The Partridge Family
Whatever Happened to the Old Songs?
TV Flash files “Whatever Happened to the Old Songs?” as a desk essential hour — The Partridge Family (1970–1974) on ABC, season 1, episode 3, aired 1970-10-09, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E03: listed hour 3 of 96 in the The Partridge Family guide, hour 3 of 25 in season 1. It aired 1970-10-09 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Sound of Money” (S01E02). Next is “See Here, Private Partridge” (S01E04).
Essential hour: “Whatever Happened to the Old Songs?”. Whatever Happened to the Old Songs? is the catalog arguing with itself. Clean California longing: the bus still the set, the records still the real merchandising, the fame-spiral still off-camera.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Shirley's mother is upset when Shirley's dad joins the band.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Whatever Happened to the Old Songs? sit in the The Partridge Family guide?
S01E03 is listed hour 3 of 96 — hour 3 of 25 in season 1, season 1 episode 3.
When did The Partridge Family S01E03 air?
Whatever Happened to the Old Songs? aired 1970-10-09 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do the songs actually chart?
Yes. Soundtrack singles were real hits, including I Think I Love You. The sitcom sold records, not only lunchboxes.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Shirley Jones drives a Mondrian bus while David Cassidy becomes a teen-idol industry with actual chart hits. A family-band sitcom that sold records, lunchboxes, and a kind of clean California longing. Music-machine grin up front; the fame-spiral gossip Cassidy never fully escaped rides shotgun.
The Mondrian bus arrives before the hit. ABC, 1970–1974: Shirley Jones in the driver's seat of a candy-colored coach, a widowed mom touring as pop with her kids while sitcom plots and chart singles collide. Bernard Slade's The Partridge Family made David Cassidy a teen-idol industrial complex with actual records — including I Think I Love You — and sold lunchboxes like they were look books. Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, and Dave Madden's Reuben Kincaid completed the family-and-manager math. *Primary-color panels,…
Filed against
- Shirley Jones as Shirley Partridge
Shirley Jones drove The Partridge Family as Shirley Partridge — Mondrian bus, family-band sitcom, a California grin that sold records and lunchboxes while a teen-idol industry formed in the passenger seats. Clean longing up front. TV…
- David Cassidy as Keith Partridge
David Cassidy’s Keith Partridge turned The Partridge Family into a teen-idol industry with actual chart hits — Shirley Jones driving a Mondrian bus, lunchboxes, clean California longing, a music-machine grin that fame-spiral gossip never…
- Susan Dey as Laurie Partridge
Susan Dey’s Laurie Partridge rode the Mondrian bus while David Cassidy became a teen-idol industry — family-band sitcom, lunchboxes, clean California longing — then argued L.A. Law as glossy Bochco litigation-as-lifestyle. Music-machine…
- Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge
Danny Bonaduce’s Danny Partridge rode the Mondrian bus as The Partridge Family’s redheaded mischief — Shirley Jones driving, David Cassidy becoming a teen-idol industry with actual chart hits. Family-band sitcom that sold records and…
- Dave Madden as Reuben Kincaid
Dave Madden’s Reuben Kincaid managed The Partridge Family like a headache in a suit — Shirley Jones driving the Mondrian bus, David Cassidy becoming a teen-idol industry, a family-band sitcom that sold records and lunchboxes. TV Flash…