It’s March 11, 1972. The place: New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
A crowd of 21,000 screaming teens anxiously awaits the on-stage arrival of the world’s highest paid performer — David Cassidy, age 21.
Following a warm-up performance by Tony Orlando and Dawn — who sing their latest hits, “Knock Three Times” and “Candida” — the venue erupts in utter pandemonium as Cassidy takes the stage in his Elvis-inspired white jumpsuit and starts to sing hits from his new album, Cherish, the audience screaming with delight the entire time.
Fast forward 44 years to June 10, 2016. The place: New Jersey’s Newton Theatre.
The excited crowd of mainly female baby boomers whoops and hollers as they wait for their former teen idol, David Cassidy, 66, to take the stage. To them, Cassidy is not only a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor, but a certified pop icon.
David Cassidy was born in 1950 to celebrity parents — actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward — but from an early age, he was raised by his maternal grandparents in West Orange, NJ. At the age of 19, he appeared on Broadway in The Fig Leaves are Falling and played some minor roles on television shows including Adam-12, Bonanza, Ironside and Marcus Welby, M.D. At the age of 20, he accepted the role of Keith Partridge on TV’s The Partridge Family. (Coincidentally, the role of his mother on the show, Shirley Partridge, was played by Cassidy’s actual stepmother at the time, Shirley Jones.)
During the run of the very popular television show, The Partridge Family produced ten albums, with most selling more than a million copies each. But as a solo artist, Cassidy’s career went on to exceed the phenomenal success of The Partridge Family and he became an instant drawcard with spectacular sellout concert appearances all over the world. In fact, his famous 1972 concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden sold out in a single day.
Back at the Newton Theatre, Cassidy has finally made his way out on stage and grown women are jumping up out of their seats at their first glimpse of him. Moreover — just like at Madison Square Garden oh-so-many years ago — one can hardly hear the music over the cheering of the devoted fans, their hands waving in the air as Cassidy opens his show with a rockin’ guitar solo intro to his ubiquitous Partridge Family theme song, “C’mon Get Happy.”
Encouraging the soul sisters of a generation to get on their feet and clap along to 1970’s “I Can Hear Your Heartbeat,” Cassidy scans the beyond-excited crowd and also, every so often, glances at the large pair of screens mounted on either side of the stage which flash and change with a slide show of personal and professional photos, some of which — he makes a point of telling the audience — he’s never even seen before. The crowd goes wild when a vintage photo of The Partridge Family bus flashes before them and the audience viscerally feels the 1970s being recreated in the theater through the vibe of the music, the singing of their fellow audience members, and the enthusiasm of the performer, the band, and the crowd.
Backed by a crackerjack set of musicians, Cassidy blows the sold-out audience away at the Newton Theatre with his artful selection of pop and rock tribute songs, American Songbook classics, and his own hits as a solo artist and member of The Partridge Family.
During the performance, Cassidy tells the adoring crowd how lucky he feels to have been able to grow up in the presence of so many famous musicians. According to Cassidy, one of his idols is blues guitar great B.B. King and he performs a gutsy tribute number to him expertly accompanied by keyboardist Craig J Snider.
In addition to playing with Cassidy’s back-up band, Snider is also known for his work as a producer, arranger, and keyboard player on a string of modern hits including Mariah Carey’s “Don’t Forget About Us,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Walk Away,” Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable,” and a remix of “Birthday” which he did especially for Katy Perry.
Moving on to a classic rock favorite of his, Cassidy and the band present a joyful and rambunctious cover version of Deep Purple’s “Hush.” Cassidy’s guitar playing is authoritative and his voice sounds youthful and energetic, inspiring the audience members to enthusiastically sing along with him and the band on the well-known “Na, na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na” refrain.
“Hush” also features outstanding playing by the group’s drummer, Felipe Torres. Torres has traveled the world performing with such artists as Chubby Checker and The Monkees, and has also performed on television on The CBS Morning Show, TV Land, and The Biography Channel.
