David Cassidy has sold over 25 million albums, millions of girls (and rather more mature ladies these days) fancy him, and he has just enjoyed a top ten album in the UK with Here And Now. At one time he was so dangerously desirable that Top Of The Pops wouldn't let him play as he was deemed a "security risk". So why has Virgin.net not been sharing the great man's company before now? Welcome to the very funky Mr Cassidy - and not before time...Loving the music and the ladies
You used to be the world's biggest heart-throb and had a bigger fan club than The Beatles and Elvis. Are you releasing a new album for musical reasons or just to get the ladies chasing after you again?
[Laughs mischievously] "Hey! No, I never did this to get ladies interested in me! Well, not really. It's just about the work, the love of the music, just doing good work. If you continually do good work in my profession you will be able to be successful. If you are making the music just for the end result, to be famous or rich or whatever, then it just won't come together. If you do it because you love to play or write and be creative, then you will be able to find a path. I just love to bring light to people's lives, to make them laugh and entertain them. I guess in the true sense of the word I am an entertainer."
Have you ever actually calculated how many ladies throughout your life have chased after you?
"No, I cannot come up with a precise figure for you, but I would like you to work on that and provide me with a number - could you do that for me?"
Certainly, I'll get on the case. Your longevity has been remarkable; you even put our mighty Cliff Richard to shame. Do your fellow entertainers come to you and ask for tips on how you have enjoyed so many years of success?
"Yeah, people do ask me. The secret is to make the work the priority, not the money, not think this a springboard to make me more famous. I have never made music with the motivation of seeing it as a career move, but you have to able to duck and dive a bit because nobody's career soars and is in a constant state of ascension. You have to consider the fact that if you do different things creatively you have a much better chance of continually working.
"There were times as an actor that I couldn't find work, so I would go and write and create in another way. I have just written a musical here in Las Vegas called The Rat Pack which has turned out to be really successful and has opened a whole host of new opportunities for me. I went to see it last night and just to witness so many people enjoying themselves and enjoying the music was wonderful. I felt really proud."
Then and now
It is amazing that you have crashed straight into the album top ten after so many years as a pop star. Does it feel great to be still sending people rushing to their record shops?
"Well, it is nice that people want to hear it; obviously they like what they are hearing. I think the new stuff is as good as the old stuff which is really exciting for me. To go back and re-record a lot of my old hits was also fantastic - like opening up an old chest of jewels that I had not looked at for so long.
"I hooked up with all of the original musicians and backing singers; it was incredible because we are all very different people now. Twenty-five years later people have gone and lived their lives and are now all very different people. To come back into the studio and bring those experiences and life lessons with you, and yet to still feel the joy from the music and remember the sunshine it brought, is a great, great feeling."
Do you think you are better equipped now to enjoy and appreciate the success now than when you were 21?
"Definitely, I don't think anyone at 50 isn't more appreciative of everything they have in their lives. At 21 you live with a sense of indestructibility, 'I can do anything', it is a wonderful place to be. But you can't appreciate that you haven't lived. You can't possibly know the lessons you are going to learn, there is so much to find out."
I'm 23 - am I in big trouble? Please share with me some helpful wisdom.
"No, no, you'll be fine, I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much your life evolves, how much you have to experience and enjoy. When I was your age I was so full of optimism and dreams. I still have that now, but you realise you will not live forever and you have to grasp things - you realise life is not a dress rehearsal."
Good works
You do so much charity work, in particular for War Child USA. Do you find it difficult to balance your music career and the work you do for these causes?
"I'm lucky in that I can combine the two; I perform charity concerts, promote events, provide exposure for causes so I am blessed to be able to mix my music with providing help. My wife works day and night for children's charities; there were offices destroyed in the World Trade Centre that we work in. Cantor-Fitzgerald had provided offices and we lost some wonderful, beautiful people in the tragedy.
"It was a horrific thing, but we must be resilient and not let such evil people and deeds suffocate and overcome us; if they do they will win, and I won't tolerate that happening. We must keep on being positive, War Child helps children in places like Kosovo, kids who have victimised through wars, whilst KidsCharities.org also does some truly wonderful work."
It must be hard to keep entertaining and playing bright pop songs amid these events - did Hear'say help bring some joy into your life when you recently came to London to perform with them?
"Yeah they were great, the song we did [Could It Be Forever] is on my new album. They are really, really talented people so it was a treat to work with them. We had a lot of fun, they sing live and appreciate their success, they are really nice people. It was great to do, and it is excellent to have the song feature on my album."
