Groovin' by lorrdarlin

lorrdarlin - Groovin'

lorrdarlin

Jun 05, 2024 12:00am

The Rascals (initially known as the Young Rascals) are an American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rock</a> band, formed in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_New_Jersey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Garfield, New Jersey</a>, United States, in 1965.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-Larkin-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[2]</a>Between 1966 and 1968 the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New Jersey</a> act embraced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">soul music</a>, reaching the top 20 of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Billboard Hot 100</a> with nine singles, including the #1s "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Lovin%27" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Good Lovin'</a>" (1966), "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groovin%27" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Groovin'</a>" (1967), and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Got_to_Be_Free" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">People Got to Be Free</a>" (1968), as well as big radio hits such as the much-covered "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Can_I_Be_Sure%3F" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Can I Be Sure?</a>" (#4 1967) and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Beautiful_Morning" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Beautiful Morning</a>" (#3 1968), plus another critical favorite "A Girl Like You" (#10 1967), becoming one of the best known examples of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-eyed_soul" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">blue-eyed soul</a> genre, along with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Righteous_Brothers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Righteous Brothers</a>. The band was inducted into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a> in 1997.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[3]</a>The Rascals were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2010 and also reunited in 2012 for a series of shows in New York and New Jersey. The reunion continued in 2013 with shows on Broadway.<h2>History</h2><h3>Origins</h3><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Cavaliere" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Felix Cavaliere</a> was already trained in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">classical</a> piano by his mother when he founded a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doo-wop" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">doo-wop</a> group, the Escorts (not <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Escorts_(American_R%26B_group)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the R&B group of the same name</a>), while enrolled at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse_University" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Syracuse University</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[4]</a> In 1964, Cavaliere took a job with Joey Dee's backing band, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Dee_and_the_Starliters" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Starliters</a>, of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppermint_Twist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Peppermint Twist</a>" fame, where he met Starliter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brigati" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Brigati</a>. When the group played the Choo Choo Club in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_New_Jersey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Garfield, New Jersey</a>, Cavaliere met Brigati's younger brother, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Brigati" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Eddie</a>, who wanted to follow in his brother's footsteps. Cavaliere, in an interview with journalist Don Paulson, spoke about his first encounter with the younger Brigati:<blockquote>I saw a little kid walk into the place. He didn't look old enough to go out of his house alone. He used to walk into the [Choo Choo] club and no matter who was singing, get on the stage, and bury them with his voice. We made an impression on each other. He used to come around every once in a while, and I loved to play behind his singing. I told him that someday we were going to get together.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-:0-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[5]</a></blockquote><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadians" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Canadian</a> guitarist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Cornish" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gene Cornish</a> left his group, The Unbeatables, for which he acted as their frontman, to join the Starliters, in early 1965.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-:0-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[5]</a> After meeting Cornish, Cavaliere's interest in forming a band of his own led him to convince both Cornish and (Eddie) Brigati to depart from Dee's backing band to start a new one with an old acquaintance of his, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">jazz</a> drummer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_Danelli" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dino Danelli</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-:0-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-:1-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[6]</a> The group came up with the name "Rascals" while at the Choo Choo Club. Prior to the Rascals name they were using another group name "Them". Because there was another group,which included Van Morrison, using the name "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them_(band)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Them</a>" in the UK they dropped that name and came up with The Rascals name through the help of TV comedy star <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soupy_Sales" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Soupy Sales</a> whom they met through manager Billy (Amato) Smith. The Rascals were Sales's back up band touring local colleges in the early months of 1965.Initially, the Rascals began rehearsing at Cavaliere's house in Pelham Manor, New York and then, the Choo Choo Club, mostly because it was close to Brigati's home and they needed a showcase.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-:0-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[5]</a> Later in May 1965, under the direction of their management Billy (Amato) Smith, they were hired to do a summer engagement at the debut club of The Barge on Dune Road in Westhampton New York,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[7]</a> a floating <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Long Island</a> club, where they settled.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[8]</a> There they developed their mixed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">R&B</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">soul</a> sound based on Cavaliere's organ and soulful vocals, mostly filled with traditional R&B covers.The quartet did not have any official <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bass player</a>, because of Brigati's inability to play musical instruments, other than percussion (even when the band bought him a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Mustang_Bass" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fender Mustang Bass</a> in 1967) and the Rascals' wish of staying in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">formula</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_(rock_and_pop)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">four members</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals#cite_note-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[9]</a> Cavaliere's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_keyboard" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">organ pedals</a> (and later, session bassists, like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Rainey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chuck Rainey</a>, in studio recordings) filled the bass parts.<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/The_Rascals_1969.JPG" alt="The band in 1966. Standing in back: Dino Danelli. Sitting in front (L-R): Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati and Gene Cornish">