Classic Rant #369 (November 5, 2010): A Partridge In a Jail Cell

I am sure that you have heard that former Partridge Family lead singer David Cassidy was picked up by Florida police for driving under the influence the other day. He has since denied being drunk, but his mug shot is all over the Web, but I won’t provide the site(s), you will have to look for it yourself.

Cassidy was the main teenybopper heartthrob of the early 1970s, competing with Bobby Sherman, Donny Osmond, Michael Jackson, and a slew of wannabes for the affection of pre-teen and young teenage girls. These guys were preceded by another slew of teen idols from the mid to late 1960s, including the Beatles, the Monkees, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, and another group of wannabes. Cassidy and his contemporaries preceded 1980s faves like Rick Springfield and Duran Duran.

Anyway, teen idols from earlier periods are in the news lately, but lucky for them, it isn’t as negative as Cassidy’s news is. Word is that the Backstreet Boys and New Kids On the Block are joining up for what they hope to be a blockbuster tour, and Davy Jones wants to reform the Monkees for their 45th anniversary in 2011.

Oprah just had a show with some teenybopper idols from days past, including Peter Frampton and Jackie Jackson.

It must be somewhat difficult to be a teen idol … I guess we have to ask Justin Bieber about being one. But when your time is over, what do you do?

If you are like some of the luckier ones, you move on with your career, and take it to another level. Michael Jackson certainly did it when he was alive, and others have learned to cope with life out of the spotlight.

Then you have others who can’t move on even if they try, and they end of getting in trouble. Look at Leif Garrett’s life since his heyday, and to a certain extent, look at what happened to Michael Jackson; his career was on high but his personal life was a major mess.

Then you have others who simply go with the flow. They will be teen idols forever. Davy Jones has certainly had a pretty good career since the Monkees, but let’s face it, he continues to be idolized by many as if he were 20 again.

Others just leave it all behind and move on. That’s what Bobby Sherman did, becoming an EMT. He performs occasionally, but he has basically left show biz behind to do something that he wanted to do.

Cassidy has had an interesting career since The Partridge Family—he has been on Broadway, he has headlined in Las Vegas—but I think he falls in the Davy Jones category. No matter what he does, he will still be Keith Partridge to millions of people.

And I know Jones has had his own ups and downs over the years, but he seems to embrace this type of stardom that he has. Cassidy has never done that. Not that this links up with what he just did, but he has never seemed to be man at peace with himself—unlike his fellow former teenybopper idol and half-brother Shaun, who has moved well away from his days of stardom and appears to know where he is going in life.

Even during his heyday, Cassidy reportedly hated the music that made him the idol of millions. He had a more rock and roll solo career, but those records pale in comparison to his Partridge Family output.

If, in fact, he was drunk behind the wheel, Cassidy made a major mistake, and the hope is that he can find the inner peace that I think he has been desperately searching for since the 1970s.

Rick Nelson, another former teen idol who did stupid things and paid for these things with his life, sang about being a teen idol:

Some people call me a teenage idol


Some people say they envy me


I guess they got no way of knowing


How lonesome I can be


I need somebody to be my baby


Someone to tell my troubles to


I've got no time to ever find her


Cause I'm just passing through



I travel around from town to lonely town


I guess I'll always be just a rolling stone


If I find fortune and fame and lots of people know my name


That won't mean a thing if I'm all alone



I get no rest when I'm feeling weary


I got to pack my bags and go


I got to be somewhere tomorrow


To smile and do my show



I travel around from town to lonely town


I guess I'll always be just a rolling stone


If I find fortune and fame and lots of people know my name


That won't mean a thing if I'm all alone



Some people call me a teenage idol


Some people say they envy me


I guess they got no way of knowing


How lonesome I can be


How lonesome I can be

It is a shame that Nelson succumbed to his own vices, but it isn’t too late for Cassidy. Here’s hoping that he learns from this experience, and tackles his own demons head on.