The band most of us know as The Rascals originally called themselves The Young Rascals and Groovin’ was the final album before they dropped ‘Young’. This record is full of good songs and I imagine back in 1967 lots of teenagers had good times while listening to this collection.
Confession: I always thought the song “Groovin’” was by Smoky Robinson! Being disabused of this misnomer was a real eye-opener this morning. It’s a great song nevertheless.
Pat Benatar covered “You Better Run”, which is one of my favorite cover songs.
The Young Rascals became one of the few white artists to receive regular airplay on Black radio stations.1 The band were a commercial force in the mid-to-late Sixties and were almost as popular as the Stones and The Beatles even if they are not often remembered alongside them.2 And the members of the band fully understood their music was rooted in Black R&B and demanded those artists get the respect they deserved. The Rascals stood on principle against segregation and racism declaring in 1968 that they would no longer appear on programs if the performers were not racially balanced. Main composer Felix Cavaliere flatly stated, “(We) can control the show. So from now on…all our major concerts will be half black, half white, or we stay home.”3
I feel like this album is a good representation of what was happening in the culture of young people right before 1968 came along to wipe away any final veneer of innocence in American and changed us all forever. The band was a fairly significant artist of the time as evidenced by them supporting the Beatles at Shea Stadium.4
It seems to me The Rascals have been forgotten somewhat and after spinning through this album three times today and I’ve concluded it is a great album and deserves to be remembered and respected by music fans of all stripes.
My Rating:
Billboard called “Groovin’” “A smooth summer blockbuster...”5 and Cash Box said it was a “moody, easy-going, smooth, rhythmic, thumping ballad.'"6
“"You Better Run" is a classic garage rocker with a punkish energy. A real put-down song, it fit the teenage milieu like a glove.”7
In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, George Durbalau wrote:
“The Young Rascals are remembered primarily as one of the relatively few mid-Sixties white groups to whip up an exhilarating brew of soulful R&B and rock ‘n’ roll that could stand comparison with their African-American peers.
The Rascals’ most important album grabs you from the start, switching from garage thrash into psychedelia-tinged experimentation, jazz, and even gospel. Take the fuzz-tone guitar riffs on “Find Somebody,” the melancholic, Beatles-like pop jewel “I don’t Love You Anymore,” or the punk precursor “You Better Run”…The record brims with intelligent arrangements, blending dep soulfulness with raw, loose guitar, introspective lyrics and unexpected touches such as the Latino “Sueño” “.8
Charts
Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: #59
Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: 10
‣ “Groovin” #1
‣ “A Girl Like You” #10
‣ “How Can I Be Sure” #4
‣ “You Better Run” #20RIAA certification: Gold | July 22, 196811
Released on July 31, 1967. Here’s what else was happening:
Pop Culture
• Number one song: “Light My Fire” by The Doors12
• Number one album: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles13
• Number one movie: You Only Live Twice by Lewis Gilbert14
• Most watched TV programs: Bonanza, The Red Skelton Show, The Lucy Show15
• NYT bestseller, fiction: The Arrangement by Elia Kazan16
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: The New Industrial State by John Kenneth Galbraith17
Other albums released that month
• Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter by Johnny Cash and June Carter
• Aretha Arrives by Aretha Franklin
• The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd
• Album 1700 by Peter, Paul & Mary
• Lumpy Gravy by Frank Zappa
• Revolution! by Paul Revere & the Raiders
• Big Brother and the Holding Company by Big Brother and the Holding Company
• Just for You by Neil Diamond
• Branded Man by Merle Haggard
• I Was Made to Love Her by Stevie Wonder
• Make It Happen by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
• United by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
• The Windows of the World by Dionne Warwick
• Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King
• Brighten the Corner by Ella Fitzgerald
• Chuck Berry in Memphis by Chuck Berry
• Cold Sweat by James Brown
• Goodbye and Hello by Tim Buckley
• Joan by Joan Baez
• Love of the Common People by Waylon Jennings
• Vanilla Fudge by Vanilla Fudge
• The World We Knew by Frank Sinatra18
Sport
• Aug 2 NFL New Orleans Saints play 1st ever pre-season game, lose to Los Angeles Rams 16-7 at Anaheim Stadium in California.
• Aug 5 First exhibition after AFL/NFL merger, Denver Broncos (AFL) surprise Detroit Lions (NFL), 13-7 at University of Denver.
• Aug 6 Future Baseball Hall of Fame 3rd baseman Brooks Robinson (Baltimore Orioles) hits into MLB record 4th career triple play.
• Aug 18 Boston Red Sox Tony Conigliaro is beaned by Angels Jack Hamilton at Fenway Park; injuries including a fractured cheekbone, dislocated jaw, and eye damage kept him from returning for a year and a half, and led to improvements in batting helmets.19
Notable Births
• Jul 31 Elizabeth Wurtzel, American author (Prozac Nation), born in New York City (d. 2020)
• Jul 25 Matt LeBlanc, American actor (Joey Tribbiani-Friends), born in Newton, Massachusetts.
• Jul 26 Jason Statham, British actor (The Transporter, Crank), born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire.20
Historical Events
• Jul 24 Charles de Gaulle says 'Vive le Quebec libre! Long live free Quebec!'. Read details about this incident here: General De Gaulle and "Vive le Québec libre"
• Jul 24 Chinese army/air force/fleet repress uprising in Wuhan City. If you want a deep dive on this pivotal event in the Cultural Revolution: The Wuhan Incident: Local Strife and Provincial Rebellion during the Cultural Revolution
• Jul 24 First modern hospice St. Christopher's founded by Dr. Cicely Saunders in London, beginning of modern palliative care and the hospice movement. Read how this came about here: Early origins of St Christopher’s Hospice
• Jul 24 Race riots in Detroit force postponement of Tigers-Orioles game.
• Jul 24 The Beatles sign a petition in Times to legalize marijuana.
• Jul 29 Fire aboard carrier USS Forrestal in Gulf of Tonkin kills 134.
• Jul 30 Race riot in Milwaukee, 4 killed.
• Jul 31 Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards are released from jail in England, after serving 1 month on drug charges.21
• Aug 3 45,000 US soldiers sent to Vietnam.22
Notable Deaths
• Jul 28 Karl W. Richter, American Air Force pilot during Vietnam War (youngest to shoot down a MiG), shot down at 24.
• Jul 30 John Macchia, American actor (Beach Blanket Bingo, Beach Party), dies of stroke at 35.
• Jul 31 Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist (Nobel 1938-work on carotenoids and vitamins), dies at 66.23
• Aug 2 Claude Albert Barnett, American journalist and founder (Associated Negro Press), dies at 77.24
Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!
On Prime: 138. Groovin' by The Young Rascals
More: 138. v2.0 Bonus
Even more!: 138. v3.0 Bonus
All the videos for this playlist: You're Welcome 138; Groovin' by The Young Rascals
Wald, Elijah, Shake It Up: Great American Writing on Rock and Pop from Elvis to Jay Z, ed by Jonathan Lethem and Kevin Dettmar, p. 494.
Ibid, p. 495.
Ibid.
Durblau, George, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, p. 119.
Durblau.
Ibid.