The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame becomes a backer!

Calling all David Cassidy and Partridge Family fans! We are very humbled and proud to announce that The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, Library and Archives has now officially become a backer of our new book, "When We're Singin' - The Partridge Family and Their Music!"

In recent months there has been a campaign by fans to get David Cassidy recognized by the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and now the music industry's most identifiable museum  has said 'yes' to our book!  "When We're Singin'," focuses on the Partridge Family music and its legitimacy and credibility  to the pop music scene of the early '70s. If the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says "yes,"  then show them that we want this book, too! Join the Kickstarter campaign along with The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and put this book on their shelves, as well as yours! But hurry! 18 days and counting....!

Bell Records' Beverly Weinstein is a Backer!

Beverly Weinstein, Bell Records' Vice President of Production has just become a backer of this campaign to publish "When We're Singin'!"

Beverly signed a limited number of Bell Records Souvenir Coasters especially designed for this campaign! On the back, she hand-wrote her title, VP of Production! A very rare collector's item! 

Beverly was with Bell Records from the company's earliest beginnings. She worked under president Larry Uttal until Bell Records was absorbed by Arista in 1974. Beverly was in charge of Art Direction for all of the album designs.  She spoke with us on several occasions and put us in touch with several other former employees who were also interviewed for this book! We are very proud to have her as a campaign backer!

The Six Degrees of David Cassidy

This gorgeous 8 X 10 photo of David Cassidy is offered exclusively through Henry Diltz photography as a premium for our campaign to publish "When We're Singin' - The Partridge Family and Their Music." This shot was taken in Paris while on tour!

I’m sure you have heard about the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but have you ever considered the Six Degrees of David Cassidy? Find out how the Partridge Family music connects with the unlikeliest of rock legends!

If Kevin Bacon is the center of the film industry, we believe David Cassidy is very likely the center of the music industry!

David Cassidy on Tour, 1974

It started in March of 1971 when David Cassidy performed his first concert in Seattle, Washington. By spring of 1972, he was posing nude for Rolling Stone in an attempt to break his squeaky clean image. He became the highest paid performer on the planet and he toured the world through spring of  1974. In his final concert tour, a young fan tragically died at his White City Stadium concert in the U.K. which took its toll on David.

David Cassidy at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Austaralia, 1974. This Henry Diltz photo is available as a premium on our campaign at Kickstarter.com for the release of "When We're Singin' - The Partridge Family and Their Music." Offer ends May 31! Hurry!

When We’re Singin’ recounts the unimaginable rise of a superstar, his staying power, and the effect it had during The Partridge Family years.  There has never been a roller coaster ride quite like it.

Meet the REAL Partridge Family Background Singers!

Ron Hicklin, Jackie Ward, John and Tom Bahler were the real voices behind The Partridge Family, and some say the four best session vocalists in the industry. Many insiders feel that there was no one else who could have handled the intense work needed to complete the Partridge Family albums, and When We’re Singin’ details the thoughts and memories of each of these legendary vocalists as told in their own words! 

Surprise Details Behind ALL the Partridge Family Album Jackets!

Did you know there is a story behind every single Partridge Family album jacket design? Read the never-before-told stories that start with "The Partridge Family Album" and end with the "Lost" album design! Told by the artists who created them!  Get each, detailed story in an entire chapter dedicated to these great Partridge Family album designs! 

Kickstarter's Staff more than Likes it, They LOVE it! Featured on their Blog!

Today, the staff at Kickstarter sent an email saying  they love this project so much the are featuring it on their blog! Check out the video clip of David Cassidy from an episode of The Partridge Family, as well as a plug for the book-- a book that cover the Partridge Family's music for the very first time! Here's the link:  http://kck.st/1F8Z8Ar

The biggest premium reward on our campaign! Signed by 'Wrecking Crew' session players! Includes real Partridge Family lead guitar player, Dennis Budimir, real Bass Players Joe Osborn and Max Bennett, artist Kirk Poffenberger and author Johnny Ray Miller. 

Tell all your friends, and pass the word! 

'A Very Partridge Kickstarter,' exclusive interview at The Huffinton Post!

When We're Singin' grabbed more national attention today, this time from The Huffington Post! We did an exclusive interview with contributor Mike Ragogna who strongly supports the Kickstarter Campaign to get the book published. The link to the article is here.

This Sticker Pack is just one of the many rewards that can be found at our campaign over at Kickstarter.com.

Don't wait one more second, Partridge Family fans! We need you at Kickstarter.com now! Help put this book on the shelves--a book that showcases The Partridge Family and their music. Help get this book published so the story of this music can be available to fans and to the new generations to come! 

A Partridge Family Caricature, By Artist Glen Hanson!

Glen Hanson drew and painted this Partridge Family piece several years ago as an original design specifically created for me. For the first time, this print will be offered to the public in numbered, limited edition quantity, with each piece signed by Hanson exclusively for this campaign. Hanson has done caricatures on other retro TV shows including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Wonder Woman, The Golden Girls, and Charlie’s Angels. Hanson is an internationally accomplished artist and his caricature of Charlie’s Angels was also featured as a book cover! Check out the reward item over at KICKSTARTER.COM now!

24 Hours In, and 10% Funded!!

After our first 24 hours of launch, I am very pleased to report that we are showing an amazing 10% already funded towards our goal in bringing this book to life! 

There is certainly nothing quite like connecting with all of you who care so much about this project.  Your energy and eagerness to get on board and make this book a reality is fueled with an obvious passion, and you have sent us flying out of the gate!  Let's keep going!  Tell your friends and family!  Share it on Facebook and Twitter!  Get everyone on board that you can! 

Commemorative Lyric Sheet for "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted" signed by songwriter, Mike Appel! Only available on Kickstarter.com!

