AirMax 2011 The Rascals – Blue-Eyed Soul Success

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The Young Rascals took their name from Danelli’s love of “The Little Rascals” comedy shorts and wore ridiculous looking Lord Fauntleroy knickers and high-collared shirts on stage. (They added “Young” as a concession to “The Harmonica Rascals,” who threatened a lawsuit.)
Released in March 1969, the double album “Freedom Suite” was the group’s sixth consecutive top twenty album. In addition to “People Got to Be Free,” it featured “A Ray of Hope,” Cavaliere’s reverent reaction to Robert Kennedy’s assassination; the gospel-inspired “Heaven”; “Any Dance’ll Do,”
The Rascals made a bold move in 1967, announcing that their next single wouldn’t have any organ, guitar or drums. Constructed around piano, vibes, congas – and chirping birds – the Latin-flavored “Groovin’” became their signature song and second #1 hit.
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The exuberant “A Girl Like You” continued the group’s hot hand, making the top ten. Eddie Brigati’s finest moment as a singer [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], “How Can I Be Sure?” a swirling French waltz wrapped in longing, reached #4.
Their first single, “I Ain’t Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore,” sung by Eddie Brigati, was released in November 1965, climbing to #52 on the Billboard charts.
Their music was blue-eyed soul, rock laced with rhythm and blues. Keyboardist/vocalist Felix Cavaliere honed his skills on the Hammond B-3 organ with the Escorts and singer Sandy Shaw. Cavaliere, guitarist Gene Cornish and singer Eddie Brigati met as members of Joey Dee and the Starlighters, (who’d scored a #1 hit in 1962 with “The Peppermint Twist”). Drummer Dino Danelli had been playing professionally since the age 15, working with Lionel Hampton.
The quartet struck out on their own in 1964, bringing in another ex-Starlighter, Brigati’s brother, David, as back up vocalist. Sid Bernstein, who’d brought The Beatles to America, got the group signed to Atlantic Records.
The group, particularly Cavaliere, pushed Atlantic to release their more socially conscious material. The Cavaliere/Brigati composition “People Got to Be Free” captured the growing racial and social tensions of the day, topping the charts for five weeks in the summer of 1968.
The follow-up, “You’d Better Run,” a Cavaliere/Brigati composition, reached #20. The rollicking “Come On Up” inexplicably only hit #43, prompting Atlantic Records to wonder if the group should write their own material. The piano driven “I’ve Been Lonely Too Long” salvaged the Cavaliere/Brigati partnership, charting at #16.
The group became an overnight success when their second single, “Good Lovin’,” hit #1 in February 1966. A remake of a minor hit by the Olympics, it was energized by Cavaliere’s Hammond solo and frenzied vocal.
A non-LP single [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the buoyant “It’s a Beautiful Morning [link widoczny dla zalogowanych],” hit #3. The subsequent album, “Time Peace: The Rascals Greatest Hits” went to number one.
Keeping up with the Beatles hip public image, the Rascals dropped their Edwardian outfits, as well as the “Young” from their name when they released their fourth disc “Once Upon a Dream” in 1968. An ambitious concept album strung together by musical interludes, street sounds and dialogue, it was notable for David Brigati’s lone lead vocal with the group on the operatic title track.
Good Lovin’ Goes to the Top

AirMax 2011 The Rascals &#8211; Blue-Eyed Soul Success

AirMax 2011 The Rascals – Blue-Eyed Soul Success