Groovin' - Music

The Young Rascals Aka The Rascals The Group Dropped The "Young" From Their Name In Early 1968 While Continuing Their Streak Of Hits Were An American Soul And Rock Group Of The 1960s.

Felix Cavaliere Keyboard Vocals Gene Cornish Guitar Dino Danelli Drums And Eddie Brigati Vocals Formed The Band In New York City. Three-Quarters Of The Group - Felix Gene And Eddie - Had Previously Been Members Of Joey Dee And The Starliters. Eddie's Brother David Brigati Another Former Starliter Arranged 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 They Already Had Another Obscure Group Named The Rascals On The Payroll. They Decided To Rename The Group The Young Rascals.

Their First Minor Hit Was "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" 1965 Followed By The #1 Single "Good Lovin'" 1966 Originally By The Olympics. Soon The Band Began To Mature As Songwriters And Released Other Hit Songs Written Themselves Including The Hit "Groovin'" 1967 "It's Wonderful" "How Can I Be Sure" Which Got To #1 In The UK When Covered By David Cassidy And "A Beautiful Morning" 1968.

Their Best-Remembered Song Was "People Got To Be Free" 1968 A Passionate Plea For Racial Tolerance. Unusual For Their Time The Rascals Refused To Tour On Segregrated Bills. After "People Got To Be Free" The Rascals Never Regained Their Former Fame Or Had As Large A Hit.

In 1970 Eddie Brigati Left The Group Followed By Cornish In 1971. The Last Album With Them As Active Members Was Search & Nearness Which Featured Eddie 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#57 In The US With Backing Vocals By The Sweet Inspirations. Cavaliere And Danelli Released Two More Albums As The Rascals Peaceful World And The Island Of Real Using Other Musicians And Singers. They 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.

The Young Rascals Were Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame In 1997. . User-Contributed Text Is Available Under The Creative Commons By-SA License Additional Terms May Apply. read less