David Cassidy Never Wanted the Partridge Family's “Doesn’t Somebody Want to be Wanted”
- edgarstreetbooks
- Dec 13, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 20, 2025
100 Greatest 70s Pop Songs Book Excerpt
Frank Mastropolo
“Doesn’t Somebody Want to be Wanted” was one of a string of hits by the Partridge Family, the group of actors cast for the popular ABC sitcom that ran from 1970 to 1974. The tune reached №6 in 1971.
“Doesn’t Somebody Want to be Wanted” was written by pop music pros Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos, and Wes Farrell. The song’s most vocal critic was its lead singer, David Cassidy.
“Probably the thing that they had to twist my arm the hardest to do,” Cassidy told Lost 45s, “was ‘Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted.’
“If you listen to the vocal, which is one of the worst vocal performances in the history of recording, in my opinion — it was with such restraint and they had me do that little talking bit in the middle, which is the most embarrassing moment in my entire career! I have never done that song since it was a hit live, and will never do it again!
“That one was a real difficult pill for me to swallow, because I really didn’t like the song. What they did in the early days, which really used to drive me crazy, was they thought my voice was too husky and too powerful. They wanted me to sound younger.
“So what they would do is to slow the track down, and I would sing it and then they would bring it back to normal speed, so that I would sound even younger. They did that on that particular record, and I really hated it.”
Cassidy revealed in his 1994 memoir C’mon Get Happy: Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus that his initial refusal to record the song brought a halt to the show’s production.
After pressure from the studio, record company, and his management, Cassidy relented. He recorded “Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted” but begged that it wouldn’t be released.
“It was horrible, I was embarrassed by it,” Cassidy wrote. “I still can’t listen to that record.”
Frank Mastropolo is the author of 100 Greatest 70s Pop Songs, part of the Greatest Performances series. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.
Comments