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 Rascals (who later shortened their name to The Rascals), Brigati had been a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters (having replaced his brother, original Starliter

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 star ...

, in that group). With the help of group founder Billy (Smith) Amato and manager Sid Bernstein, the Rascals became the first all-white group signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. They (along with

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...

and

The Box Tops The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967. They are best known for the hits " The Letter", " Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and " Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They perfo ...

), were practitioners of a genre of music coined '

blue-eyed 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 Stax ...

Early life

Born and raised in

Garfield, New Jersey Garfield is a city in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 30,487,Garfield High School in 1963.La Gorce, Tammy
"Rascal on the Rebound: Eddie Brigati Back On Stage; Bitter memories aside, Eddie Brigati, singer of the hitmaking '60s group the Rascals, is stoked to be back on stage with his mates, thanks to a boost from Steve Van Zandt."
''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...

'', February 11, 2013. Accessed May 26, 2016. "If Brigati thinks so too, he's not saying—partly out of humility, partly because he doesn't want to talk about the past. 'It's all documented, you can read about that,' he says in the living room of one of his New Jersey homes—the one he calls his 'music house,' in North Jersey, where he keeps his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame statuettes directly across from his 1963 Garfield High School diploma."

Career

Brigati and fellow group member Felix Cavaliere wrote the songs that made the Rascals one of the more successful recording groups of their era. He helped to compose "

You Better Run "You Better Run" is a song by the Young Rascals. Written by group members Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere, it was released as the band's third single in 1966 and reached the top 20 in the United States. This song is noted for its repeated rolle ...

", "

I've Been Lonely Too Long "I've Been Lonely Too Long" is a song written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati and performed by The Young Rascals. Released as a single in 1967, it reached #7 in Canada, while in the U.S. it reached #16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart ...

", " Groovin'", "

How Can I Be Sure "How Can I Be Sure" is a popular song written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, and originally recorded by the Young Rascals for their 1967 album ''Groovin with a single release in August 1967 affording the group their fourth Top 10 hit p ...

" (with his lead vocals), " A Beautiful Morning", and " People Got to Be Free". Brigati left the group in 1970 after their contract with

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

expired, and they chose to sign with

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

. In 1976, Eddie and David Brigati recorded an album, ''Lost in the Wilderness'', under the name Brigati. They also performed on '' The New York Rock and Soul Revue: Live at the Beacon'' in 1992. The (Young) Rascals were inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 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 ...

in 1997 and in 2005, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. On June 18, 2009, Brigati (along with partner Cavaliere) was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

. On April 24, 2010, Brigati reunited with the other three members of the Rascals. They performed at the Kristen Ann Carr benefit (held at New York City's Tribeca Grill). The quartet played a set that ran over one hour and featured several of their top hits from the 1960s. He reunited with his band-mates in 2012. The Rascals appeared at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY for six shows in December 2012 and for fifteen dates at the Richard Rogers Theatre on Broadway (April 15 – May 5, 2013). The production was entitled 'Once Upon A Dream' and was produced by long-time Rascals' fans,

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...

and his wife

Maureen Maureen is a female given name. In Gaelic, it is Máirín, a pet form of '' Máire'' (the Irish cognate of Mary), which is derived from the Hebrew Miriam. The name has sometimes been regarded as corresponding to the male given name Maurice. Some ...

. They toured for seven months after Broadway. Tour dates included venues in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Phoenix, Clearwater, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Boston, Wantagh (NY), Holmdel (NJ), Atlantic City and Toronto, Canada. On May, 8th 2017, Brigati debuted a cabaret show at the Cutting Room in New York City that was produced by Steven and Maureen Van Zandt. The show consisted of some Broadway tunes, some Brill Building hits as well as a song written for Brigati by Steven Van Zandt entitled 'Reintroduce Myself to Me'. After the month long residency at The Cutting Room, Brigati appeared at Tim McLoones Supper Club (Asbury Park, NJ) on August 4. He will appear again at McLoones on October 19. Brigati performed with the Rockit! Live Foundation (a nonprofit organization that teaches young musicians ages 8 to 18 the rock ’n’ roll band experience) at their August 26, 2017 concert at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey. Rockit Academy - Tribute to Steve Marriott -7560

Rockit Academy - Tribute to Steve Marriott -7560

Personal life

Brigati and his wife, Susan Lovell, reside in his home state of New Jersey.

References

External links

The Rascals Appreciation Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigati, Eddie 1945 births Living people American male singer-songwriters American people of Italian descent American rock singers Singer-songwriters from New Jersey People from Garfield, New Jersey Garfield High School (New Jersey) alumni The Rascals members Tambourine players Maracas players The New York Rock and Soul Revue members