Are you coming to see us soon?
"Yeah, definitely, I will be coming over in November to do some concerts - the first in the UK for 15 years. Is that an Irish accent I hear from you? Will you be able to get me some real Guinness?"
Yeah, definitely.
"That authentic Irish stuff really knocks you on your ass."
Sounds like a plan. I'll order the drinks, you go catch your plane.
"Excellent, I can't wait!"
David Cassidy, famous for his role in The Partridge Family has brought out a new album Then And Now. The album features re-recordings with new arrangements of 23 classic songs, including familiar favourites, "Cherish", "I Think I Could Love You", and "How Can I Be Sure". He has sold over 25 million records worldwide and will be coming to the UK for the first time in 15 years to perform his new album.Tiscali caught up with him for a bit of a chat about performing with Hear'Say, singing live and how he would liked to be remembered in music history.
What was it like recording the album?
"It was an experience. Almost cathartic. I sang that material as a changed guy. I was such a different person when I first recorded those songs. I had to find that innocence in me, plus it was quite challenging vocally because I sang everything in the original keys. We also used the same studio, with the same backing singers and musicians as the first time around. We recorded the whole thing live - it was phenomenal. "
Do you still have fond memories of working on The Partridge Family?
"Definately. It will always have a special place in my life. It was an extraordinary experience."
Did you ever feel that artists like yourself and The Monkees were badly under-rated by the 'serious' sector of the music press?
"Oh yeah. Anybody who makes pop music is always seen as not being credible."
How do you feel about the current music scene e.g DJs sampling classic 70s soul records? Or current pop acts often being unable to sing live.
"For me, acts that can't sing live don't belong. I don't think that the music industry should be a marketing business, but that's what it has become.
There is a place for dance records and although there's an element of creativity in sampling, you're still taking somebody else's work."
Nostalgia dominates UK weekend TV schedules these days. Do you think that this is a good thing? Or is this a reflection of how today's artist have run out of original ideas, so they have to look backwards for inspiration?
"I think that the reason some artists sample from the 70s is because there was some great records made in that era and it was a more creative time, musically. Having said that, there are some really excellent pop songs that are crafted for todays acts, like N-Sync and The Backstreet Boys."
You recorded a good version of The Beatles "Please, Please, Me" which suggests that you could've been more rock focused - did you prefer to sing that type of song than ballads?
"I don't really have a preference. I have had many musical influences in my life, and as a child I was exposed to so many genres of music. The sound of the 60s has had the biggest impact on me."
What was it like working with Hear'Say?
"I didn't know that they were put together by a tv show, so I had to ask a few questions - were they talented? The answer was yes. Do they sing live? Again, yes. And finally, were they brats? And the answer was no! They were wonderfully people and very appreciative of what they had accomplished. I didn't find them arrogant, infact they were genuine and very talented."
Do you think they have what it takes to stay successful or do you think that they are a flash in the pan outfit?
"I can't answer that. They have the talent, but whether they have the material to keep them going is a different matter. You need a lot of things to succeed in this business. Nowadays it's a lot more difficult to have longevity in the industry. The business is pretty much about marketing. If they cut good material and stay focussed on singing live, they have a chance. It's definately about the material."
What is your secret to longevity in the music industry?
"I've always found that singing live with good material was the thing for me. I've also been able to turn my talents to other things - like writing, acting, producing and directing. It's not just about having hit records. I never just gone after fame because that's too hollow. It's always been about the work and then the other trappings of success come with that. I've always believed that if you like what you do and you love the music - hopefully there will be a market out there that people will want to hear it."
Since you've had some many hit songs - which track on your album Then And Now is your favourite?
"Cry. I love that song. I think that is one of my all time favourite songs."
How would you like to be remembered in music history?
"I just like to be remembered - full stop! If you get remembered in music history than you've done something good. And having inspired people to write, sing and play that's good enough for me."
You can catch David Cassidy on tour this year.
November 9 Manchester Apollo.
November 11 Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow
November 14 City Hall, Newcastle.
November 16 & 17 Hammersmith Apollo, London.
Published in the Courier News on November 1, 2001 By CHUCK DARROW
Gannett New JerseyErstwhile teen idol David Cassidy is out on tour for the first time in adecade. And he has Harrah's Atlantic City to thank.
