaning
There's no doubt in my mind with your wandering smile
I am absolutely sure with your indecisive expressions,
You won't be staying very long
You won't be sticking around for a good while
Ah, but you're gonna find if you hang around awhile
However, if you prolong your presence in my life
you will remember me when you're gone
You will recall me once you depart from my life
You may not think that my love counts for much
You perhaps don't acknowledge the value of my affection
But you'll remember me, baby, every single time we touch
Nevertheless, our physical interactions will remind you of me
One of these days you're gonna wish that you were mine
One day you will wish that you belonged to me
Don't be mistaken baby you won't be wastin' any time
Do not be misguided, you would not be losing any of your precious moments
There's no need to pretend that we can foresee
It's unnecessary to feign prophetic knowledge
just how long these days will last
about the longevity of the present days
But I tell you I intend that the time you spend with me
However, I assure you that during our time together
won't be forgotten when it's past
it will not be erased from your memory
You may not think that my love counts for much
You perhaps don't acknowledge the value of my affection
But you'll remember me, baby, every single time we touch
Nevertheless, our physical interactions will remind you of me
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind