A couple weeks ago, I appeared on Youngstown's WFMJ Midday news with anchor Jennifer Brindisi. Immediately afterword, I was called by the Vindicator, who wanted to put together a feature story on the book. The article ran today. Here's a scan of the hard copy, and I've also included the full article from the online version as well. Here's the link: http://bit.ly/2kIh3tq
NEW INTERVIEW: on 474themix Radio - Where The Music Matters!
CommentA BRAND NEW INTERVIEW SCHEDULED! Dennis Morgillo, radio personality and DJ on 474THEMIX RADIO - WHERE THE MUSIC MATTERS, is having me on as a guest for a special radio show and interview about the book and the music of The Partridge Family! Please tune in, everyone! Your support would mean the world to me :) The show will air next Friday, February 3 at 5PM EST on 474themix.com! HERE'S THE LINK: http://www.474themix.com/
MORE RETAIL AVAILABILITY-Bradley's Books!
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Location pictured, Pittsburgh Mills.
Hey all, more retail availability: BRADLEY'S BOOK OUTLET, a Pittsburgh based book store with several locations in and around the Pittsburgh area is also now carrying a limited supply of "When We're Singin' " in their various locations including Pittsburgh Mills, Altoona, Dubois, Uniontown and State College.
PITTSBURGH MUSIC STORE CARRIES 'WHEN WE'RE SINGIN'!
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WHEN WE'RE SINGIN' is now available in limited quantities at Pittsburgh's hifi boutique, MUSIC TO MY EAR. Located at 3003 Babcock Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA, 15237. Stop in and check out this music store! It's incredible--over 12,000 records--yes, records--on the shelves! And that's only a small part of what they have to offer! Pittsburgh's best kept secret in specialized audio, for sure!
Danny Tweets Again! "Come On Get Happy"
70s Music, 1970s, Danny Bonaduce, David Cassidy, Partridge Family, Partridge Family Music, Shirley Jones, Susan Dey, Suzanne Crough, Wrecking CrewCommentHey Gang! Danny's on a roll! His Latest tweet: "Brought my lunch to work in this today. What the hell? Come on Get Happy!"
Celebrating a TV and Music legacy...Spread the word..WhenWereSingin.com! Follow Danny on Twitter @theDoochMan. Follow David Cassidy on Twitter @DavidbCassidy!
Everyone on the bus! :)
Northeast Ohio News Herald Publishes interview on Dec. 29, 2016
CommentNortheast Ohio man uses Kickstarter to fund book on ‘Partridge Family’ show, band
By Breanna Mona
Johnny Ray Miller of Canton is the author of “When We’re Singin’ — The Partridge Family & Their Music.”
“The Partridge Family” not only dominated the TV scene in the 1970s, but the music charts, as well, with some of the biggest names in music behind the albums.
After booking a concert for David Cassidy in 2009, Johnny Ray Miller, a Northeast Ohio native and Partridge Family fan, saw the need for a comprehensive and carefully researched book. So he penned “When We’re Singin’ — The Partridge Family & Their Music,” which is available at www.whenweresingin.com.
The Huffington Post has already tipped its hat to the new book, acknowledging Miller’s “ridiculous drive to achieve what no one else was able to concerning this much maligned/beloved fictitious musical family.”
Miller, who lives in Canton, not only created a book with the fans in mind — he is one himself, after all — but landed interviews with the cast members and even a foreword by David Cassidy himself.
The book also reads like a guide to the music of the 1970s in general, making it not only a nostalgic trip for fans of Cassidy and the show, but also a comprehensive look at the era for music fans. Research aside, putting together a book like this with no prior experience was no easy feat. Miller shares his story on what it took to bring the book to life.
Q Is this a tell-all book?
A It’s definitely not a tell-all book. It’s a book that focuses on the music of The Partridge Family. It’s a story that’s never been told before — very few people realize (that) because it’s always been the television show that gets all the attention. The stories about the actors have been told several times on “Biography” and made-for-TV specials. But nobody ever touches the music.
Q What will readers be surprised to learn about the music?
A The interesting story about the music is that it was done by the greatest musicians and songwriters of the day, but it was sold and glossed over underneath a marketing image that was geared towards kids and the bubblegum (culture). But really it’s rooted in adult-contemporary/easy listening of its day. Songwriters like Paul Anka and Rupert Holmes and David Cassidy himself wrote songs for “The Partridge Family.” Bobby Hart who produced the Monkees wrote songs for “The Partridge Family.” Cashman and West were producing Jim Croce at that time were writing songs for “The Partridge Family,” too. Wes Farrell was the producer of the music and was really connected in the business. One of his greatest gifts was to recognize talented people and get them on board. He knew how to spot a hit.
Q Do you cover aspects about the TV show, as well?
A I do cover (in the book) all of “The Partridge Family” TV show stuff, too. Stories from the cast about being on the set. I’m a fan, so I didn’t want a tell-all book. I wanted something that was a tribute to the show but with a really strong focus on the music. I do talk about their relationships to one another, and I did interview them. I put in the fun behind the scenes stories but no tell-all type stuff. (Cast members) gave it to me, but I left it out.
Q How did you get started on the book?
A Shirley Jones was my very first interview. In fact, my background is in theater. What happened was, I was working in theater and I booked David Cassidy for a concert in 2009, and the show was phenomenally successful. After it was all over I thought, “Hmm, the fans have always wanted a book on “The Partridge Family.” There’s never been one. There was an episode guide in the ’90s. but that’s all it was. I knew if I could get Shirley Jones on board, I felt like David Cassidy would be in my corner, too. Long story short, I got her on board and I went to Hollywood and spent an afternoon in her house. It was a dream come true. With that, the doors started opening.
Q Which cast members did you interview?
A Shirley Jones asked me if I had talked to David yet, and I hadn’t. I wanted to approach him last, after everything was together towards the end. So I interviewed Shirley Jones, Danny Bonaduce, Brian Forster, Suzanne Crough, Dave Madden, then the first kid to play Chris, Jeremy Gelbwaks. I actually had the last in-depth interviews with Dave Madden and Suzanne Crough before they passed away. Suzanne Crough actually died very young; she was only 52 years old. She kind of became a friend of mine through this process.
Q How did David Cassidy eventually come into the picture?
A With David Cassidy — this is actually a funny story — I approached him kind of towards the end, and I went through his publicist. At first, I simply could not get passed his publicist. I eventually thought this wasn’t going to happen. I had already had a lot of support at this point, with people in the music business and everyone (encouraging) me that it would be a good book even without interviewing him. In the back of my head, I knew an interview from him would be a great endorsement, but I also knew a forward would mean more to the fans before he had never done one before. But to have him would give the book so much credibility. I thought to myself that if he wrote a forward, it would be even better. I didn’t ask for the forward. I spent five years on (the book), so a year or two later he gets a new publicist so I contacted her. David had a lot going on at the time and our conversation just never happened. Then one day, out of the blue, I hear from the manger of his website, and she says David would like to write a forward — and I didn’t even ask! I always joke with my friends that nothing in my life ever goes right, but this book did. Everything about this has just unfolded like it was completely meant to be. So that’s how it happened. He has never written a forward for any other book, so I feel incredibly privileged.
Q Why did you decide to self-publish?
A Ken Sharp, an author who has written several books on the Beatles, Elvis, the Raspberries, etc., suggested I self-publish and create a Kickstarter campaign to fund the book saying, “The demand from the fans for something like this is going to be pretty huge.” The deal with Kickstarter is you set a goal and you have to raise all of it or you get none of it and you have 30 days to do it. I needed $24,000 to publish this book. We raised $27,000 and had hit our goal three days before the end.
Q So you could say this book was funded by die-hard “Partridge Family” fans then?
A I don’t know of any other TV show where a book like this has been funded because fans had wanted it so badly.
Q Where did you get your research for the book?
A I did most of my research at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I wanted to find the chart positions, not only from Billboard but Cashbox and Record World, which were trade magazines of that era. They’re really hard to find. The Rock Hall had every single issue of Cashbox between 1970 and 1974, which were the years that I needed. I would go up there [Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives] once a week for over a year, spending four hours at the library at a time, and I flipped through every single page of every single issue of Cashbox from that era. Then on top of that, I got permission from the owner of Cashbox, who actually donated her copies to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to include any and everything I wanted from Cashbox in the book. So I have photos that have never before been seen, all kinds of charting information and articles with information that “Partridge Family” fans don’t even know about. When I ran the Kickstarter campaign, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame even backed it.
Q For someone who would pick up the book not being familiar with “The Partridge Family,” what are you hoping will be their take-away?
A That the music was very, very good. It was right up there with all of the adult contemporary music of the day. In fact, it charted higher on the easy-listening charts than it did on the pop charts. The marketing image was so powerful that it actually colored the perception of the music. But the music was in fact the marketing image that sold the records. So while it was disregarded as bubblegum music, 45 years later you look back and you listen to it and you realize that it’s some of the best adult contemporary music of its day.
Q What do you think keeps the show’s continuing nostalgia?
A I don’t think you could sell something with such innocence today. It’s the innocence [of the show] that makes the nostalgia precious. I think we all have something from our childhood that we latch onto that serves as an escape for us when we need to get away from the craziness of today’s world. We like to reflect back on whatever that innocence was of that time in our childhood. For a ton of us out there that innocence was “The Partridge Family.”
DANNY BONADUCE Tweets support today for WHEN WE'RE SINGIN'!!
Brian Forster, 70s Music, David Cassidy, Partridge Family, Wrecking Crew, Danny Bonaduce, Shirley Jones, Susan DeyComment
Hey gang!
DANNY BONADUCE tweeted this pic, along with a great comment about the book!
Read his tweet: "Just received my copy of a great new book about The Partridge Family. It's 467 pages. I had no idea we were this important."
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER, EVERYONE! TWEET, RE-TWEET AND SPREAD THE NEWS!!! :) Come on get REALLY happy!!!
Lisa Forster Battles Aggressive Cancer
1970s, Brian Forster, David Cassidy, Partridge Family, Wrecking Crew2 Comments
Lisa Forster, Brian's wife, has been struck with an aggressive cancer. A good friend of theirs has begun a "Gofundme" campaign to help with expenses. Brian was (and is) a HUGE supporter of "When We're Singin' " and it saddens me deeply to hear of this. Please do whatever you can to help. The family is staying strong and optimistic. Please pass this information and link on to all the PF fans and message boards to help get the word out and rally support. Thanks all.
Together We're Better...
BOOK SIGNING - BRANCH STREET COFFEE ROASTERS, Boardman, OH
70s Music, David Cassidy, David Cassidy Concerts, Partridge Family, Partridge Family TV Show, Wrecking CrewCommentHey All! HAPPY NEW YEAR! And we're off and running...The next book signing for "When We're Singin' " will be held this weekend, Saturday, January 7, from 10AM to 2PM at Branch Street Coffee in Boardman! Hope to see some of you from the Youngstown and Columbiana County area! :) Exact Address: BRANCH STREET COFFEE ROASTERS, 1393 Boardman-Canfield Road, Boardman, OH, 44512.
BOOK SIGNING - Bradley's Book Outlet!
CommentHey All! BRADLEY'S BOOK OUTLET is having me in to do a book signing on Thursday! They are a Pittsburgh company with several locations. I'll be at the on in Pittsburgh Mills on Thursday, Dec. 22nd from 4-7PM! Hope to see a few of you there!! :) GALLERIA AT PITTSBURGH MILLS, 142 Pittsburgh Mills Circle, Tarentum, PA 15084.
CHRISTMAS WITH THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY ON WUSB.FM!