It was just about a year ago that the 51-year-old Cassidy returned to the concert stage with an engagement at the bayside gaming hall. "The response was so overwhelmingly positive that people started talking about having me go out on tour," says Cassidy, who tonight returns to Harrah's for a two-night run.
Of course, it wasn't just Harrah's offer to bring him to its Broadway-By-the-Bay Theater that set him back on the road. Timing had a lot to do with it as well.
Prior to last year's gig, Cassidy, who rode his role as teen rock singer Keith Partridge in "The Partridge Family" to international superstardom, had spent much of the previous half-decade headlining two Las Vegas production shows, "EFX" at the MGM Grand, and "At the Copa," at the Rio. The reception he received in Atlantic City, caused him to reevaluated his career.
"I had been doing six shows a week, 48 weeks a year, and I thought, maybe this is the time to go out and do what I haven't done in years, to go back to doing something I love to do," he says, adding the tour, which began this summer "exceeded his expectations."
"It's been an amazing thing. I'm real pleased I decided to do this," he says.
Performing in Las Vegas revues has been just one facet of Cassidy's recent career. During the same time frame, he has emerged as one of Vegas' leading producers. In addition to creating "At the Copa" (in which he co-starred with Sheena Easton), he also produces "The Rat Pack Is Back," which contines a successful run at the Sahara.
While producing casino shows "gave me the platform to do what I wanted to do, creatively and artistically," Cassidy ultimately became a victim of his success. When both shows were on the Vegas boards, he says, "I had 77 employees, and was working all day in my office and working (on stage) all night. You cannot imagine the amount of work involved in producing, opposed to just being a performer.
"With the workload of having both shows, I found myself having no balance in my life," continues the married father of 10-year-old Beau Devin. "Now, I go out for a week, then go home for a week."
Last year at Harrah's, Cassidy devoted a chunk of his show to material from "At the Copa." This time out, the repertoire is exclusively culled from his recorded material.
Many of the songs he's been performing, including such signatures as "I Woke Up In Love This Morning," "I Think I Love You" and "Cherish," were voted on by fans via his Website (www.davidcassidy.com). Although these tunes were obvious, other choices, like "No Bridges" and "Ricky's Tune," were also suggested and included in the program.
Putting the set list together, says Cassidy -- whose recently released LP, "Then & Now," is a top-seller in England (look for a U.S. release next year) -- proved to be a profound experience.
"It was cathartic, in a way," he says. "I got to go through the last 30 years of my musical life. It's like opening up a chest and finding all these jewels."
Show time is 8 p.m. today and Friday. Admission is $250, $125 and $75. For information and reservations, call (800) 242-7724.
Movies have been made about David Cassidy’s incredible rise to stardom. By the age of 21 he was the highest paid solo performer in the world with a fan club that exceeded both the Beatles and Elvis combined. Playing a T.V. character named Keith Partridge turned David Cassidy into the all-time teen idol. Between 1970 and 1974 he had the hit television show, the sold-out concerts, a bunch of top ten records, and legions of screaming fans. His image was everywhere and merchandisers were making millions off of him. He was on top of the world but he was overwhelmed by it. He was trapped in the white hot glare of celebrity that so few have ever had to deal with. Burn out was inevitable and when the fall came it came quickly. Before the end of the decade he was washed up. Finished.David Cassidy is 50 now and he’s as hot an entertainer as there is in the industry. He began building his career back up by performing in theatre. He got a break in 1983 when he starred on Broadway in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." A couple years later he found himself starring with Sir Lawrence Olivier in London’s west end theatre district in a play called "Time." In the early nineties he was back on Broadway starring alongside his half-brother Shaun in the enormously successful "Blood Brothers." After that Vegas came calling and things got interesting.
In 1996 David moved to Las Vegas where he replaced an injured Michael Crawford in a special effects extravaganza called "EFX." It would soon become the most successful production in Vegas and David starred in it for three full years. David, with the help of his partner Don Reos, then went on to write, produce, and direct a show called "The Rat Pack Is Back," This production, which is still going strong today, is a journey back to December 12, 1961, the day of Frank Sinatra’s 46 th birthday. It is a loving tribute to the Vegas of yesteryear. And finally there’s "At The Copa" which just ended this past January. This was a semi-autobiographical show that David wrote and co-starred in with Sheena Easton. It was a combination Broadway play and live concert and many felt it was a musical masterpiece. "At The Copa" told the story of two would be entertainers who worked at the legendary Copa. The show ended at the height of it’s popularity.
