The Rascals
The Rascals |
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The Rascals (previously The Young Rascals) were an American soul and rock group of the 1960s.
History
Eddie Brigati (vocals), Felix Cavaliere (keyboard, vocals), Gene Cornish (guitar) and Dino Danelli (drums) started the band in Brigati and Danelli's native state New Jersey. Their first public performance took place at the Choo Choo Club in Garfield on Saturday, February 27th, 1965. Three-quarters of the group - Brigati, Cavaliere and Cornish - had previously been members of Joey Dee and the Starliters. Eddie's brother, David Brigati, an original Starliter, helped arrange the vocal harmonies and sang backgrounds on many of the group's recordings (informally earning the designation as the Fifth Rascal). When Atlantic Records signed them, they discovered that another group (Borrah Minevitch's and Johnny Puleo's Harmonica Rascals) objected to the release of records under the name Rascals. To avoid conflict, manager Sid Bernstein decided to rename the group the Young Rascals.
The Young Rascals had a minor hit with "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" (1965), followed by the #1 single "Good Lovin'" (1966, originally by The Olympics). Then the band's songwriting team of Brigati and Cavaliere began providing most of their songs, and the hits kept coming for the next two years, including "I've Been Lonely Too Long", "You Better Run", "Groovin'" (#1, 1967), "It's Wonderful", "A Girl Like You", "How Can I Be Sure?" (which David Cassidy would record in 1972 for a #1 hit in the United Kingdom) and "A Beautiful Morning" (1968).
Guitarist Gene Cornish provided several songs of his own, such as "I'm Gonna Love You" and "No Love To Give."
In early 1968, the group dropped the "Young" from their name.
The Rascals' best work arguably came from their 1968 album Once Upon A Dream, which featured several leads each from Brigati and Cavaliere. Though the only success for a single on the album was "It's Wonderful" (#20 on the US charts), the album utilized frequent instrumentals, and peaked at #9 on the album charts. The album was praised by some critics for such songs as "Rainy Day", "My World" and the title track. Understandably, the song "My Hawaii" became a top of the charts hit in Hawaii.
Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits, released in mid-1968, topped the album chart and became the group's best-selling album. The same year, "People Got to Be Free", a horn-punctuated plea for racial tolerance (the band was known for refusing to tour on segregated bills) and their third U.S. #1 single, was also their final Top Ten hit.
Later singles and albums were not as popular, with only two top-40 releases in 1969, and none afterward.
In 1970, Brigati left the group, followed by Cornish in 1971. The last album with them as active members was Search & Nearness (hitting #198 in the U.S.), which featured Brigati's last performances as a member singing lead on the Cornish-penned "You Don't Know" and their cover of The Box Tops hit "The Letter". The only single release from the album was the spiritually-themed "Glory, Glory" (#58 in the US), with backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations.
Cavaliere shifted toward more jazz and gospel influenced writing; he and Danelli released two more albums on Columbia Records as The Rascals, Peaceful World (U.S. #122) and The Island Of Real (U.S. #180), using Robert Popwell and Buzzy Feiten on bass and guitar respectively, and a new singer named Annie Sutton. These albums didn't sell as well as their earlier work and the group finally disbanded in 1972.
Cavaliere released several solo albums throughout the 1970s. Brigati, with his brother David, released Lost in the Wilderness in 1976. Cornish and Danelli worked together in other groups, including Bulldog and Fotomaker. In 1982, Cavaliere and Danelli joined Steve Van Zandt in Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul for the group's first two albums.
After appearing at Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Celebration on 5/14/88, The Rascals reunited (with Cavaliere, Cornish, and Danelli) for a brief reunion tour in 1988; Eddie Brigati opted not to participate in it. The reunion group featured an expanded lineup that also included Mel Owens(in Brigati's place) on vocals and percussion, Steve Mackey on bass, Ed Mattey on guitar, Dena Iverson on back up vocals and a horn section from Nashville to beef up the sound. The reunion did not last beyond the end of that year.
After that, Cavaliere returned to his solo career and in the 90s there were two factions touring: The New Rascals (featuring Cornish & Danelli) and Cavaliere, who sometimes called his grouping Felix Cavaliere's Rascals. The New Rascals lasted only a short time in the 90s but returned to the road once again in 2006 with two new members: Bill Pascali (formerly of Vanilla Fudge) on vocals & keyboards and Charlie Souza on bass and back up vocals.