70s Music, David Cassidy, Partridge FamilyCommentDon't miss my guest appearance tonight (Saturday, Dec 17th) at 6PM on 90.1 FM WUSB! It's a special Christmas radio broadcast of The Partridge Family and The Carpenters Christmas music! You can link to it at: http://wusb.fm/
HERE'S THE PROMO FROM WUSB:
Captain Rockit's Time Machine brings you the holiday event of the season. It's a Christmas Special featuring 2 of the most popular artists of all time, The Carpenters and The Partridge Family. Returning to the WUSB airwaves for this special event will be authors Johnny Ray Miller and Randy L. Schmidt. Johnny Ray Miller's book on the Partridge Family "When We're Singin' is being released just in time for this holiday season. And so is David Cassidy's new Christmas EP! Johnny will update us on the release of the book and the holiday music of both David Cassidy and The Partridge Family! Randy L. Schmidt is the author of "Little Girl Blue" The Karen Carpenter Story, as well as other books. He will be with us to tell us about his latest endeavors as well as offer his expert opinions of The Carpenters holiday music. So if you want to hear a Christmas Special like they used to be, please tune in December 17th at 6 PM Eastern for "An Old Fashioned Christmas", only on 90.1 FM WUSB and WUSB.FM streaming live on the internet worldwide.
BARNES & NOBLE BOOK SIGNING!
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800 Settlers Ridge Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15205
BOOK SIGNING for "When We're Singin'" at Barnes & Noble, Settlers Ridge in Robinson township, Pittsburgh PA today, December 17, 2016!! Hope to see some of you there! I'll be there from 10AM all day! Full address: Barnes & Noble Settlers Ridge, 800 Settlers Ridge Centre Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15205.
BARNES & NOBLE BOOK SIGNING! Settler's Ridge, Pittsburgh, PA
CommentIT'S OFFICIAL! I've been holding off until I received final confirmation, and now I can share it with you all! We will be doing a book signing ALL DAY at Barnes & Noble in Robinson Township (Pittsburgh) at the Settler's Ridge location on this coming Saturday, December 17th! The actual address is 800 Settler's Ridge Center Drive, Pittsburgh PA, 15205. Pittsburgh-ers, I'll see you there!
Settler's Ridge, 800 Settler's Ridge Center Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205
PARTRIDGE FAMILY ARTWORK & BOOK SIGNING!
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PARTRIDGE FAMILY ARTWORK & BOOK SIGNING! Hey all! Our next book signing will be at CHICO'S in Boardman this Friday, December 16 from 12 noon to 4PM in conjunction with/and special guest of artist Vicki Wilflin Ricci. Vicki will be doing an art exhibit of her exquisite work that now includes a new piece inspired by--you guessed it-- the music of The Partridge Family! It's appropriately titled "Come On Get Happy" and it will debut at her exhibit on Friday! Hope to see some of you! Here's the address: CHICO'S, 813 Boardman - Poland Road, #9b, Boardman, OH 44512.
RELEASED TODAY!!! TWO BOOK SIGNINGS TO FOLLOW!
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"WHEN WE'RE SINGIN' " - RELEASED TODAY! I'm so happy to announce that the books arrived Wednesday, and we have been working day and night packaging books! The first batch shipped today!! They will ship out over the next several days in 4 or 5 separate batches. Just a reminder to all the locals that the very first book signing is TOMORROW, Saturday, December 10th at PEABERRY'S CAFE in Canfield, Ohio! I'll be there with Tyler Cosma, one of my team members who has been working on this project with me from the very beginning! And there's more....We have an entire schedule of book signing dates lined up going on in to the new year! Next Friday, December 16th, I'll be at CHICO'S in Boardman (813 Boardman Poland Rd., Boardman, OH 44512) from 12 noon to 4PM as a special guest to featured artist Vicki Wilflin Ricci! Check out the attached flyer!
BOOKS ARRIVING TODAY! DOUBLE CHECK YOUR SHIPPING ADDRESS!
1 CommentHey gang! It's time!! The book shipment is arriving from the printing company today and they will ship out to you on Friday!
First of all, I can't tell you how excited I am. I hope to have plenty of photos to share of the delivery and final stages of packaging and shipping! But for now...
...Just a reminder to those of you who pre-purchased books and have since sent me notes through Facebook regarding address corrections or other requests, please send me your requests directly to Johnnyraymiller1@gmail.com or through the contact link here at the website to insure those requests.
