Felix Cavaliere on Why The Rascals Broke Up

[@boomerguy9935]

I saw the Young Rascals in 1966 and the Rascals in 1970. These guys were wonderful in every way. I bought all of their albums as soon as they came and now my daughter has them with the rest of my collection. I told her they were priceless and she says she has no intention of ever selling them.

[@Rezcat-y6r]

Brother John. At least we have Felix who we can listen to. Thank you my friend. Have a great Saturday. God bless

[@esthergarcia1373]

Felix Cavaliere still has a great voice. I got to hear & see him perform with Ringo’s All Star Band. His voice is still rich sounding like always. This meant a lot to me seeing him & Ringo Starr after all these years. I wasn’t allowed to attend any concerts as a teenager. So I had a lot of catching up to do. Thanks for sharing this interview ❤️🙏🏻

[@jo-annkawakami3373]

OMG! Just luv these interviews w/Felix. Will always luv his soulful voice & style & of course I also luv Eddie, Gene, & the greatest drummer, Dino! Long live Rascals' music

[@hartleycwhite]

Thanks for your continuing interviews with Felix Cavaliere. Great work John.

[@nathanmoak1515]

love the rascals--i still have my original time/peace album. it's also in my head! thanks guys!

[@dynasticlight1073]

From , data on why they broke up etc. He ,was the main catalyst , they ended up in Court fighting it out .Was not a pleasant deal, He knows more. "Love is a Beautiful thing". Was a huge fan and seen these guys many times .Incredible Talent...

[@danieleyre8913]

Yeah I remember hearing a long time ago that Felix Cavaliere is a real narcissistic arsehole. That's not unusual for a very talented and creative artists, but he is really extreme. He made sure that he got the lions share of the money when the band was active, with the other members not getting much. And it was pretty much his group and he was very domineering, he wouldn't get a bass player because he only wanted a 4 man set (because he didn't want his control compromised) and he called the shots of the band's direction, image, what songs got recorded and how the songs should end up sounding. Everything revolved around him. And he was a real abrasive arrogant arsehole with other artists/acts that he saw as rivals, there are a lot of anecdotes about him from other artists in the tri-state area. And that burnt a lot of bridges among people in the popular music scene, which probably hastened the band's demise and is why he didn't do much after the rascals other than the one charted song at the end of the 70s. And I heard that he held a huge grudge against the other band members after it all eventually split, even though the rascals had well slipped from what was contemporary and current by that time. And that he refused to be civil with them and even tried on this ridiculous scheme to sabotage the prospects of the bands "Bulldog" and "Fotomaker" that guitarist Cornish & drummer Dinelli later joined by badmouthing the bands to events organisers, etc. And the rumours sort of got confirmed when they had an initially successful reunion in 2012-13. where Cavaliere eventually made it all fall apart by first demanding, then trying to steal more money than the other band members and tried to demand that his current band also get to play (allegedly he imagined that he could still score a mainstream hit again in his late 60s). Talented guy but super-poisonous persoanlity.

[@jo-annkawakami3373]

@@danieleyre8913 I truly luv the Rascals & will always luv their music. However, I really appreciate Ur comments & insights. Heartbreaking. I pray they'd put all of their differences aside for the sake of their long time loyal fans. Thanks again for Ur comments.

[@dynasticlight1073]

@@danieleyre8913 Very ,Interesting .Did You know why the last Tour was cut short ? Once Upon a Dream ..

[@samgibson684]

Felix saying he doesn't know why....BS

[@dynasticlight8706]

@@samgibson684 Yes ,exactly.Why do interviews if You aint gonna talk.Notice, of the four members , no one else is speaking...

[@groverbaker6404]

The RASCALS!!! STILL AWESOME!! LOVED THOSE GUYS SINCE 1966..THE BEST

[@RTA6226]

I never knew that the Swami got them back together. ❤ 💘 The R & R HOF ought to be ashamed of themselves for not giving him another award due to the fire he had.

[@RTA6226]

I hate that he lost his gold records! 😥

[@dynasticlight1073]

@@RTA6226 That, is not quite what He said . Read between the lines when listening to Him.

[@michelletroutman1614]

Thanks for doing these interviews. The Rascals/Young Rascals have often been overlooked in rock history. The group isn’t usually featured on similar programs or remembered for their music. I don’t listen to classic rock radio these days, but in recent decades, only a few of their hits were played (namely “Groovin’”). It’s a shame that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame won’t replace Mr. Cavaliere’s award. They should have more respect for him, but sadly, the franchise has become a joke.

[@heartofgoldfilmandtheatre]

They are overlooked because they stepped aside and lost their place in this world. It was then taken by the ones who had more persistence and less talent.

