The Partridge Family - Up To Date

Happy sixty-second birthday today (April 12th) to American actor, singer, songwriter, guitarist and celebrated 70's teen idol David Cassidy.

With the successful launch of the Partridge Family TV show on ABC in the Fall of 1970 and the accompanying first album (click here for my review of the Partridge Family Album), it made sense to follow it up with a second album of music from the show in February of 1971.

A Partridge Family Christmas Card

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday. Seeing as Christmas is just a few weeks away, I thought I would start to sprinkle in a few holiday albums for the season.

In December of 1971, the Partridge Family TV show was going strong in its second season on the ABC network. It is no surprise either the thirteenth episode which aired December that year would include a holiday themed offering. "Don't Bring Your Guns To Town, Santa" was the story of how the family's bus breaks down in a ghost town in the middle of nowhere which forces them to miss Christmas. I remember this episode fondly from the years the show ran in syndication locally during the late 70's; it was especially a favorite around the holiday times.

The Partridge Family "Album"

Welcome to another edition of "Seventies Saturday". This time we're digging into the back recesses of the music closet - to the corner where we hide our bubble-gum music for fear that someone might stumble across it while flipping through the stacks and let out a hearty "ha-ha" (ala Nelson from the Simpsons). We're not really ashamed of it - we like the simplicity of the pop songs; we're just maybe afraid to lose a little cred with our peers. Ah, who cares? It is all part of the musical mosaic of the decade.

In September of 1970, a half-hour American sitcom debuted on the ABC network. The Partridge Family was the story of a widowed mother trying to raise her five kids. The kids decide to help out by forming a band to help out, practicing in the garage after school. Add in their manager and a psychedelic bus, and you have the foundation for a hit show that ran four seasons (and was a syndication juggernaut for decades after). I grew up on this show and the songs interspersed in each episode were always a highlight.