This is especially important for those who pre-purchased more than six months ago and have since moved. Those who backed the K-campaign should have received an email today to confirm updated information....so please double and triple check your addresses today.
If you pre-purchased the book within the last six months, and as long as your address has not changed, there's no need to confirm anything.
This is only the beginning of the next exciting phase, everyone! More to come as it unfolds...
Retro Clothing patch offered during the Kickstarter Campaign!
OUR FIRST BOOK SIGNING--PEABERRY'S CAFE!
70s Music, 1970s, David Cassidy, Partridge Family Music, Wrecking Crew2 CommentsOur very first book signing is scheduled at PEABERRY'S CAFE next Saturday! Hey Ohio/PA friends...hope to see some of you at Peaberry's in Canfield, OH, next Saturday, December 10, from 10AM-2PM. Full address: 4350 Boardman-Canfield Road, Canfield, OH 44406!
The Biggest Selling Christmas Album of 1971!
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Photo provided by Scottie Gee Gerardi
The biggest selling Christmas album of 1971! John Bahler tells the unusual story behind the coming together of this holiday classic! 5 more days and counting.....
Our First Review: THE HUFFINGTON POST!
CommentThe bus rolls forward! We have our first preview/review of WHEN WE'RE SINGIN'!
Headline reads: "LEGACIES: DAVID BOWIE, PINK FLOYD, ELVIS PRESLEY, DEPECHE MODE, AND ... THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY?"
Johnny Ray’s When We’re Singin’—The Partridge Family & Their Music is one of the most thoroughly researched books with quotes from virtually everyone who had anything to do with the television and recording phenomenon. Astonishingly, it even includes a foreword by David Cassidy, which is a coup if you know any of the behind the scenes drama associated with the star’s fight with Sony Music over royalties. And with all of the Partridge “experts” out there (I’ve occasionally fancied myself as one), it took someone with an innocent approach and ridiculous drive to achieve what no one else was able to concerning this much maligned/beloved fictitious musical family. Through interviews, endless photos, and hundreds of pages of knowledge, Johnny Miller’s book reads smoothly yet also serves as a meticulous encyclopedia of The Partridge Family’s released and unreleased recordings and what took place over the “group”’s brief four years of existence. Even if you hate the group, you might find yourself giving their musical story a little slack since this book also comes off like a primer on the music business of the early ’70s.
So before everyone who loved this show is dead, please Sony, can you get the unreleased material on the market? It seems like over the last twenty-five or so years, every burp and hiccup has been released on much more obscure artists than this, so here are a couple of suggestions: Release an original albums box with an approximation of what the last unreleased album was proposed to be plus a final disc of rarities. Or combine their complete output with David Cassidy’s solo albums since you own all of his Bell and RCA material as well as his Romance album. Either approach could make a highly marketable product that could be a terrific last statement on the group and a pretty compelling audio story of Cassidy’s prolific, almost Beatles-level international popularity and early career. Or how about a sacrifice to Zeus? Whatever it takes, just do it and get this over with, okay? Love ya... ;)
For more information: Johnny Ray’s When We’re Singin’
Check out the full article HERE
Special thanks, Mike Ragogna!! Check it out!!
Our First Promo Event: WUSB 90.1 FM, NEW YORK
CommentHey gang!
Our first bus stop: WUSB 90.1FM, New York!
On December 17th at 6PM DJ Roger Passero is hosting "An Old Fashioned Christmas" featuring the Christmas music of The Partridge Family and the Carpenters. Both Randy Schmidt (author of "The LIfe of Karen Carpenter") and myself are the scheduled guests. The first part of the program will focus on The Partridge Family while the second half focuses on the Carpenters. I hope you will all join in! There are a lot of parallels between The Partridge Family and the Carpenters and it should be a really interesting discussion. We will also be talking about David Cassidy's new EP Christmas release!
If some of you may recall, WUSB hosted an evening of the Partridge Family in support of our Kickstarter campaign in May 2015. Thanks, Roger, for having us back!