Leadership topic - The Partridge Family

“So you have written about Leadership with The Partridge Family and not about (insert your favorite group) ??”  Yes… and I would argue that there are great stories about Healing built around this “fake” band. And it was entirely a mistake – something else that matters in Leadership.

The other morning I was asking Beth what music she wanted to listen to and she said “Eva Cassidy”… but that was not what I heard… I heard David Cassidy… as in the lead singer for … The Partridge Family.  Perfect.  A band that I sorta know, that is mostly upbeat and has enough of a back story that can tie into the theme I want to consider this week – Healing.  I know, cheesy, pop, ‘70s music may not be your thing, but think about it.  It was made in a time of great upheaval in our country, a time that Healing was needed with the assassination of multiple political leaders, many lives were being lost in an endless war, there was an unpopular president, and we also lost many great musicians to drugs, to say nothing about the conversation about Civil Rights. And a time I can remember…

Into that backdrop arrived a TV program that was loosely based on a real Newport, Rhode Island family that had gotten a HUGE hit in the late 60’s with “Hair” – The Cowsills.  To say nothing of the Jackson 5 and The Osmond Brothers – bands whose lead singers were both about my age – and height 😉  And there were other TV programs – The Monkees, H.R. Pufnstuf, etc, that featured a way of marketing music through the growing viewership of TV.  The initial episodes were really not expected to be a big hit, but the people behind the music engaged with a hit almost right out of the gate….

… like the Number #1 Single for 1970, and a grammy for The Best New Group… which wasn’t real 😉  I will never subject you to bad music: The backing band for the Partridges was one of the greatest collections of musicians at the top of their game in the late ’60s – The Wrecking Crew.  Once you engaged in listening to their songs, you will recognized why this music is actually still popular and why it was “must-see TV” in it’s era. And how it in a funny way, can point the way to Healing, now.