Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - 189. Felix Cavaliere

Episode Date: January 8, 2018

Rock n' Roll Hall of Famer Felix Cavaliere joins Gilbert and Frank for a look back at the creative and cultural revolutions of the 1960s as well as his six-decade career as a singer, songwriter and founding member of the platinum-selling pop group, The Rascals. Also, Wilson Pickett blows his stack, Tom Jones covers Sophie Tucker, Sammy Davis does the boys a solid and Felix shares his recollections of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the four lads from Liverpool. PLUS: Myron Cohen! Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer! Laura Nyro stands her ground! Gilbert sings "The Mouse"! The genius of Arif Mardin! And Felix boards a rowboat with Der Bingle! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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19 and over and physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See casino.draftkings.com for details. Please play responsibly. I'm Barbara Barry, and you're listening to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast. Excellent. Too much acting?

Love it. That was like slightly excellent. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast with my co-host, Frank Santopadre, and we're once again recording at Nutmeg with our engineer, Frank Fertorosa. We're especially excited to be joined by our guest this week. He's a singer, songwriter, record producer, and one of the most inventive and influential keyboard players in the history of pop music. He's also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame,

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and one of the leading voices of the rock generation. As one of the founders and the lead singer of the wildly popular rock quartet, The Rascals, he sold millions of records and recorded the hit songs A Girl Like You, It's a Beautiful Morning, How Can I Be Sure, and number one singles like People Got to Be Free, Groovin', and of course, Good Lovin'. Groovin', and of course, Good Lovin', voted one of Rolling Stone Magazine's greatest songs of all time. such as Billy Joel, Tom Jones, Todd Rundgren, Jimmy Hendrix, Bean Crosby, Billy Preston, Laura Nero, former podcast guests Tommy James, Paul Schaefer, Jimmy Webb, and Howard Kalin, and four guys from Liverpool, who I think got their name is The Beatles. After 50 plus years in the music business, he's still entertaining audiences with his band, Felix Cavallari's Rascals, with upcoming dates in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Welcome to the show, a genuine rock and roll legend, and perhaps most importantly, a man who shares our love of soupy sales.

How true. How cool. Bravo, bravo, bravo. There's our love of soupy sales. Felix. How true. How cool. Bravo, bravo, bravo. Absolutely. Felix Cavallari. Thank you. Thank you.

Felix. Felix. Stop leaving little notes on my pillow. I told you a million times. I don't want little notes on my pillow. Sorry about that. Yes. Felix, welcome.

Thank you, thank you. I guess you all knew Soupy, huh? Oh, yeah. Gilbert knew him. I didn't have the pleasure. Oh, man, what a great guy. Yeah, he was a nut, Soupy. Yeah, great guy yeah he was a nut soupy yeah great guy he was great guy and now i i have to ask you but i remember uh the the rumor used to be

that the reason the band was called the rascals is because you're one of the little rascals grown up. So were you alfalfa or something? Yeah. Well, the reason the bear was called the Rascals was because of Soupy. I don't know if you know that story. Oh, tell us. I will certainly tell you. You know, we were trying to be discovered,

and Soupy, of course, had a WNEW TV. And, you know, he happened to have a couple of hit records. He had this thing called The Mouse. Of course. Yes. So we got this great idea. We said, let's go down there and see if he'll accept us as a backup band. We can go out on the road with him.

So we go into the station, you know uh uh immediately you know he started you know telling jokes you know he said like okay everybody hold your wallets you know what i mean these guys don't look too good you know and uh we started laughing and so so we told him we said well super you know um you know we we we know you have some hit records now bahalafica and uh you need a band he says you mean all these years i've been without a band Lafaka, and you need a band. He says, you mean all these years I've been without a band. I didn't realize

that I needed a band. We started laughing again. He says, you know, this could work because sometimes I work, nobody laughs. At least I know

you guys are going to laugh, right? So, so, so he said, what do you call yourselves? And we really didn't have a name. We kept looking for names.