Cassidy and the group really get the audience going with “I’ll Meet You Halfway,” a 1971 Billboard Top Ten hit with lyrics by Gerry Goffin who, along with his wife, Carole King, wrote such megahits as “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “The Loco-motion,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” According to David, Goffin wrote the lyrics of “I’ll Meet You Halfway” especially for him; he even recalls the day Goffin presented the song to him in the studio back in 1971 using the day’s most sophisticated technology — an audiocassette.
Next, Cassidy segues into a song he says his dad taught him when he was only three-and-a-half years old. Despite the many years gone by too quickly, David tells the audience it’s a song he’s never forgotten and he expertly performs it for his fans at the Newton Theatre — Cole Porter’s 1932 classic, “Night and Day.”
During an evening of high points, perhaps the highest of them all is Cassidy’s tribute to The Monkees’ Davy Jones, with whom Cassidy had an opportunity to perform live on several occasions. Cassidy and the band’s stellar version of “Daydream Believer” has the entire crowd earnestly belting out the “Cheer up, Sleepy Jean” chorus while photos of Davy Jones flash on the screens, bringing back fond memories for this audience of yet another 1960s-era heartthrob.
After entertaining the crowd with his Top Ten 1972 solo hit, “Cherish,” Cassidy takes time out to introduce the various members of his group, notably his talented guitarist, Dave Robicheau. No stranger to 60s music, Robicheau spent 14 years touring the world with The Davy Jones Band and he was also a part of the The Teen Idols tour with Bobby Sherman and Peter Noone, in addition to backing up Micky Dolenz on many of his live solo concert dates. At the Newton Theatre, Robicheau tears down the house with a blistering guitar jam while the crowd roars.
Next up, Cassidy plays a song about which he now tells the crowd, “At the time I recorded it, I hated it, and I almost quit The Partridge Family over it.” He goes on to explain that — because he objected to the part where he was required to speak in the middle of the song — he didn’t play it for 25 years, but now readily admits, “I really love it!”
The song? His 1971 Top Ten hit, “Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted,” which Cassidy faithfully performs for the sea of charged-up fans before him.
And speaking of these fans: just what is it about this group that makes them so special? According to Frank Fabio, Cassidy’s bass player, “The fans are louder in Jersey!” Frank, who worked with The Pointer Sisters, Minnie Riperton, The Fifth Dimension, Wayne Newton, Frank Sinatra, and many more, says that it is because of such a devoted fan base in The Garden State that, for David and the group, “It’s always a blast to come back to Jersey.”
After wowing the crowd with The Partridge Family’s 1971 hit, “I Woke Up in Love This Morning,” Cassidy tells the audience how “eternally greatful” he is to have had the opportunity to have the final song of the evening associated with him for the past 46 years — a song which was awarded the distinction of being the #1 selling single of 1970. With the audience singing, smiling, clapping, and joyfully waving along, the entire theater goes wild for Cassidy’s biggest Partridge Family hit — “I Think I Love You.”
And do they love him? The answer is a resounding “YES!” Asserts one fan in the audience, for example, “He was everyone’s first crush,” whereas another exclaims, “This never gets old to us!”
And it’s obvious that David Cassidy doesn’t take such adulation lightly; he appears to be truly humbled by the devotion of his fans who — despite a life filled with the highest of highs and and some very low times, as well — seem to come right back at him with a simple message which he, his band, and the rest of the family of 70s music lovers at The Newton Theatre can forever remember and appreciate…
“C’mon Get Happy!”
For more on David Cassidy — including information on his upcoming performances at NJPAC in Newark, NJ, on Saturday, June 25 at 3pm and 7:30pm — please go to davidcassidy.com. For more on additional great concert programming at The Newton Theatre — notably The Bangles on Aug. 28, Jose Feliciano on Sept. 29, and Sha Na Na on Oct. 29 — please go to thenewtontheatre.com.
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