Gary James' Interview With The Author Of Cherish David Cassidy - A Legacy Of Love.
Louise Poynton



Once a David Cassidy fan, always a David Cassidy fan. And who would know better than Louise Poynton. She's been a David Cassidy fan since 1971. She saw him in concert on more than one occasion. Louise is the author of the book Cherish David Cassidy - A Legacy Of Love.

Q - Louise, did England show The Partridge Family TV show when it debuted?

A - We were a year behind you (the U.S.). You got it in September, 1970. It started here in September, 1971.

Q - What day of the week did they show it on? It was Friday night here.

A - Yeah, it was a Friday to begin with and then it was taken off the air for some strange reason, which led to protests. It eventually got put back on. I believe it was a Saturday afternoon, sort of early evening TV. But that sort of clashed with family entertainment game shows. I think the viewing figures just started to go down 'cause we only had three television stations in those days. I think the program was up against stronger competition that the family wanted to watch. If you were a teenager you wanted to watch a particular program. So it eventually petered out. But we used to get it on Friday night, yeah.

Q - You write, "As teenagers in the early 1970s when David Cassidy sang, you felt he was singing to you." Now, I heard that said about someone else before, well, actually four guys. The Beatles. For you, it was most likely not only his singing that appealed to you, but his image as well.

A - I think that's fair to say, yes. (laughs)

Q - Did you ever start a David Cassidy Fan Club?

A - No, I didn't. Lots of people did. Obviously everyone fell in love with his good looks because he was nothing like you go to school with. For us Brits he was American and that had so much glamour attached to it. America was so far away and yet here was someone who looked lovely and you could watch him on TV every week. It wasn't like being a fan of Donny Osmond. David was on TV every Friday night. It was something to look forward to. You'd probably only be watching the program to see him move, walk, talk, sing, hear him laugh. For teenagers it was just like having a Friday night date. It was that pure innocence. For me personally, I just loved his voice. I loved his music. I just thought his voice was something we had been waiting for. We didn't want to have the same loves as our mothers. We didn't want to particularly be a fan of Frank Sinatra of Elvis. Suddenly, with David Cassidy someone comes into our lives who is much nearer our age group. He was 20, 21, but he looked as old as we did, 13, 14, 15. He was someone that belonged to us.

Q - I don't believe David Cassidy realized how good of a singer he really was. He really did have a good voice.

A - Well, it's interesting you say that because the people I've interviewed on the podcast, people who worked with him like John Bahler, who was a vocal arranger for The Partridge Family music, who worked with David on some of his early solo material, he admitted that he never really believed that he was that good. He was so different he didn't understand why. He could never accept that he was a good of a singer as we all recognized he was.

Q - Part of that was he didn't want to be a teen idol. He wanted to be a Rock star. And so, when he recorded "Rock Me Baby", he achieved that. "Rock Me Baby" didn't sound anything like "I Think I Love You".

A - I often think if he would've fared better as a solo artist, if he didn't have The Partridge Family behind him, if he'd just come on to the scene as David Cassidy, not as a singer with a make believe group. I think the songs are outstanding in The Partridge Family. No question about that. Because he had that image it was very difficult for people to look beyond the idolatry. He was someone who had real vocal ability and understanding of Rock music that reached beyond the screen. I think it made critics, certainly over here (England), have easily dismissed him. But hang on, there's something really special going on here. This guy isn't just a pretty face. I personally think it's a shame that The Partridge Family was a burden on him. It's a thing like an albatross around his neck because as a solo musician he was just outstanding. When he came here in '73 to play six concerts in three days at the Wembley Empire Pool, he never played the Stadium. I know it says in his autobiography he played it, but he never played the stadium, He played a much smaller venue called the Empire Pool. And there he had backing vocals as he did at Madison Square Garden with Kim Carnes and Dave Ellingson. I remember Alan Broadbent, the keyboard player. He was in David's backing band on that tour. The orchestration of that with saxophones and horns and trumpets was very much like a Chicago concert. The orchestration was just so pitch perfect.

Q - Could you even hear David Cassidy sing over all the screams?