If you haven't already, please remember to sign up for our daily blog and you will get these daily updates sent automatically to your email. We will be doing a newsletter too, about once a month, and we'd love for you to sign up on that as well!

Back to the campaign trail....

Johnny

Songwriters, Boyce & Hart!

Other than Wes Farrell, Bobby Hart is credited on more Partridge Family songs than any other songwriter who wrote for the group. Bobby Hart offers up his memories to WHEN WE'RE SINGIN' on how his involvement with The Partridge Family came to be, and why his long-time writing partner, Tommy Boyce, was not on board for more of the songwriting efforts!

Hart wrote some of the greatest album cuts found on the later half of the Partridge Family albums, including “Sunshine,” “Looking For A Good Time,” “Money, Money,” “Girl, You Make My Day,” “I’m On My Way Back Home,” and many others, ALL of which are available as LYRIC COMMEMORATIVES at our campaign on KICKSTARTER.COM! 

We have just gone live with our campaign on KICKSTARTER.COM last night, and you can find a limited number of signed items by Bobby Hart available only from the campaign! We hope you will join us in this exciting time to produce this brand new book on THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY! 

Newly-revealed interviews, Courtesy of Ken Sharp!

In 1993, author, musician and music historian Ken Sharp began research on a Partridge Family book, but soon discovered that Joey Green was already signed to do one (primarily as an episode guide) so Ken dropped his project. But Ken had interviewed the legendary Wes Farrell (music producer on all Partridge Family album) and songwriting legend Tony Romeo ("I Think I Love You") in what turns out to be the last known in-depth interviews given by these two music legends on the subject of The Partridge Family. Shockingly, both Farrell and Romeo passed away within six months of each other, and only shortly after these interviews took place. 

(Bell Records president Larry Uttal on left; Wes Farrell on right.)

Well, guess what? Along the wild ride taken in researching this book, the president of the Just David Fan Club (Barbara Pazmino) introduced me to Ken Sharp. She knew he could help me.  Ken had worked with David Cassidy on his 2008 autobiography, David Cassidy: Could It Be Forever, and he was intrinsic in getting all the outside interviews used in that book.  

Ken wanted to do whatever he could to help make When We're Singin' become the definitive book on The Partridge Family and their music, so he has graciously and whole-heartedly offered up  both the Farrell and Romeo interviews, in their entirety, for use in When We’re Singin’! Both Tony Romeo and Wes Farrell share loads of commentary, heard in the pages of this book for the very first time! Romeo and Farrell elaborate on putting the albums together, and discuss all of their individual songwriting efforts! It is a sentimental and passionate exposition of their work on this amazing body of music.

Thanks, Ken, for your incredible support!

The Music + The Image = Global Phenomenon

When We're Singin' explores the effort behind matching the image of the Television show to the sound of the music.

While the producers and creators of the TV show were crafting the look and feel of the show, the music was being done at Western Recorders, Studio 2, and Wes Farrell was in charge. Farrell was highly driven, and it was his responsibility to come up with credible pop music, but it had to match the desired image of the show.

He pulled the best musicians, singers and songwriters of the day into the project, and as a result the music was truly rooted in an adult contemporary, or easy listening sound.  With the music as believable as the strength of its image created through the magic of television, (thanks to some really terrific actors and directors) the marketing of this product took off on an international roller coaster ride that proved to be bigger than any TV/Music marketing package ever created up to that point. 

Help Spread The Word!

Well, our first weekend out of the gate has been a fantastic explosion of excitement from fans of The Partridge Family and David Cassidy all over the world! I am thrilled to see such a response! As we move toward our Kickstarter launch, I wanted to share one of the inspiring stories behind my attempt to self-publish. 

When I began research on this book in 2010, one of the first people I met along the way was Denny Tedesco. Denny is the son of the late, great Tommy Tedesco--one of the greatest session guitar players of all time. In fact, he played on the Partridge Family albums--the very reason for which I originally reached out. 

Denny put me in touch with several other musicians who played on the Partridge Family albums, and they were all interviewed for this book. Every one of them had great stories to share about the Partridge Family music, David Cassidy, and working together in the studio on the Partridge Family albums!

When I first spoke with Denny, he had recently completed a documentary about his dad and the other musicians from that era. His documentary is called "The Wrecking Crew." He spent several years out on the road, showing the film, raising money, all in hopes of paying off the costly music rights so a theatrical distribution could be had. He refused to cut the music from his film to lower the budget, and he stayed on path to make sure the fans got what they wanted and deserved. 

In the fall of 2013, he ran a campaign on Kickstarter.com and it was HUGELY successful!  I encourage everyone to check it out. It is amazing what can be done when the fan base gets to decide the outcome! Tedesco exceeded his budget, making over $300,000 and ultimately landed a distribution for his film. 

Our campaign for When We're Singin' is scheduled to begin on May 1, and it has been modeled after the success of Tedesco's campaign. But the real key to success is getting the word out to all the fans interested in The Partridge Family and David Cassidy. There are thousands of fans worldwide, and it is our job to find them and let them know what's happening. I hope I can count on all of you to keep spreading the word. We have 24 days left before the campaign begins.

In the coming days, I will be sharing more with you about the content of my book and the amazing experience it has been so far! In the meantime, here is a recent quote from Denny Tedesco about his experience in independent funding: "It's all about marketing, spreading the word," Tedesco said. "That's the reason we're here today, because of the people from Wichita to New York to Japan that either donated or talked about the film."

So are you ready, Partridge Family/David Cassidy fans? Let's keep spreading the word! Get everyone you can to come join us on this site, and subscribe to the news blog! Tell them about our launch on Kickstarter.com beginning May 1, 2015! Only 24 days and counting...