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young rascals

The Young Rascals

This Blue Eyed Soul group made their debut in a New Jersey club, the Choo Choo, in February 1965.

The Young Rascals comprised of:

Eddie Brigati (b. Edward Brigati Jr., 22nd October 1946, Garfield, New Jersey, U.S.A.) – vocals, percussion

Felix Cavaliere (b. 29th November 1944, Pelham Manor, New York, U.S.A.) – vocals, keyboards

Gene Cornish (b. 14th May 1944, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) – guitar, vocals

Dino Danelli (b. 23rd July 1944, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A. d. 15th December 2022, U.S.A.) – drums

David Brigati (b. 29th October 1940, Garfield, New Jersey, U.S.A.) – background vocals

Robert Popwell (b. 29th December 1950, Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.A.) – bass

and

Danny Weis (b. 28th September 1948, Huntington Park, California, U.S.A.) – guitar

The Young Rascals were a Blue Eyed Soul group, who are very fondly remembered, within Soul Music circles, for their 1967 number one pop hit ‘Groovin’, a song covered by many Soul and Jazz artists over the years.

In their early years, their creative period ran between 1965 and 1972.

The Young Rascals began their careers in Garfield, New Jersey.

Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere and Gene Cornish were ex members of Joey Dee and the Starliters.

After signing to Atlantic Records they ‘named themselves ‘The Young Rascals'.

In 1965, the group appeared on the TV show ‘Hullabaloo’, performing the song (and their debut single), ‘I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore.

The Young RascalsThe Young Rascals

the young rascals - 1966 / groovin' - 1967

A follow up single entitled ‘Good Lovin’ was released in 1966 (an old Lemme B. Good & The Olympics song).

‘Good Lovin’ was followed by ‘You Better Run’ and ‘Come On Up’ that year.

Young Rascals

‘(I’ve Been) Lonely Too Long’ was released in 1967, to some success, however, it was ‘Groovin’ which became their biggest hit, reaching the top of the pop charts across the globe.

‘Groovin’ was later covered by the likes of Collage, War, Aretha Franklin, Booker T & The MG’s, Missing Links, George Benson, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Osbourne, The Tams and Jimmy Smith.

Further hits followed, including ‘A Girl Like You’ (in 1967), ‘How Can I Be Sure?’ (in 1967), ‘It's Wonderful’ (in 1968), and ‘A Beautiful Morning’ (also in 1968).

The Young Rascals, recorded for the last time under that group name, with the release of the single ‘It's Wonderful’.

The Young RascalsThe Young RascalsThe Young RascalsThe Young Rascals

once upon a dream - 1968 / freedom suite - 1969 / search and nearness - 1971 / peaceful world - 1972

They then became known as simply ‘The Rascals’.

As the Young Rascals, their albums were selections of singles and album tracks.

As just ‘The Rascals’ their albums became more conceptual.

Young Rascals

Their 1968 album ‘Once Upon A Dream’ was typical of the new format.

The album reached number 9 on the album charts, and featured the song’ ‘It's Wonderful’ (a single), ‘Easy Rollin', ‘Rainy Day’, ‘My World’, and the title track.

‘Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits’, was also released that year, becoming the group's best-selling album.

The Rascals released, ‘People Got to Be Free’, partially as the group refused to tour on segregated bills, but also as a response to the assassination that year of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

The song became a U.S. number 1 single.

Further singles followed in 1968 and 1969, including ‘A Ray of Hope’, ‘Heaven’, ‘See’, and ‘Carry Me Back’.

The Rascals

Eddie Brigati left the group in 1970, shortly followed by Gene Cornish the following year.

The original group’s last ‘Rascals’ album was ‘Search and Nearness’ which featured ‘You Don't Know’ along with a cover version of The Box Tops' hit ‘The Letter’.

The song ‘Fortunes’ featured backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations.

The remaining group switched imprints to Columbia Records in 1971.

At Columbia the group released ‘Peaceful World’ and ‘The Island Of Real’, which featrued a new line-up including Robert Popwell (bass) and Buzzy Feiten (guitar) along with a couple of new singers Annie Sutton and Molly Holt.

Danny Weis alter joined replacing Buzzy Feiten on guitar.

After the group disbanded, Felix Cavaliere released several solo albums, Eddie Brigati, with his brother David, released ‘Lost in the Wilderness’ in 1976.

Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli worked together in Bulldog, who released two albums in 1973 and 1974.

Following an appearance at Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Celebration in 1988, the Rascals reunited (with Cavaliere, Cornish, and Danelli) for a brief reunion tour.

Young Rascals

In 2010, all four members of The Rascals reunited for the Kristen Ann Carr benefit in New York.

The Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

In 2005, The Rascals were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

In 2009, Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City.

Dino Danelli died in December 2022.

Real Player

Albums:

As the Young Rascals:

The Young Rascals (Atlantic Records 1966)

Collections (Atlantic Records 1966)

Groovin' (Atlantic Records 1967)

As the Rascals:

Once Upon A Dream (Atlantic Records 1968)

Freedom Suite (Atlantic Records 1969)

See (Atlantic Records 1969)

Search And Nearness (Atlantic Records 1971)

Peaceful World (Columbia Records 1971)

The Island Of Real (Columbia Records 1972)

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