After working non-stop for many years now, David is ready to move on to other things. He has been happily married to Susan Shifrin-Cassidy for thirteen years and the two have a ten year old son named Beau. He also has a love of horses and has been in the thoroughbred horse business for some time. He will be going on a concert tour triumphantly returning to venues he hasn’t been at in nearly thirty years. He is especially excited about performing at the Foxwoods Casino on March 10th. This phone interview took place on the afternoon of February 16th. David was at a horse farm in Florida at the time.
BH – So David I understand that this will be the first time you’ve ever appeared on the cover of a music magazine.
DC – (Laughs) "Yeah that’s true. I’ve never been on the cover of a music magazine"!
BH – I heard you’ve been in the studio lately. Can I ask you what you’re working on?
DC – "I’m working on some new tracks that will go on a compilation album full of old and new material. I’m just finishing up our contract and it’s with one of the three major labels and I’m extremely anxious to finish it. I just finished my show in Vegas about three weeks ago and just went out on Wednesday night (2/14) and did my first concert on the road. I’m seriously looking forward to coming to Foxwoods because so many friends of mine and so much of my family is from back there. I lived in Connecticut for a while."
BH – Where was that?
DC – "I lived in Ridgefield for five years and I’ve never been to Foxwoods but I’ve heard so many great things about it."
BH – What kind of show will you be bringing to Foxwoods?
DC- " What I’m probably going to do is bring a pretty large band. We’ll probably have six horns and three background singers, five in the rhythm section plus me. So if you count that up you should have a pretty seriously big band. I’m going to do two or three things from ‘At The Copa.’
I’m going to do a lot of my old songs, a lot of my old hits, a lot of my solo stuff certainly from ‘Old Trick New Dog’ ( his 1998 release) and probably one new thing. You know when you’ve had thirty years and eighteen albums you can draw from a lot of material. I’m also thinking about doing a song from ‘Blood Brothers’ which I did on Broadway."
BH – Was it sad doing "At The Copa" for the final time after such a great run?
DC – "No I was absolutely thrilled and delighted. I produced two shows and I been doing eight shows a week and we been working on it for fifteen months and I really haven’t stopped. My plate has been so full with the eight shows a week and producing the two shows and recording, it’s just been too much. So now I’m going out and doing what I really wanted to do. I get to work a lot less and do what I love to do and spend more time having some balance in my life. Having a life! I mean I never used to get to come down here in Florida where I have some horses. I have a pretty sizable investment in the horse business and I could never leave, I was working forty-eight weeks a year in Las Vegas and you can’t go away when you’re working six days a week. Yeah, so I’m really anxious to get back out on the road and see a lot of the places I played a long time ago. I’m going to play the Greek Theatre this summer in L.A. I haven’t been back in L.A. in ten years so it’s going to be really cool. I’m very excited about it."
BH – David what kind of feedback have you been getting since the VH-1 Behind The Music segment about you aired?
DC – "Well the same kind of feedback I’ve been getting for the last decade now. I think part of what is so exciting to me is that, you know when you’re really successful and you’re really young and your audience is very young, you go through a period of being out of favor. And then it’s funny how all of the sudden you walk out the door one day and everybody goes ‘YOU’RE THE MAN!’ It was almost like that. I felt really good about the piece on VH-1. As you know I’ve had three biographies made about my life so people know an awful lot about me. Some people didn’t really have an understanding of what I was, what the experience was like for me and what my life has been. Really truly it’s been about the journey and the work that I do and that I love the work. It’s not about the fame and the money because if you do good work all that stuff comes. It’s been the work that has carried me and I never wanted to rest on my laurels or go back and do what I done before. I wanted to do new things, creative and artistically exciting things. Things that made me want to get up in the morning. And on a personal level I think that my life has really had the same kind of metamorphosis. I think there was a perception because I didn’t want to go back and do the same thing over and over again, and make the same record, or do the same television show, and I didn’t want to do a reunion show that I didn’t like it or that I didn’t want to sing the songs and it was quite the contrary. I absolutely loved it and I wanted to protect it. I’m not a guy who’s been out there slogging through it. I don’t play nostalgia acts. I don’t play nostalgia shows. I’ve been able to go on and have a successful career on Broadway and certainly the last five years in Las Vegas have been amazing. So now going back out and doing concerts, it’s really the next step for me. And for me to go back and to play for audiences some of whom have been following me for thirty years and some who have found me in the last five or six years, that’s really an interesting thing. I have an audience that goes from kids to seventy year olds."