A - Going back all those years, I can remember how his voice echoed around the arena because the Empire Pool was built for the Empire Games. That venue was actually for the swimming competition, hence it's called the Empire Pool. So the acoustic thing there was amazing and still is to this day. But when you've had posters on your bedroom (wall) for a couple of years, suddenly he's come to life. He's jumped off the bedroom wall's posters now, the scrapbooks, and leapt onto the stage that day in a black, skin-tight jump suit which had castles down the side. He had so much energy. I can see him when I close my eyes. He danced with so much energy. What I remember most from that day wasn't The Partridge Family songs he was singing, but it was a five minute drum solo. He was playing "Blues Power" by Clapton on a guitar solo. He was singing "I'm A Man" and Everybody I Love You". I remember those much more clearly than I do any Partridge Family songs that he sang. If he did sing them, he jazzed them up a little bit more. They had that Chicago type orchestration behind them. I know I paid a fortune for the seat and I know I didn't sit in it. (laughs)

Q - How much was a ticket back then to see him?

A - Oh, I cannot remember the price, to be honest. Now it would probably be twenty dollars in your money. But what he did there that day was just a perfect formula. He had that unthreatening image to teenage girls. I think when you do see your idols live in concert, and it remains one of the best concerts I've ever been to even though I was only 15 years old, when you see your idols in real life and certainly in concert it's just a shock and awe moment whatever age you are. He was just incredible because I think behind all that was serious musicians and I look back now and he was a young Mick Jagger onstage.

Q - You saw him in concerts how many times?

A - Only four. Now there's many fans who have seen him many more times. I saw him at Wembley in '73, then at White City in '74. Then I didn't go to another concert until 2002 and then the last time I saw him was 2004. The only reason I didn't go for those twenty years is because you have a career.

Q - Were the other venues smaller than Wembley?

A - Well, White City was big. White City Stadium had been used for the Olympics and it was a big sports stadium. Most stadiums back then, certainly in the U.K. had not been used for Pop concerts. They were just sports venues. There were probably around, I think the figure was 20,000 fans there. There could have been more, but that's where they had the rush to the stage and there were many injuries. But the other two venues in the 2000s were theatres. So they were much smaller. It was a funny thing because when I saw him in 2002 at the Hippodrome in London, it was the first time I'd seen him in all those years and as soon as he ran on the stage, my 13, 14 teenage girl came out again. I burst into tears because all those memories of my teenage years in all the years I adored his music came back in that one moment. There I am with other women in the forties then and it was just a wonderful trip down memory lane. And he still had it. He was still dancing and bouncing around the stage. It was a wonderful evening.

Q - Did you ever have the opportunity to meet David Cassidy or see him up close?

A - No. I did try because as a sports reporter I thought when he comes over for his concerts I might be able to get an interview with him on the back of his love for horses and do something on that line, but I never got any joy with my requests to record labels or promoters. This was a real shame because I would have loved to have met him to have a conversation about the sport, but also to thank him for the music and the happiness he brought so many millions of us.

Q - Did you ever read his autobiography C'mon Get Happy?

A - Yes, I did.

Q - Do you find it at all strange that a guy who brought such happiness to millions of people like yourself was unhappy? At the height of his fame he was miserable. Can you even begin to understand that?

A - No. It's desperately sad that someone who brought so much happiness to so many, never seemed to be satisfied himself. I think creative people need to always be creative. They always need to be aiming for the next achievement. What's the next step on the ladder? What can I do now? Maybe that creativity he lost somewhere along the line. But I don't know if he fully realized how much everybody did love him. I think it's a real shame that he's not here to see, through my book, just how much people respected him and how much they admired him and how much of an influence he was to them in their life. Maybe he never grasped that. Certainly the people who knew him and guested on my podcast had said he just never felt worthy of people's love and attention and thought it was all a little bit fake. But that couldn't have been further from the truth. He represented to a whole generation something that will stay with them forever. When he died, a little bit of them died with him. I don't think fans ever stopped loving him or loving his music or following his career. With his passing it just re-ignited all those teenage memories reminding people of the happiness listening to his music brought them, the unbridled joy of seeing him in concert, his caring nature, his generosity of spirit. I think his legacy will endure through the outpouring of love for him and his family, which has just been shown in so many ways. I do believe he was someone who reflected a great deal of light, considerable goodness. And he helped many define themselves as individuals. You know teenagers are seeking an identity. He captured us at a vulnerable age and that connection has stayed with us. People can look back at how he made them feel, how he unknowingly inspired and guided people. I think that means everything to the inner little girl or boy who discovered his music and just loved him. This is a special love. I'm not talking about romantic love. This is a love born out of innocence built around someone who epitomized everything that was good in the world.

Q - Would I be correct is saying you're thinking of or actually writing a second book on David Cassidy?

A - No. I don't have any plans for another one.

Q - I guess it would be hard to follow up a book called Cherish. You about said it all right there.

A - I should call it Rock Me Baby.

Q - I like it!

A - (laughs)

Official Website: www.LouisePoynton.com

© Gary James. All rights reserved.



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