You know, we kept looking around for, you know, we had some ideas. So he said, what I'd like to call you, we can't print. I wonder what that was. And I swear, I think he came up with this name, the Rascals, you know. And later years, of course, you know, our manager surprised us with an adjective. You know, he said, we got to put the young in there, you know uh our manager surprised us with a uh an adjective you know he said we got to put the young in there you know and uh why because somebody i don't know if you guys remember the

milton burrow show the harmonica harmonica rascals yeah that's that's way back yeah sure he said we're gonna get sued i said but young couldn't you put like yellow or anything you know yellow rascals and you know that that's that was a really interesting thing for us because for years, people would come up to me and say, did that dog really have a circle around his eye or did they paint that? They thought you were one of the rascals. You remember that, though, I see. Oh, absolutely.

You guys know. Yeah, Petey. You guys know, though, I see. Oh, absolutely. You guys know. Yeah, Petey. You guys know, see? Yeah. And the real Alfalfa was, I think, shot. I think he was stabbed. I think he was stabbed in a bar. Someone owed him money.

Yeah, it was a dispute over a dog, I think. Yeah, and yeah, he was stabbed to death in a bar. Yeah. Yeah, weird. Weird. Where did the costumes come from, Felix? The whole little Lord Fort Leroy stuff. Well, see, I blame Dino, the drummer, for that.

Dino Dinelli? He won't take the credit for that. But, I mean, well, basically, you know, we had to wear a suit and tie in those days to work in clubs because it was 21 and over. So we tried to find an excuse, you know, a way around that. And unfortunately, they said, well, that's okay. We still have to wear a tie. So we abandoned that idea as soon

as we could. Believe me. So, because I always, a lot of people thought, well, like, those Snickers must have been like a record label's idea. No, we didn't have a record label yet. We just, you know, set some bad ideas. You know, ACDC did the schoolboy outfit thing years later.

You guys were ahead of that. I know. You were ahead of that curve. Yeah, we just wanted to get out of the suits, you know. Now, I remember when I was a kid, my mother bought me a 45, When I was a kid, my mother bought me a 45, and on one side, the A side was the mouse, the B side was Pophilophica. That's right. That's it.

Now, on Skype, it's almost impossible to do, but can me and Felix Cavallari sing a duet of The Mouse. Well, you'd have to sing different sections of it. I don't remember The Mouse. I'm sorry to say. But I don't remember it. I know it was Do The Mouse. That's all I remember. Well, give him a little bit. Hey, do the mouse, yeah.

Hey, do it all around your house, yeah. Hey, do it all around your house, yeah. In the rug or on the wall. If you folks get bugged, do it in the hall. Do the mouse, yeah. Let's do the mouse. Come on, let's do the mouse with me.

See, I'm glad I forgot that one. And Pothelophica was Pothelophica, Pafalafaka, Pafalafaka. It sounds so romantic and perky. Pafalafaka, Pafalafaka. It sounds so romantic and turkey. Yep, yep.

And you know, he was right because many times we worked with him and we were the only ones laughing. You know, I got to tell you, Felix, Howard Kalin loves Soupy, too, when we talked to him, but he said Soupy had incredible pot. Does that? He was just, I mean, like he was a doll. Really? He was just such a sweet man, you know.

God bless him, man. I miss him. You know, he was a really great guy, you know. We miss him. Soupy was one of those guys when I'd run into him, he would always have like a bunch of the stupidest jokes you've ever heard. He would always crack you up. Yeah, yeah.

Yep. Good man. Good people. Now, he never hit you with a pie, though, did he? No, no. Oh, absolutely. That would have been too short. He couldn't hit.

He couldn't find us. Felix, we got a kick out of finding out, and we do deep research for this show, and I thought I knew all there was to know about you. I didn't know you were pre-med. Oh, yeah. Which is fascinating. Absolutely. You're a local boy here from Pelham.

Yeah. Yeah, my whole family was in medicine, you know, and then I shocked them. You know? Yeah, I really had no idea I was going to be in music. The only thing I knew is that, you know, my mom, rest her soul, she had me taking classical music at a very early age, you know, and I didn't really want to do that because I couldn't create, you know, how to play what was written.

But then I went to college. I went to Syracuse, and as a matter of fact, I was up there with Lou Reed. We were in the same year. And, you know, just like that's what somebody wanted me to do, I guess. So that's what I did. So now if your parents had been Jews. Instead of he's one of mine, by the way. He's Italiano.

And you were to say them, no, I'm not going to be a doctor. I'm going to be a big rock and roll star. They would have fucking killed you. You got that right. Yes. It's the same thing in the Italian family. Yeah. Same thing.