[@Ram-by2gz]

​@@heartofgoldfilmandtheatreyour right about that.

[@denniswitt7750]

Felix your music rocks

[@richardwaibel1639]

Saw this great tour in San Francisco in 2013.

[@CoopyKat]

A lot of great bands break up too soon...this was one of them. But I still love their music and interviews with Felix !

[@vayabroder729]

That is heartbreaking that he’s lost memorabilia.

[@heartofgoldfilmandtheatre]

Sometimes God breaks our hearts to look back to Him and find out what our real value is.

[@mariaday712]

That's really sad and says something about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that they won't replace his lost award. He lost it in a fire for goodness sake. It's not like he misplaced it or something.

[@JimLaughlan]

In my perspective, not an organization that cares about its inductees or is too restrictive in its selection

[@westies1962]

Great interview! Thank you for sharing!!

[@denniswitt7750]

I lovu guys yure music is Awsome!!

[@77barrymac]

I'd always wondered why Eddie Brigati left. And I guess I'll keep wondering!

[@gms9655]

Seems like Eddie was forced into the background early on. He sang on their first release, but after Good Lovin', Felix took over the lead on most of their hits. I also wonder what may have happened if Eddie had taken up the bass guitar. Would he have remained in the band? We'll never know.

[@Benji306]

Honestly, I've never heard a straight answer as to why they broke up, even "Once Upon A Dream" show didn't clarify. I wish someone would give the definitive explanation.

[@larrybuxton4614]

And in the last 50+ years nobody’s said, “Eddie, WTF?”?

[@markzappasodi]

Yes I would imagine that in 50 years Felix would have asked Eddie why he left the band. Maybe he just wants to keep it private?

[@pretorious700]

There's always a difference in the perception. Of course Felix will blame Eddie, and vice versa. It's like asking a wife and husband why they divorced.

[@VIDEOHEREBOB]

I often wondered why they broke up. Such great music. Sidebar: Just another reason to dislike The R&RHOF.

[@irishtino1595]

Outstanding underrated band, some of the best songs of that second half 1960s, right up there with Beach Boys and dare I say it, Beatles (well maybe that is too far).

[@derdian3]

He had a hard time getting Eddie's name out when he said he just left ,nobody just leaves for no reason .The group started with eddie as the lead singer ,I ain't gonna eat out my heart ,from there he went off to the side to play tambourine and sing background ,they did throw him a bone with how can i be sure. When your group is in the studio the producer tells you who's gonna sing lead on the song ,and that's it ,I have to say that felix was so good they had to give all the lead singing to him . Chuck Negron explains it a lot better being in a group with three lead singers.

[@esthergarcia1373]

You have to admire rock groups that try to reunite or stick together no matter what happened in the past. It requires a lot of humble pie for sure to reunite a rock band already broken. 💔❤️‍🩹

[@Ram-by2gz]

Felix knows exactly why Eddie left. All he has to do is look in the mirror. Eddie and everyone else around knew Felix had the voice for singing those hits so Eddie was all for it and went with it. Eddie is a singer with an amazing voice. Eddie was fine with just writing the words for Felix to sing. All those songs are Eddie's words. That's why they are hits not because of the music. Of course the music is great and Felix wrote the music for Eddie's words. But Gene and Dino made up there musical parts. That's all I'm going to say.

[@alanmurphy8293]

Too bad he lost all that stuff, but as he said "lost no people"

[@aarongoff1111]

Just another reason to dislike the RRHOF. I've seen artists like Steve Miller address the (lack of) respect they've shown to the artists they supposedly honor.

[@BabaKazi-p1r]

Def among the best eva lyrics an sound even though we missed abass g shoulda tried to get Neil y. Or someone like that w a serious commit an kept grooving boig u p brilliant effort fashocan u train these yungin s fwrd

[@francynelane9253]

I'm sure I love Eddie.

[@pretorious700]

Bands breaking up is not exactly scintillating news. All of the stories are pretty similar.

[@larrymm1963]

Like. For real

[@jtshark9283]

Rock and Roll hall of fame is a joke

[@larrymm1963]

Really

[@robertpeers3742]

Felix and Dino WERE the heart,Gene was a session player and easily replaced.Eddie was a singer,easily replaced and shoulda stayed.He and brother David,a singer from Joey D and the Starlighter days put out an album entitled Brigati,that went nowhere.I first saw them at The Barge,'64,when my sis was dating Felix.Met Eddie and David at Criteria before breakup.Good things,they don't last forever.

[@timstubbs6900]

Rock and Roll hall of fame sucks

[@sheddski2942]

Eddie had issues His Voice Suffered just listen to him at the hall of fame its gone felix covered for him too bad great group but things happen look at grandfunk railroad actually told the leader youre out and dont use the trade mark