Listen, please listen, that's the way it should be
Peace in the valley, people got to be free
"That was fantastic, unbelievable. I was watching CNN the day they broke down the Berlin Wall, and they showed the East Berliners pouring through to freedom, and I heard them singing People Got to Be Free. I just thought, you know, great!
" said Felix Cavaliere, lead singer of '60s super group the Rascals.
"Of all our songs, that's the one I'm most proud of. It's stood the test of time, and it stood for something that meant a lot to me.
People Got to Be Free, when we released it in 1968, was No. 1 in all the oppressed countries of the world. It was No.
1 in South Africa. That pleased me more than anything else.
"Back in the '60s, musicians were more involved politically.
We were committed in a cosmic consciousness. It was a different time back then, and it was a joy to be part of that era. We wanted change.
We weren't just going out there to make a buck. I wish it was like that today."
Felix Cavaliere's Rascals will perform Saturday night in a benefit concert for the spay-neuter group SNAP at the Stafford Centre.
Tickets are available at www.ticket master.com and at the Stafford Centre.
The Rascals burst on the music scene as the Young Rascals, dressed in Little Lord Fauntleroy outfits, in 1966. Their first hit, Good Lovin', was a monster, reaching No. 1 and staying on the Billboard charts for three months.
They followed Good Lovin' with a string of smashes, like Groovin' (No. 1 for four weeks in 1967), I've Been Lonely Too Long, A Girl Like You, How Can I Be Sure, It's a Beautiful Morning and People Got to Be Free (No. 1 for five weeks).
"I put the Rascals together, it was my dream and I fulfilled that dream. We had more fun than we made money, but it was an incredible experience," Cavaliere said.
The Rascals were true to their words.
During the '60s, they refused to play a concert unless black acts were also on the bill. They released singles in honor of Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
They released a double album called Freedom Suite with song after song hammering for peace and racial harmony. They were among the first white rock bands to sing with a soulful voice. Now the Rascals are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rascals' hit-making machine stopped in 1970 when Cavaliere's bandmate and writing partner Eddie Brigati suddenly quit the group. He never gave a reason why.
"We were having a blast and everything was happening for us.
That's why it was so shocking when he left. He simply didn't want to continue in the music business. It wasn't a good time for him to leave.
We were in our free-agency period and had just signed with Columbia Records, which was a huge record company," Cavaliere said.
"Some people are cut out for the music business.
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