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.
You Are Always On My Mind
The Partridge Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wake up in the mornin' feelin' all right 'till I recall
You're gone from my life and I stare like a dummy against the wall
Since you've been away, oh, yes, I am uptight
It's a fact of my life I guess I'll try to fight
I could be so good for you if I had that right
If I had that right
CHORUS:
You Are Always On My Mind
Have I gotta go through this old life
day after day and find
You there on my mind
You are always on my mind
Have I gotta go through this old life
day after day and find
You there on my mind
I don't understand you at all but I don't care
Still a lot of good love in our lives for us to share
You might think it's sad, but I'm together now, yeah, you laugh, huh
I know it's true I'm much better now
You ought to come on by and see for yourself just how
I'm much better now
CHORUS:
You are always on my mind
Have I gotta go through this old life
day after day and find
You there on my mind
You are always on my mind
Have I gotta go through this old life
day after day and find
You there on my mind
REPEAT AND FADE
The Partridge Family's song "You Are Always On My Mind" is a melancholic love song that portrays a man who is struggling to move on from a past relationship. The lyrics describe the feelings of helplessness and heartbreak that come with losing someone who was once a major part of your life. The singer wakes up in the morning feeling alright until he remembers that the person he loves is no longer there. He feels like a "dummy against the wall" because he doesn't know how to cope with such a significant loss. The fact that the person is gone makes him uptight, but he tries to stay strong and fight through the pain. He wishes he had the right to be good for this person, but things have fallen apart, and it's too late to change it.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "You are always on my mind," emphasizing the song's central theme. The singer is constantly reminded of the person he loves and can't stop thinking about them. He knows that he has to go through life day after day and find them there on his mind. The last verse of the song shows the singer coming to terms with the fact that the relationship is over. He tells the person that he doesn't understand them but doesn't care. He believes that there is still a lot of good love left in their lives that they can share. The singer sounds optimistic, but the repetition of the chorus suggests that the memory of the person will never leave his mind.
Line by Line Meaning
Wake up in the mornin' feelin' all right 'till I recall
Every day starts well until I remember that you are not with me
You're gone from my life and I stare like a dummy against the wall
Once I realize that you left me, I feel helpless and don't know what to do
Since you've been away, oh, yes, I am uptight
Ever since you departed, I've been anxious and uneasy
It's a fact of my life I guess I'll try to fight
I'll have to face this reality and try to cope with it
I could be so good for you if I had that right
If given the chance, I could make you happy and be a great partner
If I had that right
If I were given that opportunity
You Are Always On My Mind
No matter what I do, I can't stop thinking about you
Have I gotta go through this old life day after day and find
Do I really have to continue living my life without you and have constant reminders of you?
You there on my mind
Always present in my thoughts
I don't understand you at all but I don't care
Despite not fully comprehending your actions, I still love you and want you back
Still a lot of good love in our lives for us to share
We can still have a great future together, full of love and happiness
You might think it's sad, but I'm together now, yeah, you laugh, huh
While you may perceive me as sad and lonely, I'm actually doing okay now, despite missing you
I know it's true I'm much better now
I admit that I'm doing better without you, but I would still prefer to have you by my side
You ought to come on by and see for yourself just how
You should come see me and witness how much I've improved since we parted ways
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dr1204
Hands down my fave Shirley performance of the series! one of my fave songs from my fave album. 🎉
@bluebeetle585
Always been my all-time favorite Partridge song.
@karendiamond5523
Shirley looks like she is having the best time. David is gorgeous singing a great song !! David thank you for all the beautiful music over the years . RIP sweet David. Loved you then and still do .xx
@staceychutskoff1232
Yess!
@geerterri
Don't forget that they are actors first and foremost.
@user-oi4nt7mw8q
😊
@patriciaguth6882
I've always loved the story of how the producers of the Partridge Family show didn't even know David could sing when they hired him to play Keith. And then he turned out to be everyone's meal ticket!
@ericjay6021
Shirley could have told them.
@tweetybird1343
100 PERCENT
@josephkissel6062
Actually, the real story is that the producers weren't casting for a "Keith" that could sing. He had to fight to sing on the records. David's success was a double-edged sword in that The Partridge Family and David Cassidy become unbelievably popular. But that also led to Cassidy wanting off the show as the show was poorly written and his character had no substance and seemed as if the producers/writers didn't even like Keith, who in reality was already a superstar. Long story short: Great Music, wonderful iconic actors, early 70s nostalgia galore, terrible writing and scripts.