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It
was the early sixties...
and
The Peppermint Lounge in New York City was the place to be.
Joey Dee and the Starliters were drawing huge crowds, as their
hit single The Peppermint Twist was soaring up the charts. The
famed nightspot was also a showcase for many other talented
bands including Felix and the Escorts, a quartet assembled by
classically trained musician Felix Cavaliere. Felix, a native
of Pelham, New York, was on hiatus from his medical studies
at Syracuse University when he decided to concentrate on music
rather than medicine. One night while performing at The Peppermint
Lounge, Felix met New Jersey native Eddie Brigati, a feisty,
energetic young singer who, to everyone's delight, was often
asked to get up on stage and unleash his powerful voice and
infectious sense of humor. Shortly thereafter, The Escorts disbanded
and Felix was asked to play keyboards for Joey Dee, who was
currently on tour in Europe opening for The Beatles. Upon their
return to the States, Eddie joined the Starliters as a vocalist,
replacing his brother, veteran singer David Brigati. Another
addition to the band was Ottawa-born guitarist Gene Cornish.
He had come to New York City with his new band The Unbeatables,
known for their rare novelty single I Wanna Be A Beatle, which
was written by Gene. Things did not work out in their favor,
and the band went home while Gene stayed in New York to join
forces with Joey Dee. Around this time, Felix met drummer Dino
Danelli, another New Jersey native who had come up from New
Orleans with a band called Ronnie Speakes and the Elrods. Dino
was a seasoned veteran, having toured with Lionel Hampton and
many r&b road shows.
By
January 1965, Felix had left The Starliters and along with Dino,
began playing Las Vegas Lounges with singer Sandu Scott, after
which the desire to create their own band prompted them to contact
Gene and Eddie back in New York. In February 1965, the four
seasoned musicians met in Eddie's basement in Garfield, New
Jersey and began hours of intense rehearsals, preparing about
25 songs that they could perform on stage. A few days later
The Rascals made their debut at The Choo Choo Club in Garfield
and soon became the house band at The Barge in West Hampton,
Long Island, the launching pad for other bands like The Vanilla
Fudge, The Hassles (with Billy Joel), and The Vagrants (featuring
Leslie West of Mountain). The impact of The Rascals' live performances
caught the attention of Sid Bernstein, the rock promoter who
brought The Beatles to America in 1964. Bernstein wasted no
time in signing them and set out to look for a recording contract.
As a novelty, he had them dress up in knickers, Jackie Cooper
caps and Buster Brown collars, then booked them at Harlow's
Discotheque in Manhattan.
On
October 28, 1965, The Rascals opened at The Phone Booth, another
leading Manhattan club. After several offers by various record
companies, Bernstein decided on Atlantic, a label that up until
that time had focused primarily on jazz and r&b; Upon signing,
the group officially changed its name to The Young Rascals,
and their first single was the powerful Pam Sawyer/Lori Burton
composition I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore. It peaked
on the Billboard chart at number 52 in January 1966, with most
of the record sales and airplay in the New York area. In March,
The Young Rascals soared to the top of the charts with their
first monster hit - a driving remake of the The Olympics' Good
Lovin'. Their respectable debut album, simply titled The Young
Rascals, was released, and contained enthusiastic covers of
classics like Mustang Sally, Slow Down, Like a Rolling Stone
and In the Midnight Hour. Late 1966 saw the release of Collections,
the second album by The Young Rascals. Collections contained
six original songs, including the classic hit I've Been Lonely
Too Long, the powerful rocker Come On Up, and the soul-drenched
Love Is a Beautiful Thing. The group's popularity soared, and
they hit the concert trail with extended tours of the United
States, Canada, and Europe. After two successful albums they
decided to expand their musical horizons, resulting in the release
of their next number one single, Groovin'. Gone was the driving
Hammond organ, replaced by a softer musical atmosphere with
much more emphasis on vocal harmony. Groovin' was followed by
A Girl Like You, and How Can I Be Sure, two more hits culled
from the highly successful Groovin' album. The Young Rascals
were now writing all of their own material and soon became America's
number one band, making numerous appearances on television,
including the ever popular Ed Sullivan Show.