Pretty much. Well, you know, basically what happened is I got a job in my junior year through some of our fraternity people in the Catskills, the good old Catskills. Now, I'm sure you must have worked at Catskills. Oh, yeah. So, you know, I loved it. I just, oh, my God.

I was making $60 a week and room and board. What were you doing? Were you playing backup for a? We were kind of like the swing band. Swing band. And by that, what I mean is we did everything. We played for the guests when they came in, cocktail hour. We played for the teens in the teen room.

And then at night, we played for the lounge because the twist was happening. That's how frigging long ago this was. So in comes this group because the stars, the headliners of the week would come in, Joey D and the Starliners. Oh, sure. And they saw me and, you know, make a long story short,

they remembered me when they went to Europe because their organ player quit on them, so they needed a substitute. Now, meanwhile, the story, as I said, I don't want to take up all your time with the story, but there was this maitre d' there at that hotel that, you know, he saw me getting ready to go back to college, you know, in September, August there, and he told me, he says,

man, you should do this. You're good. You should do it. So when my father, the doctor, comes into the Catskills, he said, don't worry. I'll take care of your father. Don't worry. He treated him like I was Elvis. I remember I'm making 60 bucks a week here.

You know what I'm saying? So I was a real big shot. But my dad was like, Flabby, he says, you're doing pretty well here. I says, yeah, man. Oh, absolutely. So when I hit him with, can I take a year off? It's like butter. Wow.

Yeah. And he let me go. You know, he said, take, take a shot, you know? And what kind of, what comedians did you see out in the Catskills? Oh, yeah. Well, you know, we had the good pleasure of seeing a lot of the real famous guys, you know, like Jackie Mason was up there, you know, and I'm trying to think of some of the names. You probably know the names better than I, but some of the classics, classic guys.

I mean, you just don't find these guys anymore, you know, and, you know, I didn't realize how nasty some of those guys could be. Gilbert, you only played the Caskills, what, that one time? Was it Browns or Coutures? Yeah, I was at the Neaskills, what, that one time? Yeah. Was it Browns or Coutures? Yeah, I was at the Nevely. Oh, the Nevely. You did the Nevely.

Oh, yeah. The owners and the band liked me. Yes, got you. That was about it. But those were great days. I mean, you know, and, you know, I got a lot of experience up there. I mean, some good, some bad, but we were at the Raleigh, you know and and uh you know i i got a lot of experience up there i i mean some good some bad but we're at the raleigh you know and it was just you know like something that i don't know

if this generation even knows what we're talking about but you know it was magic you know there's no doubt about it because you know jews have a good time they go up there they rock and roll it's a lost era it's a lost era yeah we's a lost era. Yeah, we had some woman who wrote a whole book. Marissa Sheinfeld. Yeah. She wrote a book about this. We'll send you a copy. It's fascinating.

It's about the caskets. Well, it's a photo book about the photo essays of really modern day photos of what's left. It's actually kind of sad and tragic. But on the opposite side of the page in the book you see what the hotel used to look like and what the pool looked like and it's kind of it's haunting yeah myron cohen i remember him oh myron cohen he was funny these these are geniuses these these guys you know they just got that gift you know that uh because henny youngman know, he was a very dear friend of ours. Our manager, you know, so we got to know him, you know. And Alan King.

Oh. You know, Alan King. Giants. Just giants. You know, I'm so proud to have known these guys, you know, because, you know, most of them are just really, like, brilliant, genius talent. Let's face it.

We don't have them like this anymore. They're not like that anymore. They got to use, you know, tricks to get laughs, you know? Yeah, those guys used to be hysterical. Oh, just phenomenal. Henny would kill me. Oh, funny guy. You got the right word there because once they start, you know,

you're like that too. Once you get somebody laughing, you don't let them up for air. Yeah. It's true. up for air. It's true. And now while Gilbert heads into the nutmeg kitchen to steal more Perrier, a word from our sponsor.

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19 plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem? Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. Hey, Ontario. Got any plans? How about a trip to the casino right here, right now?

