In 1966, Sid Bernstein waltzed into our studios with his latest Boy Band,
four young men in Little Lord Fauntleroy outfits, the first TV appearance of The Young Rascals.
Felix Cavaliere (on a Hammond-B3), Gene Cornish, and Eddie Brigati left Joey Dee’s Starlighters, and teamed up with drummer Dino Danelli, producing what became known as The New York Sound, hard rock ‘n’ roll and funky R&B.
“When we were with Joey Dee on tour in Europe,” Felix remembered, “the first thing I saw was a Hammond B-3 organ. I had seen one, but I never touched one in my life.” It provided him with the concept for the Rascals' sound – “the rich-sounding organ as a blanket, while keeping the guitar and drums for essential rhythm."
The group built its sound around Felix Cavaliere’s Hammond B-3 organ and the soulful lead vocals of Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati. In Cavaliere’s words, “Marvin Gaye’s voice, Ray Charles’ piano, Jimmy Smith’s organ, Phil Spector’s production and the Beatles’ writing — put them all together and you’ve got what I wanted to do.” The Rascals were masters of the three-minute single: sustained bursts of energized pop-soul made to be blasted over transistor radios or danced to at parties and discotheques.
The Rascal’s breakthrough came with “Good Lovin;” and “Groovin’ (On A Sunday Afternoon),” two pop-classics that sailed straight to No. 1, and still define summertime to this day.
On our Christmas show, I persuaded the portly Sid to dress as Santa Claus – the ultimate Jewish joke - and his Lord Fauntleroy boys dutifully sat on his lap, delivering their wish list. Their wish to “get rid of these stupid plus-fours and foppish cravats” was granted in 1967. They also dropped the “Young,” becoming, simply, The Rascals.
The funky R&B pop sound of The Rascals was a perfect fit for Atlantic Records and its jet-setting co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who took the boys under his wing and onto the international party circuit. They became the house band to the Hamptons, playing a summer-long gig at The Barge. They jammed with James Brown, Jimi Hendricks, an unknown Bette Midler, and dazzled all of Europe, revered as rock royalty by musicians and fans alike. In spite of a swelling bank account, they remained levelheaded, four loveable little rascals from The Choo Choo Club in Garfield, New Jersey, just lookin‘ to meet chicks.
The Rascals’ biggest hit, “People Got to Be Free,” was co-written by Cavaliere and Brigati as an impassioned response to the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. It topped the charts for five weeks and inspired a followup single, “A Ray of Hope,” written for Teddy Kennedy.
The Rascals last album appeared in 1972, and the group disbanded.
In 1982, Cavaliere and Danelli joined Steve Van Zandt in Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul for the group's first two albums.
Felix completed a tour with Ringo Starr and has been busy coordinating and producing music for TVcommercials, and continues to tour nationally. http://64.23.27.250/index.htm
Currently, Gene Cornish and Dino Dinelli have teamed with Bill Pascali (Vanilla Fudge) and Charlie Souza (formerly with Tom Petty) as The New Rascals. www.newrascals.net