Their
next LP, Once Upon A Dream was a complete departure from anything
the band had done up to that point. With a cover and photo booklet
designed by Dino, the album featured the sound of chimes, tablas,
sitars, tambouras, and some very impressive brass and string
arrangements. Some highlights from this landmark album were
the beautiful pop masterpieces Silly Girl, Rainy Day, and My
Hawaii. Eddie's brother David also made a contribution to the
album, singing lead on the beautiful title track, Once Upon
A Dream. At this point, the group dropped the "Young" from their
name and were now officially known as The Rascals. In the Spring
of 1968, The Rascals reached the Top 10 once again with A Beautiful
Morning, a light pop classic that made it all the way to number
three. Also in 1968, they became the first American rock act
to perform with an orchestra. Appearing before a capacity crowd
at Madison Square Garden, The Rascals were backed by 40 musicians
under the direction of Atlantic Records music director Arif
Mardin.
The
next album release, Time Peace, The Rascals' Greatest Hits,
was their biggest seller and the only Rascals album to reach
number one. The Rascals were at the peak of their popularity,
and the music was beginning to reflect their beliefs and opinions
about political and social issues. People Got To Be Free, their
next single, contained a very strong statement about freedom
and equality. Climbing all the way to number one, it was to
be their very last chart-topping record. The next album, Freedom
Suite, was an ambitious two-record set with one disk containing
their usual brand of pop and R&B and the other containing three
lengthy instrumental cuts. With the inclusion of People Got
To Be Free, the album was certified gold two weeks before it
hit the record stores. When Freedom Suite was released, The
Rascals issued a statement that they would not perform on any
live show that did not contain a 50% black billing. The group
wanted its audiences to be integrated, but unfortunately the
move was a financial disaster, virtually banning it from touring
in the South. The group also decided that it did not want to
perform on any "establishment TV shows". As admirable as these
moves might have been in principle, they unfortunately marked
the end of The Rascals as a truly powerful American rock and
roll band.
In
late 1969, The Rascals' See album was released and contained
some fine material, including the Top 40 hit Carry Me Back.
Unfortunately, their record selling days were just about over,
and the album did not fare very well on the charts. Midway through
the recording of Search and Nearness, their final album for
Atlantic Records, Eddie Brigati decided to leave the group,
and 1971 saw Felix writing all the material himself. Gene left
the band, and a new contract was signed with Columbia Records.
The newly reformed Rascals featuring several new members released
another double album entitled Peaceful World. This was a trip
back into mellow, soulful jazz with guest soloists Alice Coltrane,
Hubert Laws, Joe Farrell, Ron Carter and others. As ambitious
as it was, the album made very little impact and had only one
single, the funky, gospel-flavored Love Me, which charted at
95. The Island of Real appeared in 1972 and was the final Rascals
album, barely making a dent on the record charts. Shortly thereafter,
The Rascals called it quits. Dino contacted Gene and the two
joined Bulldog, participating in a string of reasonably successful
rock and roll albums. In the late 70s the pair moved to Fotomaker,
with ex-Raspberry Wally Bryson. As for Felix, he went on to
record several highly acclaimed solo albums, while Eddie kept
a low profile over the years, making occasional album appearances
with the likes of The Average White Band, Jackie Lomax, Danny
O'Keefe and Gordon Haskell. Along with his brother David, he
also recorded the album Lost In The Wilderness, which featured
a remake of The Young Rascals' classic hit, Groovin'. In the
late 80s, The Rascals reunited briefly, sans Brigati, to do
a series of highly successful concert tours and TV appearances.
1997 marked the year that The Rascals took their place among
the rock and roll elite, as they were enshrined into The Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame, an honor that was so richly deserved.
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