Eddie Brigati

Eddie Brigati
Brigati in May 1984
Brigati in May 1984
Background information
Born
Edward Brigati Jr.

(1945-10-22) October 22, 1945
Garfield, New Jersey, USA
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • percussion
Years active1965–present

Edward Brigati Jr. (born October 22, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter most known for being a founding member of the rock group The Young Rascals, for whom he shared lead vocals and chief songwriting responsibilities with Felix Cavaliere and also was a percussionist, 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, 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. They (along with The Righteous Brothers and The Box Tops), were practitioners of a genre of music coined 'blue-eyed soul'.

Early life

Edward Brigati Jr. was born and raised in Garfield, New Jersey to his father Edward and mother Connie. He has a sister Anne and an older brother. His older brother,David Brigati, who was 5 years older than Eddie, inspired him to get into music. David would let Eddie sing with him and his friends when Eddie was around 11. Other than his brother, Edward Sr. was a whistler while Connie was a musician.[1] Both boys learned Edward Sr.'s skill, with both using bird calls in a few of their songs like "Groovin'".[2]

Brigati graduated from Garfield High School in 1963.[3]

Career

Headshot of Brigati in 1967

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", "I've Been Lonely Too Long", "Groovin'", "How Can I Be Sure", "A Beautiful Morning", and "People Got to Be Free". In the Brigati and Cavaliere songwriting partnership, Brigati was primarily a lyricist.[4] According to Cavaliere, during their writing sessions, Brigati was good at writing the verses of songs while Cavaliere would compose the music and devise the song titles and general themes.[5][6]

In terms of the group's singles, Brigati sang the lead vocal on the Young Rascals' first, "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" (1965), sang co-lead on "Love is a Beautiful Thing" (1966 B-side, but included on the contemporarily released album Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits) and "It's Wonderful" (1967), and, most well known, sang the lead on "How Can I Be Sure" (1967, a top five hit).[7] Although Cavaliere would have most of the group's lead vocal roles, Brigati was frequently heard in harmony parts.[4]

Brigati left the group in 1970 after their contract with Atlantic expired, and they chose to sign with Columbia. Why exactly Brigati departed has long been a point of contention; a 1988 story in the Los Angeles Times says that: "Cavaliere depicted Brigati as a man who inexplicably resigned from the Rascals in 1970 and has since resisted promoters’ efforts to put the former band members together for a reunion tour. Brigati cast Cavaliere as an opportunist who turned a band that had been organized as an equal collective into his own vehicle."[4]

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.

Eddie Brigati with Ricky Byrd at The Cutting Room in New York in 2018, for a Rockit tribute to the singer Steve Marriott

The (Young) Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 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. 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, New York 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 and his wife Maureen. They toured around the country for seven months after Broadway, playing summer amphitheaters and other venues. After that, the members of the group went their separate ways again.[8]

Eddie Brigati and his wife Susan sing on a Rockit Academy performance of "Good Lovin'" at the Monmouth County Fair in 2026

Brigati subsequently became involved with the Rockit Live Foundation, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that seeks to nuture young musicians interested in playing rock music and that runs the Rockit Academy for the training and showcasing of these musicians.[9] Brigati and his wife Susan became members of the Artist Advisory Board of the Rockit Live Foundation.[10]

Personal life

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

References

  1. ↑ "WE WERE RASCALS ROCK SINGER EDDIE BRIGATI LOVED HIS BIG BROTHER FOR LETTING HIM TAG ALONG AS A KID AND WHEN HE BECAME FAMOUS HE DIDN'T FORGET DAVID". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  2. ↑ Kirby, Michael Jack. "THE RASCALS". Way Back Attack. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  3. ↑ 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, 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."
  4. 1 2 3 Boehm, Mike (August 18, 1988). "Old Rancor Lingers as Rascals Wrap Reunion Tour". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ↑ "Felix Cavaliere Interview - Writing The Rascals Classic Hits". Songwriter Universe. May 12, 2017. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  6. ↑ "The backstory of making the 'Groovin'' album by The Young Rascals". The Vinyl Dialogues Blog. May 12, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  7. ↑ Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits (Album notes). The Rascals. New York City: Atlantic Records. 1968. Inside gatefold. SD 8190.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ↑ Mastropolo, Frank (October 13, 2022). "Gene Cornish Talks 'My Life as a Rascal,' Reuniting with Felix Cavaliere & More". Rock Cellar Magazine. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  9. ↑ Jordan, Chris (August 3, 2018). "Rockit! gala to honor Eddie Brigati, with help from the Van Zandts". Asbury Park Press. p. 8 (Jersey Alive!) – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Artist Advisory Board". Rocket Academy. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
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