Friday, September 25, 1970

The Partridge Family debuted on TV: September 25, 1970

Originally posted September 25, 2011.



This American TV sitcom lasted four seasons, running 96 episodes on ABC. The show focused on a widowed mother and her five children embarking on a music career. The show was loosely based on The Cowsills, a music family who’d earned fame in the late ‘60s. The Partridge family focused on a recently widowed mother played by Shirley Jones. Her five children enlist her help to record a pop song. Her ten-year-old son Danny even hires a manager and the family musical group even hit the road for a tour.

Jones’ real-life stepson David Cassidy played Keith, the oldest of the kids. The other Partridges were played by Susan Dey (Laurie), Danny Bonaduce (Danny), Jeremy Gelbwaks (Chris), and Suzanne Crough (Tracy). When Jeremy’s family moved out of the Los Angeles area after the first season, Chris was recast with actor Brian Forster.

The Partridge Family produced eight albums, six of which went gold and three of which went top 10. David Cassidy and Shirley Jones were the only cast members actually featured on the recordings, singing lead and backup respectively. Studio musicians rounded out the group. The group charted nine Hot 100 hits, including the top 10 hits “Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted” and “I’ll Meet You Halfway”. The group’s debut single, “I Think I Love You”, charted on October 10, 1970 and went to #1. The song was written by Tony Romeo, who had written some of the Cowsills’ hits.




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