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sounds perfect. Gil and Frank went out to pee. Now they're back so they can be on their amazing Colossal Podcast. Kids, time to get back to Gilbert and Frank's amazing Colossal Podcast. So let's go. So Felix, how'd you get out of the Catskills

and find yourself, I mean, I know it's a journey, but how did you find yourself in Sweden and Germany with the Beatles? I'm skipping a couple of steps there. Yeah, Joey Dehart. Joey Dehart and the Starlighters, right. Yeah, and we go over there, and next thing I know, these guys called the Beatles, who nobody knew yet over here, were opening for Joey Dehart. And so here I'm in a kind of like a decision-making time,

like, well, should I try this for him? And I see all these young, beautiful girls screaming, hollering at the top of their lungs over these bands. I said, this looks like I could do this. I think I'm going to try this. This looks like fun. And it was really interesting because I remember hearing them for the first time what I could hear with this you know the yelling and i thought they were primarily a vocal group you know i i didn't

really think you know i wasn't that crazy about their musicianship because they were white you know and so they they played american music was kind of like you know stiff until they played their songs when they started playing their songs is when I really, you know, took notice. I said, man, how cool is that? Of course, the next thing you know, the entire world was saying that, you know? So even back then, girls were screaming by the Beatles?

They could scream. From birth, they could scream. Yeah. It was unbelievable. There was something very special, you know, obviously going on. Now, here's a question I always ask people who saw the Beatles back then. And, I mean, of course George Martin was a genius. Now, do you think the Beatles would have been as popular without George Martin?

Popular is an interesting word. I think they were popular as soon as they went on a stage, frankly. There was a certain kind of magic that these guys had that you can't manufacture. That's the real thing. You know what I'm saying? Now, whether they would have made such phenomenal music without George, you know, we had the same kind of situation with Arif Mardin, rest his soul.

You know what I mean? Genius. You've got to have help, you know. But, I mean, I still think popularity. The people, they just loved, they adored them. Wow. Did you guys socialize? Did you have time to hang out with them?

It's hard to hang around with gods you know yeah you know i got to know george a little bit you know and uh later you would you would tour with ringo later in your career i got to know ringo a little bit you know yeah but i i one time i asked george you know i says hey george uh do you realize that you know when you guys like move your little finger you you know, the, the earth vibrates a little bit, you know, and, and very deeply and soundly, he said, yes. So those guys had to carry that burden around wherever they went, whenever they said something, it was really an important, you know, thing, you know, interesting, interesting fellows and, and talent. I mean, you know, you can't even talk about how good those guys were.

But they emboldened you, didn't they, Felix? I mean, you've, you've said how you, you, you kind of got inspired to, you knew it was about singing and putting your own band together. You didn't want to be doing the, the, the peppermint twist and you didn't want to be doing that kind of stuff the rest of your career. No, I, you know, as I say, you know, I, I really felt, uh, I could do what they were doing. And of course I didn't want to be doing that kind of stuff the rest of your career? No, no. You know, as I say, you know, I really felt I could do what they were doing. Of course, I didn't realize the extent of, you know, like the genius that was there.

Nobody did at that time. But I said, hey, man, I can handle this. I could do this, you know. And later years, you know, the impact that those guys had on musicians, you know, for example, when they wrote a song and did a song, the radio stations had to play it. So when they opened the door, you know, such as Michelle or Yesterday, we walked in the door with How Can I Be Sure.

How can I be sure? In a world that's constantly changing? How can I be sure where I stand with you? Whenever I, whenever I'm away from you I wanna die Cause you know I wanna stay with you How do I know Maybe you're trying to use me

Flying too high can confuse me. Touch me, but don't take me down. See, because radio stations, they didn't really want to play that stuff. They had to play that stuff. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And that opened the door for all of us. Yeah.

And I remember, well, it was like Murray the K was a big speaker for the Beatles. And they started calling him the fifth Beatle. Yeah, one of many fifth Beatles. Yes. Yeah. Now, I'd be remiss as an interviewer if I didn't ask you this question. As a big rock star, were you getting a lot of pussy? Well, let's put it like this, okay?

My nickname was the father of our country. I'll leave it at that. Yeah, that was my nickname inside the band. Oh, that's great. Yes. That's fantastic. Absolutely. So you came back to the States.

You decided, I'm going to put a band together. Well, at first I had a little problem. Oh, you had the military issue. Thank you. Right. Right. Well, what happened? Do you want to tell us?

