Felix Cavaliere The Young Rascals interview & new album "Then And Now"

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Felix Cavaliere on The Young Rascals’ debut and new album

Felix Cavaliere discusses The Young Rascals’ debut album, his collection ‘Then and Now’ of covers and new songs and plans with his daughter Aria Cavaliere.

Warren Kurtz Oct 16, 2023

Goldmine welcomes back Felix Cavaliere who shares stories about The Young Rascals’ debut album and discusses his new album Then and Now, a collection of five soul songs with each followed by his compositions inspired by those songs. We conclude the session with the proud Rock and Roll Hall of Fame father speaking about possible collaborations with his daughter Aria Cavaliere.

GOLDMINE: Welcome back to Goldmine and I am so happy that Then and Now has been released, something you and I began talking about a few years ago.

FELIX CAVALIERE: Me too, it certainly took time with the pandemic and all the challenges. Then and Now is my first album of new material in thirty years.

GM: Let’s go back even further for a moment, 57 years ago, to The Young Rascals’ debut album. It contained your first Top 100 single “I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore,” which we discussed in 2021, when its composer Lori Burton passed away. It also included the next single, not only your first Top 40 hit but also your first No. 1, “Good Lovin’,” with “Mustang Sally,” also on the album, on the single’s flip side.

FC: We always tried to put a really good song on our flip sides, hoping that the DJs would play that one too, like they would with The Beatles. For “Good Lovin’,” which was a No. 1 hit single, we had our version of “Mustang Sally” on its flip side. Many years later, after a concert, a guy came up to me with a hug and kiss, saying that I helped to change his life. It was Mack Rice, who wrote “Mustang Sally.” I guess between our band and Wilson Pickett, we did change his life with our 1966 recordings.

The Young Rascals

Fabulous Flip Side: Mustang Sally

A side: Good Lovin’

Billboard Top 100 debut: March 12, 1966

Peak position: No. 1

Atlantic 45-2321

Mustang Sally:

GM: The album also included your first recorded composition for the group, “Do You Feel It,” which I feel is very much in line with “Good Lovin’.”

FC: Yes, my first with The Rascals, but not my first published song. When I was a student at Syracuse University, I recorded a song called “The Syracuse,” which was the first song of mine released to the public. “Do You Feel It,” which Gene Cornish and I co-wrote, was an opening song in our concerts, showing off the musicianship of the band. The studio recording on the album is less busy than our live performances where we would include extended solos from all of us. It was fun and we had a good time.

Do You Feel It:

“Then and Now is my first album of new material in thirty years. A lot of people may not be familiar with some of the oldies I covered. I wanted to show how good these songs were in their day.” – Felix Cavaliere

Note to Goldmine readers: At the time of publishing this article, songs from Felix Cavaliere’s Then and Now album were not yet available on YouTube so historic recordings are linked in this article.

GM: Now let’s go to July of 1968. Atlantic Records released a pair of gold singles, The Rascals’ “People Got to Be Free” and Clarence Carter’s Top 40 debut “Slip Away.” Later that year on Atlantic’s Super Hits Vol. 4 compilation, these songs were back-to-back on side one. On Then and Now, you open with “Slip Away” and I was so happy that you kept it close to the original with the guitar, drums, organ, and brass. It was done so well.

FC: Thank you. That was my plan. A lot of people may not be familiar with this some of the oldies I covered. Jerry Goldstein was with Atlantic at that time and brought that song to my attention. With the new album, I wanted to show how good these songs were in their day with my band plus horn players we brought in. Most members of the band have been with me for twenty years, and when we perform as Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals, we also bring in Gene Cornish when he is available to work.

Slip Away:

GM: The next cover you share is “Spanish Harlem,” with your delivery of the lyrics being as clear as what me, my wife Donna, and our daughter Brianna enjoyed in the musical Smokey Joe’s Café. That’s another Atlantic Records 1960s classic, by Ben E. King, his first hit after leaving The Drifters for his solo career.

FC: That’s so nice that you enjoy it. Ben E. King was a dear friend and a mentor. I learned so much listening to him over the years of my youth. I got to know him, and he was a wonderful guy. My only regret is that I never got to sing a duet with him. I will always be sorry about that.

Spanish Harlem:

GM: I am so happy that you included your composition “Summer in El Barrio” on this collection, which we first heard in 1974 on your first solo album. This new version is so fresh. The guitar is Santana-like, and the piano really jumps out.

FC: Mike Severs, who co-produced the album with me, provided that exciting guitar sound. I also have a fellow now who plays keyboards with me, Ben Harrison. He is Puerto Rican, so I turned him loose on this new version of “Summer in El Barrio” and he created that lively piano accompaniment. He trained in that genre, and I really love what he did.

Summer In El Barrio:

GM: Somehow, I missed “Searching for My Love” by Bobby Moore & the Rhythm Aces in the summer of 1966 and learned it two decades later as a beach music oldie. I am so happy you included it, like you said, perhaps to teach it to someone else who may have been unfamiliar with this classic song. I enjoy the background vocalists on this song and others on the album.

FC: We brought in singers from the local area. The nice thing about living here in Nashville is the opportunity for recording sessions is phenomenal. It wasn’t that way when I move here in 1990 from Connecticut, but it certainly is now. On the album we have background vocals from Kim Fleming, Vickie Carrico, Jason Eskridge, and Mike’s wife Peggy Severs, with Kim and Jason also doing vocal arrangements.

1966 HITS ARCHIVE: Searching For My Love - Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces (mono 45):

GM: For many years, Nashville was synonymous with country music, but it certainly has grown to be more diverse, yet you can still tap into the strong Nashville country songwriting base.

FC: Exactly. In 2019, I got inducted in the Musicians Hall of Fame here in Nashville along with Alabama, Don Everly, and Steve Wariner. Steve and I met there, and he asked, “When are we going to get together and write?” We collaborated on two songs on the new album, “Get on Home” and “Road Trip.” We had a ball, even though we did that during the pandemic while we were locked up in our homes and we were able to collaborate over the internet. After a while, we were able to get into a beautiful place here, Watershed Recording Studio, and record our songs.

GM: Speaking of 2019, that’s the year that Luke McMaster and you released the single “Soul Love.” Your new version makes for a classy finale on the album.

FC: Thank you. Luke and his music partner Arun Chaturvedi came down from Canada to write with me. That is one of the songs that came out of that session that I really liked.

Soul Love:

GM: I enjoy how you continue to pay tribute and stay connected with the Atlantic Records artists. In concert, I enjoyed your Led Zeppelin tribute with their sole gold single “Whole Lotta Love” with Mike on guitar and Vince Santoro on drums, after you talked about being in the same recording studio as them in the late 1960s. Your daughter Aria shared a photo of the two of you backstage at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center with another Atlantic artist, Roberta Flack. Aria’s song “Forgive Me” made my Top 25 songs of 2022, and I look forward to speaking with her next year about her upcoming album. She enjoyed my description of “Forgive Me” as Coldplay piano with Pat Benatar-like vocal power.

FC: That’s great. If I get a chance to do another one of these albums, which I hope I will because we have so much fun doing this, Aria and I will do a couple of duets. She really wants to do it and I’ve got some great ideas to make that happen. I appreciate your ongoing promotion, not only of my music but also of Aria’s music. I wish you and your family well and I hope that you and Donna enjoy the rest of the fall in Daytona Beach where it shouldn’t be too hot. Take care of yourselves.

Aria Cavaliere - Forgive Me (Official Video):

Related links:

felixcavalieremusic.com

facebook.com/felixcavalieresrascals

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