Artist:The Rascals
Song:Good Lovin'
Album:Anthology (1966-1972)
The Rascals were proponents of what became known in the 60s as Blue Eyed Soul. That's code for white artists performing R & B influenced music. The big difference with The Rascals is they wrote a lot of their own songs. The group started in New York with keyboardist Felix Cavaliere. He met guitarist Gene Cornish and singer songwriter Eddie Brigati while playing for Joey Dee & The Starlighters. They added drummer Dino Danelli and their manager called them The Young Rascals. That would eventually change to The Rascals. Cavaliere & Brigati wrote a lot of the songs but their first big hit Good Lovin' in 1966 was actually a cover originally done by the doo wop group The Olympics. Good Lovin' was a very simple song and hit #1 on the singles charts. The Rascals had several more hits over the next couple of years but Cavaliere got interested in jazz by the late 60s. It was probably a mistake to take a singles group and make them more sophisticated but the music is actually pretty good. They also switched from Atco to Columbia. Brigati left The Rascals in 1970 and Cornish soon followed. Cavaliere brought in other musicians but The Rascals split for good in 1972. Cavaliere has recorded solo albums over the years and plays a lot of sessions. Cornish & Danelli were members of Bulldog & Fotomaker and more recently Danelli has been a member of Little Steven & The Disciples. It looks like Brigati became a professional backup singer. This 2CD comp from Rhino is probably a little more comprehensive than most listeners need but it has all their hits. Here's The Rascals performing Good Lovin' in 1966.
No comments:
Post a Comment