"Groovin" is a single released in 1967 by American rock band

the Young Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

that became a number-one hit and one of the group's signature songs. It has been covered by many artists, including the Young Rascals themselves in other languages. A slightly different version was later released on their third studio album, ''

Groovin' "Groovin" is a single released in 1967 by American rock band the Young Rascals that became a number-one hit and one of the group's signature songs. It has been covered by many artists, including the Young Rascals themselves in other languages. ...

''. Written by group members

Felix Cavaliere Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1942) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and keyboard player for the Young Rascals. Although he was a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters, known for ...

and

Eddie Brigati Edward Brigati Jr. (born October 22, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was the co-lead vocalist, along with Felix Cavaliere, and percussionist in the rock group The Young Rascals from 1964 to 1970. Prior to his stint with The Young ...

and with a lead vocal from Cavaliere, it is a slow, relaxed groove, based on Cavaliere's newfound interest in

Afro-Cuban music Music of African heritage in Cuba derives from the musical traditions of the many ethnic groups from different parts of West Africa that were brought to Cuba as slaves between the 16th and 19th centuries. Members of some of these groups formed thei ...

. The instrumentation of the song includes a

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

, a Cuban-influenced bass guitar line from session musician

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

, and a harmonica part, performed first for the single version by New York session musician Michael Weinstein, and later for the album version by

Gene Cornish Gene Cornish (born May 14, 1944) is a Canadian-American guitarist and harmonica player. He is an original member of the popular 1960s blue-eyed soul band The Young Rascals. From 1965 to 1970, the band recorded eight albums and had thirteen si ...

Background

"Groovin was inspired by Cavaliere's then-girlfriend, Adrienne Buccheri. He said of her, "I believe she was divinely sent for the purpose of inspiring my creativity." Lyrically, "Groovin is the evocation of a person in love: :''Life would be ecstasy, you and me endlessly ...'' :''Groovin' ... on a Sunday afternoon'' :''Really couldn't get away too soon —'' Cavaliere wrote the music for the song, and he and Eddie Brigati collaborated on the lyrics. The basic track was recorded by Cavaliere on vocals and piano, with

Dino Danelli Dino Danelli (July 23, 1944 – December 15, 2022) was an American drummer. Danelli was best known as an original member and the drummer in the rock group The Young Rascals. He has been called "one of the great unappreciated rock drummers in his ...

playing

and woodblock and

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

. Background vocals by Eddie and

David Brigati David Brigati (born October 29, 1940) is an American singer. He is sometimes known as "the fifth Rascal". Biography Early life Brigati was born in Passaic, New Jersey and raised in Garfield, New Jersey. Hi-Fives Brigati got his musical st ...

were added later. Bass was added by

, and occasional session musician Michael Weinstein provided the harmonica. The production was supervised by

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

. The song is fairly different from the Rascals'

white soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and Sta ...

origins, enough so that Atlantic Records head Jerry Wexler did not want to release the single. Cavaliere credits disc jockey

Murray the K Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential New York City rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he freque ...

with intervening to encourage Atlantic to release the song: "To tell you the truth, they didn't originally like the record because it had no drum on it...We had just cut it, and urray the Kcame in the studio to say hello. After he heard the song, he said, 'Man, this is a smash.' So, when he later heard that Atlantic didn't want to put it out, he went to see Jerry Wexler and said, 'Are you crazy? This is a friggin' No. 1 record.' He was right, because it eventually became No. 1 for four straight weeks." The single became an instant hit in May 1967, spending four nonconsecutive weeks atop the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart. The weeks were interrupted by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of "

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

", which spent two weeks at No. 1 in the middle of "Groovins run. Interestingly, Franklin would later cover "Groovin for her album ''

Lady Soul ''Lady Soul'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin released in early 1968, by Atlantic Records. Background ''Lady Soul'' was Franklin's third R&B chart-topper and reached number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, tying with ...

''. The song also reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Black Songs chart. "Groovin was the only hit the group ever had in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, reaching No. 8 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. After the fourth week, "Groovin dropped from the charts;

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

remarked on it in his radio show '' American Top 40'' five years later. The song was an

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

-certified

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

on June 13, 1967. Due to its massive popularity, the track was included on the Young Rascals' late July 1967 album of the same name, albeit with an alternate harmonica solo by Cornish on the stereo version. "Groovin is one of

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

, and is also the recipient of a

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. The phrase "you and me endlessly" was often misheard as the mondegreen "you and me and Leslie".

Personnel

The Young Rascals *

– lead vocals, piano *

– backing vocals *

– tambourine; harmonica on album version *

– congas, woodblock Other personnel *

– backing vocals *

– bass guitar * Michael Weinstein – harmonica on single version *

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recording ...

– engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Cover versions

* Within weeks of the Young Rascals release,

Booker T. and the M.G.'s Booker T. & the M.G.'s were an American instrumental rock, instrumental R&B/funk band that was influential in shaping the sound of Southern soul and Memphis soul. The original members of the group were Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cro ...

recorded an instrumental cover of "Groovin. Issued as a single, the track reached No. 21 on the pop charts, No. 10 on the US R&B charts, and No. 4 on the Canadian R&B chart in the summer of 1967. * The Young Rascals themselves recorded "Groovin in Spanish, French, and Italian in 1968. * A cover by

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

reached No. 30 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart in the spring of 1985 and No. 79 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart. * In 1996,

Pato Banton Pato Banton (born Patrick Murray; 5 October 1961) is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname "Pato Banton" from his stepfather; his first name derives from the sound of a Jamaican owl calling "patoo, patoo ...

recorded a version with the Reggae Revolution that reached number 14 on the

in July. The next month, the cover became a major hit in New Zealand, reaching number four on the

RIANZ Singles Chart Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mu ...

and staying in the top 20 for nine weeks. It was the country's 47th best-selling single of the year and received a

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

sales certification for selling over 5,000 copies. * It was used as the title track of Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings 2000 album ''

''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1967 songs 1967 singles 1996 singles Songs written by Eddie Brigati Songs written by Felix Cavaliere The Rascals songs The Esquires songs Leif Garrett songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Atlantic Records singles Stax Records singles