Shaun Cassidy revisits his ‘first crush’ — and a career that came full circle

11/4/2026

People from every musical era experience teenage crushes with musicians. Mobs of screaming fans clamored to see the Beatles and Elvis Presley in the 1960s and 1970s. But in the late 1970s, one teen heartthrob stood out: Shaun Cassidy.

With his feathered blonde hair and schoolboy charm, along with songs such as “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “Do You Believe in Magic,” garnered instant fame for Cassidy. A starring role in the “Hardy Boys Mysteries” intensified his heartthrob status.

At the height of his fame, Cassidy felt overwhelmed with the constant attention and lack of privacy. 

“My first record went to No. 1. I just started working on the Hardy Boys TV show. Suddenly, I’m nominated and opening for the Grammy Awards. All of that came in the span of 18 months. I’m 18 years old and five minutes before, I’d been in high school, just a kid,” he said in an interview with CITYVIEW magazine.

At age 21, he performed his last concert to 55,000 fans at the Houston Astrodome and didn’t perform live for 40 years. He transitioned into writing and producing successful television shows, his primary job for the past 45 years.

That changed, when he “dipped his toe” into performing, initially derailed by the pandemic. Eventually, he embarked on his biggest tour ever in 2025, playing 60 cities in North America. 

“It was something I was never able to do as a kid, because I was doing the Hardy Boys and recording,” he said. “I missed the connection with an audience. I didn’t know if people would come to my shows after such a long break.” 

This fall, he performs his “Unwrapped” holiday tour, singing old favorites, newly released music and Christmas songs with a stop in Des Moines at Hoyt Sherman Place on Nov. 22. 

Much of his concert weaves storytelling into the performance, where he talks about growing up in a famous family. It includes his half-brother singer David Cassidy and mom Shirley Jones, who starred in “The Partridge Family” and movies such as “The Music Man.”

In the past four decades, he experienced success as a television producer and writer for shows such as “American Gothic,” “Cold Case,” “Emerald City,” “New Amsterdam” and “Blood Brothers,” a Broadway show.  

The first show he wrote and produced was different, altering his public perception.

“People were like, wait a second, that kid from the Hardy Boys wrote that? Suddenly people thought I could do something equally different,” he said. “It opened the door to a lot of new opportunities.”

Throughout his career, he has stayed grounded, thanks to his mother’s influence, even with raising seven of his own kids.  He recalls his 16 year-old daughter returning from a Harry Styles concert and putting up his poster on her bedroom wall. As she’s putting up the poster, Cassidy walked in. “My wife — her mom — said that kid you’re putting on your wall, that was your dad to a lot of people,” he said. “She could not conceive of that being remotely a possibility.” 

Cassidy understands many young girls in the 1970s had a crush on him (this writer included). He has embraced that part of his life and produced a wine that’s called “My First Crush.” He also recently released an album, “My First Crush,” available on streaming devices. 

In November, Cassidy is hosting a Sirius XM 70’s on 7 show, “This Side of Sunset.” He relates his experiences growing up around Sunset Boulevard in California. 

“I used to go to Tower Records on Sunset when I was 12 years old, buying 45s for 88 cents,” he said. “A few years later, I’m playing in clubs on Sunset as a 16 year-old. A year later, I’m meeting musicians who were in my record collection just a few years earlier, and now they’re my peers.”

Cassidy likes telling stories and singing songs that are fresh to him. 

“I haven’t been singing them for 40 years,” he said. “It feels like a full-circle experience, and I know it’s a full-circle experience for many people in the audience, too.”

Tickets for the Nov. 22 concert at Hoyt Sherman Place start at $66 and are available at Ticketmaster. ♦

Jackie Wilson has written hundreds of articles for CITYVIEW and the Iowa Living magazines. She covers ordinary people living extraordinary lives.