A couple months ago I wrote an article about some very famous bands
that became very famous under false pretenses. The reaction was mostly positive and there were a few comments on other famous bands/musicians that I missed in my original list. So, with the minimal amount of research that kept me interested enough to avoid other responsibilities, I decided to go back and do this 2nd row group of famous non-bands. While there have been a lot of 'fake' bands created in the interest of selling records, promoting movies and tv shows
(there ain't no party like an S Club party), I decided only to focus on bands that well, honestly, are ones that actually had some success in selling records and most importantly were sold to it's audiences under false pretenses,
unlike something like S Club 7, which sadly was what it was. That said, in my original list, I excluded some 'copy-cat' groups for not being 'famous enough'. Josie and the Pussycats were a direct result of the success of the Archies and the attempt at reviving them in the 2001 movie may have been the pinnacle of Tara Reid's career (so far) but I don't feel it hit the acclaim needed to be considered 'famous'. I also excluded some groups that I didn't feel crossed over into the famous enough category to be able to actually perform in public or had no success to speak of in album sales, like the Oneders from 'That Thing You Do' or Stillwater from 'Almost Famous'. And although Wyld Stallyns is the greatest band to ever exist (in the future), they have yet to release that album that will change the world. So without further adieu, here is part deux;
7. The Partridge Family
Remember when I said I didn't want to focus on rip-offs? It was the 3rd paragraph. This is my exception. Although they may have been similar to the Monkees (who were more trying to emulate the Beatles), The Partridge Family was made for the new American suburban hippie-parents who were not yet ready to give up on their musical dreams while raising a family. That is, if your dream was to travel the country in a school bus singing radio friendly pop tunes to avoid dealing with the loss of your husband and father of your 5 kids (in theory). The Partridges were actually another made for TV musical group like the Monkees who had little to no input on the actual production of the songs. Most of the songs were written and performed by studio musicians with the exception of Mother Partridge (Shirley Jones) and Keith Partridge (soon to be teen hunk David Cassidy) who convinced producers that they could actually sing well enough to be recorded. Everybody else lip-synced. Cassidy parlayed that opportunity to soon break out of his TV role and take his act solo, travelling with his own musicians, appearing in Rolling Stone and basically living the rock and roll lifestyle. Another Partridge, Donnie Bonaduce, also became infamous
for being a bit of a douche, and living the rock and roll lifestyle, despite not really knowing anything about rock and roll. The Partridges had a few albums that made it into the Billboard charts, aside from their catchy 'C'mon get Happy' theme song, they also hit number 1 in 1970 with 'I think I love You', selling over 5 million copies. They released 9 albums between 1970-73, quantity over quality meaning something in those days. Their 1971 Christmas album also hit #1 on Billboard USA, #45 in the UK. Not bad for a fictional widow and her 5 photogenic kids from California.