The (Young) Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on May 6, 1997, and they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.
The entire run of albums from Atlantic Records was re-released on August 28, 2007.
Membership
- Eddie Brigati (born Edward Brigati Jr., 22 October 1945, Garfield, New Jersey) - vocals, percussion
- Felix Cavaliere (born 29 November 1944) - vocals, keyboards
- Gene Cornish (born 14 May 1946) - guitar, vocals
- Dino Danelli (born 23 July 1944, Jersey City, New Jersey) - drums
Discography
Albums
| Release Date | Label/Catalog # | Album Title | Billboard Top 200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/28/1966 | Atlantic 8123 (mono) Atlantic SD-8123 (stereo) | The Young Rascals | |
| 01/09/1967 | Atlantic 8134 (mono) Atlantic SD-8134 (stereo) | Collections | |
| 07/31/1967 | Atlantic 8148 (mono) Atlantic SD-8148 (stereo) | Groovin' | |
| 02/19/1968 | Atlantic 8169 (mono) Atlantic SD-8169 (stereo) | Once Upon A Dream | |
| 06/24/1968 | Atlantic SD-8190 (stereo) | Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits | |
| 03/17/1969 | Atlantic SD 2-901 (stereo) | Freedom Suite | |
| 12/15/1969 | Atlantic SD-8246 (stereo) | See | |
| 03/01/1971 | Atlantic SD-8276 (stereo) | Search and Nearness | |
| ??/??/1971 | Columbia G30462 (stereo) | Peaceful World | |
| ??/??/1972 | Columbia KC 31103 (stereo) | The Island of Real |
Singles
| Release Date | Label/Catalog # | Titles (A-side / B-side) | U.S. Billboard Top Singles |
U.S. Cashbox |
Canada RPM |
UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/22/1965 | Atlantic 2312 | I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore / Slow Down | ||||
| 02/21/1966 | Atlantic 2321 | Good Lovin' / Mustang Sally | ||||
| 05/30/1966 | Atlantic 2338 | You Better Run / Love Is A Beautiful Thing | ||||
| 09/12/1966 | Atlantic 2353 | Come On Up / What Is The Reason | ||||
| 01/16/1967 | Atlantic 2377 | I've Been Lonely Too Long / If You Knew | ||||
| 04/10/1967 | Atlantic 2401 | Groovin' / Sueño | ||||
| 07/03/1967 | Atlantic 2424 | A Girl Like You / It's Love | ||||
| 07/17/1967 | Atlantic 2428 | Groovin' (Spanish Version) / Groovin' (Italian Version) | ||||
| 08/28/1967 | Atlantic 2438 | How Can I Be Sure / I'm So Happy Now | ||||
| 11/27/1967 | Atlantic 2463 | It's Wonderful / Of Course | ||||
| 04/01/1968 | Atlantic 2493 | A Beautiful Morning / Rainy Day | ||||
| 07/01/1968 | Atlantic 2537 | People Got To Be Free / My World | ||||
| 11/18/1968 | Atlantic 2584 | A Ray of Hope / Any Dance'll Do | ||||
| 01/27/1969 | Atlantic 2599 | Heaven / Baby I'm Blue | ||||
| 05/05/1969 | Atlantic 2634 | See / Away Away | ||||
| 08/25/1969 | Atlantic 2664 | Carry Me Back / Real Thing | ||||
| 12/15/1969 | Atlantic 2695 | Hold On / I Believe | ||||
| 07/06/1970 | Atlantic 2743 | Glory Glory / You Don't Know | ||||
| 12/07/1970 | Atlantic 2773 | Right On / Almost Home | ||||
| 06/1971 | Columbia 4-45400 | Love Me / Happy Song | ||||
| ??/1971 | Columbia 4-45491 | Lucky Day / Love Letter | ||||
| ??/1971 | Columbia 4-45568 | Brother Tree / Saga of New York | ||||
| ??/1971 | Columbia 4-45600 | Hummin' Song / Echoes |
References
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External links
- Rolling Stone: The Rascals - Rolling Stone articles
- Allmusic: The Rascals - All Music Guide articles
- Rascals Reference Page - Steve Knowlton's high-quality fan site
- "Felix Cavaliere's Rascals"
- "The Rascals' Struggle for Change," Pop Matters; 2007, by Tony Sclafani