Eddie Brigati

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'.

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. Both boys learned Edward Sr.'s skill, with both using bird calls in a few of their songs like "Groovin'".

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. 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.

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). Although Cavaliere would have most of the group's lead vocal roles, Brigati was frequently heard in harmony parts.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.