Birth name Edward Brigati Jr. Occupation(s) Musician Name Eddie Brigati | Instruments Percussion, Vocals Role Singer Years active 1965–present Siblings David Brigati | |
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Albums The New York Rock and Soul, Time Peace: The Rascals, The Young Rascals Similar People Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish, Dino Danelli, David Brigati, Robert Popwell | ||
Associated acts The Rascals, Brigati | ||
Eddie brigati 1985 interview
Edward "Eddie" Brigati Jr. (born October 22, 1945, Garfield, New Jersey) is an American singer and songwriter. Brigati shared vocal duties with other group members, and played tambourine, in the pop group The Young Rascals from 1965 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 actually replaced his brother, original Starliter David Brigati, in that group). The Rascals were 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'.
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Raised in Garfield, New Jersey, Brigati graduated from Garfield High School in 1963.
Brigati (along with fellow group member Felix Cavaliere) wrote the songs that made the Rascals' one of the more successful recording groups of their era. He helped compose "A Beautiful Morning", "Groovin'", "People Got to Be Free", "I've Been Lonely Too Long", "You Better Run", and "How Can I Be Sure".
Brigati left the group in 1970 after their contract with Atlantic expired, and they chose to sign with Columbia. 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 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, 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 and his wife Maureen. They toured for seven months after Broadway. Tour dates included venues in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Phoenix, Clearwater, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Boston, Wantagh (NY), Homdel (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 4th. He will appear again at McLoones on October 19th.
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 26th, 2017 concert at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Brigati and his wife, Susan Lovell, reside in his home state of New Jersey.