One of a small cadre of bands that pioneered the genre of blue-eyed (i.e. white) soul, The Rascals developed a fan base that was attracted to their unique blending of psychedelic rock and gospel music. Their songs reflected themes similar to those of most of the psychedelic genre, groovin' on peace and love.

The band formed in 1964, with Felix Cavaliere providing keyboards and vocals, Gene Cornish on guitar, Eddie Brigati on vocals and songwriting and Dino Danelli on drums. They started out with the moniker The Young Rascals, but the less impish "The Rascals" proved sufficient after a few years.

Soon after forming, they had a couple of hits with "I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore" and the smash cover "Good Lovin'." The latter became a number one, becoming popular for it's catchy lyrics.

"I was feelin' . . . so bad/I asked my family doctor just what I had/I said, 'Doctor/(Doctor...)/Mr. M.D./(Doctor...)/Now can you tell me, tell me, tell me/What's ailin' me?'(Doctor...)/He said, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah/(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)/Yes, indeed, all you really need/(Is good lovin')/Gimme that good, good lovin'...)," the lyrics go.

By '67, they were turning out even stronger hits, with "Groovin'," "Beautiful Morning," "It's Wonderful" and "How Can I Be Sure?" becoming popular on the airwaves. The band began to strive to include protest messages in their songs, such as the peace-loving number one "People Got to Be Free."

Unfortunately, the band was stronger at writing singles than they were at creating well-rounded albums. Though their first several are still ranked highly by critics, by 1968 the quality of their overall songwriting began to erode. After nine records, the band called it quits in '72.