BH- I’m sure you’ll have fans who saw you thirty years ago that will be bringing their kids along with them this time.
DC – "Yeah that’s really cool and I also think that once people start to understand that I wasn’t that guy I was playing, hey I’m not the same guy I was when I was 19 or 20 anyway but, that I’m not a cardboard cutout or a bubblegum card or a comic book. You know my frustration was that people never really knew me, they only saw this imagery that was me playing this character on television that was nothing like me. You know I got kicked out of high school and I used to go to Hendrix concerts. I used to go see Marvin Gaye and B.B. King and so here I am on television as an actor playing the part of this really sweet wholesome all American boy. The reality was I had a much different kind of teenage life. So I think that the perception now is who I am and I feel very, very fortunate. I love singing and playing and I’ve been acknowledged for what I do. I’m one of the luckiest guys on the planet to have survived and have gone on to have a career that in so many ways is much more successful and certainly a lot more gratifying. I’ve been asked to go back and do a television series and I thought I don’t want to do that anymore. And even though the power of television is second to none, and I think it’s where the world became aware of me, I really love the work I get to do live at the theatre and producing, directing, writing now. You know the show I wrote, produced, and directed in Las Vegas now, ‘The Rat Pack Is Back,’ has been a huge hit and I just want to continue to do things that entertain people, that brings some light to people’s lives. I love to work like that. That’s what I wake up in the morning and start to think about. It’s not a job, it’s a gift to be able to have that."
BH – You sound really happy.
DC – "I’ve never been happier, honestly, I’ve never ever been happier. My life has flourished in so many ways both personally and professionally that I can’t ask for a better life. You know two nights ago (2/14) I played my first show in Tunica which is the second largest gaming market in the United States behind Las Vegas if you can believe that. And it was unbelievable. The show was incredibly successful, they had their biggest weekday night ever. So for me I’ve continually been supported by so many fans and people that have not seen me in a long time. I can’t wait to get back out and play and I certainly hope you come and see the show."
BH – I’ll definitely be there! You know David when you see Foxwoods for the first time you’re going to feel like Dorothy in The Wizard OF Oz when she first sees the emerald city.
DC – "I hear it is absolutely unbelievable. I talked to Englebert Humperdink believe it or not and he told me it’s just about the nicest place he’s ever played. So I can only say I’m really anxious to come and I hope everybody comes to see me."
BH – David I was reading about kidscharities.org. Is that an organization that your wife Susan started?
DC – "Indeed. It’s her baby and I’ve tried to assist her but she really doesn’t need my help. We’re doing a big event at Saratoga Springs in New York on August 4th which is going to benefit some of the local and regional children related charities. But it’s something that my wife has such a passion for. She sees to it that a hundred percent of all the on-line donations to these charities. She’s given away hundreds of thousands of dollars now and it’s only a year old so I’m really proud of her. She devotes ten hours a day to it and it’s her passion in life. She’s a great parent and she’s somebody who has such great compassion for human beings. So we’re going to do David Cassidy’s day at the races at Saratoga Springs on August 4th and there’ll be great auctions and fantastic racing and lunches. They’re going to auction off some trips around the world, some really amazing stuff as well as horse related things. The New York racing association has been very supportive and we’re doing this together. We’re trying to raise money for the Belmont Child Care Center and a number of the charities that my wife could tell you about. It’s a wonderful thing and I’m very proud of her and I’m trying to assist her."
BH – Finally is your son Beau a musician yet?
DC – "He’s probably going to be an entertainer I would think. He’s great, he’s got an incredible ear and a wonderful voice, but mostly he’s a great person and I’m really proud of who he is whatever he decides to do. The idea of him being brought up in this environment, he’s seen me since the day he was born working non-stop from television to recordings to movies and producing, but mostly in the theatre and in shows. So because he’s seen me doing all that since the day he was born I just can’t imagine him deciding that one day he’s going to become a brain surgeon! I think the likelihood is that because he’s got a great imagination that he’ll do something creative. Whatever he wants to do I’ll do my best to help him out."
It’s exciting to know how excited David Cassidy is to come to our area. Foxwoods seems like such a perfect venue for him and it will be nice to welcome him back to Connecticut. So David Cassidy’s amazing journey from teen idol to Broadway star to Mr. Vegas to touring rock and roller continues. It would make a great movie don’t you think?
- Bill Harriman