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.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Twenty-four hours a day, girl, that's not the way I planned it
It would be you and it would be me, girl
Twenty-four hours a day, yeah, twenty-four hours a day
My lover and my friend, my beginning and my end, oh
I had a dream; what came in between us?
Twenty-four hours away, girl, without you I am stranded
All that I knew was me lovin' you, girl
Twenty-four hours a day, yeah, twenty-four hours a day
BREAK:
And I know I loved you and you loved me, too
But the temptation for more than me, for movin' on was there
You were like the sunshine, but sunshine comes and goes
How was I to know that I would stay and you'd be the one to go?
My lover and my friend, my beginning and my end, oh
I had a dream, what came in between us?
CHORUS
REPEAT AND FADE
The Partridge Family's song, "Twenty-Four Hours A Day," is a ballad about a relationship that has ended, leaving the singer feeling lost and alone without his partner. The song is structured into two verses with a chorus and a break in between them. In the first verse, the singer talks about the idealized version of their relationship - he wanted it to be him and her twenty-four hours a day. However, in the second verse, he acknowledges that even though he loved her, the temptation to move on was always there, which resulted in their separation. He then ponders what came in between them and how he did not foresee that she would be the one to leave him. The chorus repeats the same lines as the verses, emphasizing the main message of the song that he cannot live without his partner.
The lyrics are heartfelt and emotional, unintentionally capturing the 1970s love ballads in some aspects. However, they highlight the struggles and challenges of finding and maintaining true love, which resonates with many people. The song's slow tempo and melancholic melody add to the mournful tone, reflecting the pain of losing someone you love.
Line by Line Meaning
Twenty-four hours a day, girl, that's not the way I planned it
I never intended for us to be apart even for a single moment.
It would be you and it would be me, girl
We were supposed to always be together as a couple.
Twenty-four hours a day, yeah, twenty-four hours a day
The idea of not being together all the time is unbearable for me.
My lover and my friend, my beginning and my end, oh
You are everything to me; my love, my support, the reason for my existence.
I had a dream; what came in between us?
I can't understand what happened to our perfect relationship.
Twenty-four hours away, girl, without you I am stranded
Being away from you for just one day feels like I am lost in the middle of nowhere.
All that I knew was me lovin' you, girl
My love for you consumed me completely, it was all I knew.
And I know I loved you and you loved me, too
Our love was real, powerful and mutual.
But the temptation for more than me, for movin' on was there
Although we loved each other, the possibility of exploring other options was always present.
You were like the sunshine, but sunshine comes and goes
You brought happiness into my life, but like everything else, it's not permanent.
How was I to know that I would stay and you'd be the one to go?
I never imagined that our roles would be reversed; you leaving and me staying alone.
CHORUS
Repeating the earlier message that being away from my love is intolerable for me.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DANNY JANSSEN, WES FARRELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind