"Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted" is a song written by

Mike Appel Mike Appel (born October 27, 1942)Eliot and Appel, ''Down Thunder Road'', p. 45. is an American music industry manager and record producer, best known for his role in both capacities in the early career of Bruce Springsteen. Appel was born in Fl ...

, Jim Cretecos, and

Wes Farrell Wes Farrell (December 21, 1939 – February 29, 1996) was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Farrell was born in New York, United States. Farrell's catalogue includes close ...

and was recorded by

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...

for their 1971 album, '' Up to Date''.

Background

Lead singer

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

hated the song and didn't think it was very good. In addition, he hated the idea of speaking aloud in the middle of the song. He hated it so much, he refused to do it.C'Mon Get Happy - Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family bus by David Cassidy and

Chip Deffaa Chip Deffaa is an American author, playwright, jazz historian, songwriter, director, and producer of plays and recordings. For 18 years, he wrote for the ''New York Post'', covering jazz, cabaret, and theater. He has contributed to '' Jazz Tim ...

, Warner Books Inc, 1994. pp 70–71 His refusal caused consternation with the studio and the record company, where the heads of both Bell Records and Screen Gems, both owned by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, got involved. Shooting of ''The Partridge Family'' was stopped so his manager and agent could talk to him over the issue. It was suggested to Cassidy that the song would achieve greater commercial success with the spoken interlude included. Cassidy finally caved in to the collective pressure and recorded the song as requested. When it was finished, he begged them not to release it: "It was horrible, I was embarrassed by it. I still can't listen to that record."

Reception

'' Cash Box'' described the song as being "an even more intriguing bit of material" than "

I Think I Love You "I Think I Love You" is a song by Tony Romeo, written as the debut single for fictional musical TV family the Partridge Family, released in August 1970, a month prior to the debut of the ABC-TV musical sitcom ''The Partridge Family'' starring Sh ...

Chart performance

The song went to #6 on

The Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in 1971 and was on the charts for 12 weeks. The song went to #1 in Canada. The song also reached #6 in France and #9 in Australia. It was named the #13 song of 1971 on the Cashbox charts. The song was certified as a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in March 1971.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Popular culture

* This was also the song that was playing before the

Emergency Broadcast System The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), sometimes called the Emergency Broadcasting System or the Emergency Action Notification System (EANS), was an emergency warning system used in the United States. It replaced the previous CONELRAD system an ...

False Alarm of 1971 on

WOWO WOWO (1190 AM) – branded News/Talk WOWO 1190 AM 107.5 FM – is a commercial talk radio station licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving primarily the Fort Wayne metropolitan area. Currently owned by Federated Media via licensee Pathfinder ...

Radio. * It is mentioned in ''

Reservoir Dogs ''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward B ...

'', as part of the fictional "K-BILLY's Super Sounds of the '70s" radio program. * The song is featured in the episode "'' Never Again''" of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted 1971 singles 1971 songs Songs written by Wes Farrell The Partridge Family songs Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Bell Records singles Songs written by Mike Appel Song recordings produced by Wes Farrell