Millions of people know David Cassidy from his iconic role of Keith Partridge on the hit musical comedy series, “The Partridge Family,” but the former teen idol has also made a name for himself on Broadway, on the Las Vegas strip and releasing some great music over the last four decades.
On Jan. 11, Cassidy will head to the Birchmere in Alexandria for a night full of fan favorites.
Those heading to Bichemere will hear Cassidy’s hits and Keith Partridge staples that made the singer and his alter ego household names. Expect songs like “I Think I Love You,” “I Woke Up in Love This Morning” and “How Can I Be Sure” on the playlist.
“I’m going to take people on a little timeline of my musical life,” Cassidy says. “Of course I’ll do a lot of the ‘The Partridge Family’ songs and some of my own. People want to see what they connect with.”
The singer is excited to be coming back to Northern Virginia and the Birchmere, calling the venue one of the top five places he has ever performed.
“I’ve played it twice before in my life—it’s one of the most legendary rock n’ roll, venues. The audiences when I’ve been there are ridiculously amazing. It’s one of the most special places you can play,” he says. “I’ve played for 70,000 people, 50,000, but when you play for 1,500 and they are really into it, and you are intimate with them, it’s so special. I love to connect with the audiences.”
The son of actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward, David Cassidy knew early on that he wanted to be a performer—though his dream was more to be an actor than singer. He credits his father—who he calls the greatest male singer he ever heard after Tony Bennett—with introducing him to great music.
Two weeks after graduating from high school, he moved to New York and very quickly was cast on Broadway in “The Fig Leaves are Falling,” did a number of screen tests and was appearing in a lot of hour-long television with guest appearances on shows like “Ironside,” “Bonanza” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.”
His big break came in 1970 when he was cast as Keith Partridge opposite his stepmother Shirley Jones, who of course played his on-screen mom, Shirley.
“I always knew what I wanted to do and I was fortunate enough that I was cast in ‘The Partridge Family,’ even though my singing and playing had nothing to do with my being cast,” he says. “It was a situation comedy and in the pilot, I didn’t even play. It was all lip-synched. I was an actor who could also sing, which played into it all for the rest of the series.”
With four years on the air, the show became one of the most successful half-hour television shows globally because of merchandising and album sales. It’s still played in countries all over the world and it’s hard for Cassidy to go anywhere without someone asking him about his iconic role.
“I have spoken to people all over the world who talk to me about the show. It’s a wonderful timepiece and I’m very proud to have been a part of that. It’s done an enormous amount in launching my career,” he says. “I’ve never, ever resented it for one moment in my life. I tried to distance myself professionally because you don’t want to get caught up with being just that guy, but I loved it and the impact I had. There’s nothing wrong with having the largest fan club in history.”
He continued to work on Broadway (calling “Blood Brothers” the best piece of work he’s ever done) and on television, and also had a string of successful Las Vegas shows that he wrote and performed in.
“For 15 years, I didn’t play a concert and didn’t sing one hit,” Cassidy says. “Those guys who have been doing it since 1966, I don’t know how they do it. Every show I do is new. There are a lot of people who bring a lot of hate, a lot who bring a lot of darkness, I bring a lot of light. That’s been my gift.”
As he gets ready to come to Virginia, Cassidy believes that anyone who has followed him at any point in his career will “get happy.”
“I do this for my own love and I am blessed to be able to do what I do and have a tremendous fan base who have supported me for over 40 years, it’s incredible to me,” he says. “I’m proud of it. I’m not an angel, I’m a human being with a lot of flaws like everyone else but I like to think that my music and what I represented is representing some joy in people’s lives and that’s meaningful to me.”
Tickets for the show are $45 and can be purchased at www.birchmere.com.
