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Shaun Cassidy
Synopsis of Pop Music
“Hey Deanie, won't you come out tonight?
The stars are dancin' like diamonds in the moonlight,
And we could never find a better time to be in love...”
Shaun Cassidy was the half-brother of another teen idol, David Cassidy, so it seemed fated that Shaun would follow a similar path. Cassidy rose to the challenge admirably, finding success both on television and the pop charts in the late 70’s.
Shaun Cassidy had his eye on pop stardom from an early age and formed his first band at the age of 11. By age 16, he had a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. His first single, “Morning Girl,” was released in 1976 and became a serious hit in Europe. As Cassidy became a presence in teen magazines, a second single was released. “That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll” was a cover of a song by former Raspberries leader Eric Carmen and became another European smash. It also was a notable hit in Australia.
Shaun Cassidy got his big break in America when he landed a role as teen detective Joe Hardy on the television series The Hardy Boys Mysteries. He performed a cover of the oldie “Da Doo Ron Ron” on an early episode and it became a #1 hit when released as a single. “That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll” was reissued in America and became the follow-up hit. When his self-titled debut album was released in the summer of '77, it quickly became the biggest-selling debut of its time.
Cassidy followed his first solo album with a second release, Born Late, that fall. It boasted a Top-10 hit single in “Hey Deanie,” another song penned by Eric Carmen. Cassidy continued to record and tour through 1980. His final album, Wasp, was his most interesting and unusual recording: Produced by pop wizard Todd Rundgren, it featured Cassidy tackling surprisingly mature and hard-rocking material by the likes of Ian Hunter (“Once Bitten, Twice Shy”) and David Bowie (“Rebel Rebel”).
After 1980, Shaun Cassidy put aside his musical career to focus on acting. Since then, he has had regular roles on television shows like Breaking Away and General Hospital. On the stage, he costarred with his older brother David in the Broadway show Blood Brothers in 1993. He also developed an interesting second career as a writer and producer for television, creating such series as American Gothic, Roar and Cover Me. This latter-day creative success proved what Shaun Cassidy fans already knew: He was more than your average teen idol.