(Young) Rascals, The

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(Young) Rascals, The

(Young) Rascals, The, white R&B popsters of the 1960s; Membership:Felix Cavaliere, org., voc. (b. Pel-ham, N.Y., Nov. 29, 1943); Eddie Brigati, pere, voc. (b. Garfield, N.J., Oct. 22, 1946); Gene Cornish, gtr. (b. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 14, 1945); Dino Danelli, drm. (b. Jersey City, N.J., July 23, 1945).

The Young Rascals were formed in Garfield, N.J., in 1964 by Dino Danelli and three former members of Joey Dee’s Starliters, Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish, and Eddie Brigati. Cavaliere had performed with the high school group The Stereos and led Felix and The Escorts while attending Syracuse Univ. The Young Rascals debuted at the local Choo Choo Club in February 1965 and developed a reputation as an exciting live act. Playing R&B-style music centered around the vocals and organ playing of Cavaliere, the group graduated to Manhattan clubs by the fall of 1965.

Signed to Atlantic Records by Ahment Ertegun, The Young Rascals′ second single, “Good Lovin,” a cover version of The Olympics’ minor 1965 hit, became a top pop hit in early 1966 and was followed by the major hits “You Better Run” (written by Cavaliere and Brigati) and “IVe Been Lonely Too Long” (by Cavaliere). Their first two R&B-styled albums became best-sellers, yet they adopted a lighter sound for Groovin’. The album yielded a top pop and smash R&B hit with the title song and smash pop hits with “A Girl Like You” and “How Can I Be Sure,” all three written by Cavaliere and Brigati.

After another major hit with “It’s Wonderful,” The Young Rascals became simply The Rascals for the smash pop hit “A Beautiful Morning,” by Cavaliere and Brigati. Freedom Suite, a double-record set that included an entire instrumental record entitled “Music Music,” yielded the top pop and major rhythm-and-blues hit “People Got to Be Free” and the major hit “A Ray of Hope,” both by Cavaliere and Brigati. “See” and “Carry Me” became major hits for The Rascals, but, by the time the group had switched to Columbia Records in 1971, only Cavaliere and Danelli remained. The group disbanded in 1972 after two poor-selling albums for the label. The Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

In late 1972, Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli formed Bulldog, managing a moderate hit with “No.” Later in the decade, they formed Fotomaker with Wally Bryson, former lead guitarist for The Raspberries. Felix Cavaliere surfaced as a solo artist on Bearsville Records in 1974 and manned the group Treasure in 1977. He eventually scored a moderate solo hit with “Only a Lonely Heart Sees” on Epic in 1980. Eddie Brigati joined his brother David, another former member of Joey Dee’s Starliters, for a neglected album on Elektra Records in 1976.

In 1988, Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish, and Dino Danelli reunited as The Rascals for the 40th anniversary concert of Atlantic Records and subsequently conducted a national tour. Danelli and Cornish began touring as The New Rascals in 1989. In 1994, Felix Cavaliere returned to recording with Dreams in Motion for producer Don Was’s new Karambolage label.

Discography

THE YOUNG RASCALS: The Young Rascals (1966); Collections (1967); Groovin’ (1967). THE RASCALS: Once upon a Dream (1968); Freedom Suite (1969); See (1970); Search and Nearness (1971); Peaceful World (1971); The Island of Real (1972); Searching for Ecstasy: The Rest of The Rascals, 1969-72(1986). BULLDOG (WITH GENE CORNISH AND DINO DANELLI): Bulldog (1972); Smasher (1974). FOTOMAKER (WITH GENE CORNISH AND DINO DANELLI): Fotomaker (1978); Vis-a-vis (1978); Transfer Station (1979). FELIX CAVALIERE: Felix Cavaliere {1974); Destiny (1975); Castles in the Air (1980); Dreams in Motion (1994). TREASURE (WITH FELIX CAVALIERE): Treasure (1977). BRIGATI: Lost in the Wilderness(1976).