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David Cassidy: “Naked Lunch Box” — The 1972 Rolling Stone Profile

Robin Green’s 1972 Rolling Stone profile captures David Cassidy’s fame, punishing schedule and wish to be seen as more than Keith Partridge.
Opened Runtime2 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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“Naked Lunch Box” is Robin Green’s Rolling Stone cover story about David Cassidy, published May 11, 1972, in issue 108. It follows the singer, actor and songwriter at the height of his fame while he describes the demands of the job and the limits of being seen only as Keith Partridge.

What is “Naked Lunch Box”?

It is a reported profile by Robin Green, not a documentary film. The Cassidy print archive identifies it as the cover story of Rolling Stone issue 108, dated May 11, 1972. Its subtitle describes the subject as “The story of the singer, actor and songwriter beyond Keith Partridge.” The issue index records the publication details, and the archived article reproduces Green’s piece.

What does the profile reveal about Cassidy?

Green moves between backstage and concert scenes, interviews with Cassidy and people around him, and observations of his public image. Cassidy discusses the packed routine of appearances, touring and recording, as well as his frustration with what he saw as the magazine’s hostility toward commercial pop and the way he was packaged for a young audience.

The profile’s central tension is between the scale of Cassidy’s popularity and his desire to be understood as more than the fictional Keith Partridge. It presents him as a working pop star negotiating an image that brought extraordinary attention but did not fully express his ambitions or his experience of the work.

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Why does the article emphasize concert crowds?

The large audiences make the pressure surrounding Cassidy’s career concrete. Green’s 1972 article reports that Cassidy had set an attendance figure of 56,723 for two Houston Astrodome matinees on the same day, and describes 20,650 people at a Madison Square Garden matinee. Those are figures as reported in the article, not independently verified attendance totals.

Against that scale, Cassidy describes the personal cost of maintaining the schedule: “There’ll be a time when this whole thing will be over. I won’t do concerts anymore, I won’t wake up in the morning feeling drained, and I won’t be working a punch card schedule.” The passage captures the distance between a celebrated teen idol’s public image and his account of a punishing working life.

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How can you read the article or find the issue?

Read the archived article for the reproduced text. To identify a print copy, look for Rolling Stone issue 108, dated May 11, 1972, rather than relying on the title alone. A marketplace listing surfaced, but a single listing does not establish present availability or a typical price. If considering a copy, check its condition and completeness, seller documentation and the total cost including shipping.

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What provides broader context?

The book Station to Station: The History of Rock ’n’ Roll on Television includes a chapter titled “Naked Lunch Box: David Cassidy and the Cult of the Teen Idol.” A chapter excerpt offers a later perspective on the cover image, identifies Annie Leibovitz as its photographer, and places the photograph within the tension between Cassidy’s public image and personal identity. That retrospective discussion complements Green’s contemporaneous reporting; it is not a replacement for the 1972 profile.

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Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 2
Selections from Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Guitar Classics Volume 2: Classic Rock to Modern Rock (Easy Guitar TAB) (Rolling Stones Classic Guitar)
Selections from Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Guitar Classics Volume 2: Classic Rock to Modern Rock (Easy Guitar TAB) (Rolling Stones Classic Guitar)
Contains Over 80 Classic And Modern Rock Songs; Arranged For Easy Guitar; Includes Lyrics; Standard Notation And Tab
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Rolling Stone Sheet Music Classics, Vol 2: 1970s-1990s (Rolling Stone Magazine, Vol 2)
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Format: Book; Version: Piano/Vocal/Chords; Instrument: Piano/Vocal/Chords; Genre: Pop/Rock
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SaleBestseller No. 5
Selections from Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Early Rock to the Late '60s (Easy Guitar TAB)
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Contains Over Sixty Songs From 1954 -1960; Arranged For Easy Guitar; Includes Lyrics; Standard Notation
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Best Value
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Selections from Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Early Rock to the Late '60s (Easy Guitar TAB)
  • Contains Over Sixty Songs From 1954 -1960
  • Arranged For Easy Guitar
  • Includes Lyrics
  • Standard Notation
  • 256 Pages
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Rolling Stone Sheet Music Classics, Vol 2: 1970s-1990s (Rolling Stone Magazine, Vol 2)
  • Format: Book
  • Version: Piano/Vocal/Chords
  • Instrument: Piano/Vocal/Chords
  • Genre: Pop/Rock
  • Category: P/V/C Mixed Folio

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