Yes. They were scared to death of of me they didn't want anything to do with me the military yeah in those days they were a little bit more kind of like you know choosy about who they put a uniform on you know they said this guy I don't know you know so uh I said you know it was it's a long story but uh it I, it, it, I was not fit for the, uh, army. I see. Which was fine. It was one why. And the why is, why is this guy coming in here? Because you asked me.

And so then I felt free seriously to start a band because prior to that, you know, I knew I was going to get drafted and, you know, we had to go through that, uh, times the four of us, us, each person. It was really, really, really interesting times. There's no question about that. And you knew you needed singers. Do I have that right? You didn't just want guys that were great musicians. You wanted singers. I wanted great singers and I wanted great players. And I said, you know, I want to put the best guys I can find. And, you know, I'm very proud to say that when I found these guys, you know, we had a deal in six months. Yeah.

Six months. We were ready to go. And you knew Jimi Hendrix. Right. Yes, I'm happy to say. Yeah. So how did you get to know Jimi Hendrix? Well, first of all, Jimi was involved in the New York music scene way back when.

I think he worked with the Isley's, you know, Isley Brothers. And he was a really, really shy guy. I mean, if you can believe that. You know, he was kind of tall, but you never knew it because he was always hunched over. You know what I mean? He was always hunched over. And then in later years, of course, when he went to England, and I don't know if you guys know that story, but that's a fascinating story about when Jimi Hendrix went to England and all these famous star guitar legends said, holy shit, did you see this guy down at the club. He's doing all of us put

together. They flipped. And he came back to the United States and did his first solo show as the experience with us in Madison. I mean, in the, in the central park. Wow. So I hadn't seen him, you know, in years. And here's this guy standing upright with a feather in his hat and i said man what happened to you bro and he said i'm gonna show you well when there's rascal fans out there when he went on the stage but he scared them half to death he was just he was on fire man i mean he just he just blasted that out there like you can't believe and you know the thing is man he was really a nice man blasted that out there like you can't believe and you know the thing is man he he was really a nice man he was really a nothing like you know you would think of you know he was he was a matter of fact a little bit too nice you know because he would give give give stuff

away and sign a lot of contracts and give a lot of money and stuff like that and then unfortunately you know it caught up to him i i've heard you say he kind of fell in with the wrong crowd well you know a lot of people did because. I've heard you say he kind of fell in with the wrong crowd. Well, you know, a lot of people did because all the folks who were around him have all passed as well. But Jimmy was a very troubled guy because, you know, it's tough to be the best guitar player in the world every night of your life. You know, it's a big, big hill to climb, you know. And fortunately, I never had to worry about that.

and fortunately I never had to worry about that. And Jimi Hendrix also opened for the Monkees. He did his first tour, I think, with them. And I heard he failed miserably as their opening act. I don't know. I mean, you know, I don't see how it's possible. But, you know, as I say, I mean you know I don't see how it's possible But You know as I say I mean when he went on stage It was kind of like

Nobody was doing that What he was doing You know They were However you know It's interesting because Coming up the way I came up You know

Through the New York club scene A lot of the people Who would come up from the south You know And play guitar Did a lot of the people who would come up from the south, you know, and play guitar did a lot of the stuff he did, you know, behind the back and with his teeth and all that. But nobody ever saw that before because it was all obscure. You know what I'm saying? So when he brought that to real life, he also brought it with some of the most fantastic, you know, guitar chops you could get. You know, he, he really like, he, he really illustrated that. He really brought that into a, you know,

kind of a, like a more dynamic vision, you know. It's so envious that we never got to see these guys play live. Never got to see Hendrix play live or hear that music live. You can see that, you know, the, the, the, the videos. Sure, sure. Yeah. Because he was, he was just a good man on, and you know, the videos. Sure, sure. Yeah, because he was just a good man. And, you know, we had the same attorney, you know, and I really, really tried to help him out, you know,

get over those drug things, you know. Let's talk a little bit Rascal's history, too, about putting the band together. I thought the way you found Dino through your wife, I think, is an interesting story. Yeah, well, I was seeing this lady and, you know. Your first wife. Yeah, she used to go to clubs and stuff like that.

And I thought I had a pretty, you know, good idea of some band. She said, you guys are all right. I said, what are you talking about? You're a freaking teller in a bank. Give me a break. She says, I know a guy. And I says, really? Yeah, where?

And I don't know if you guys remember the Metropole You remember the Metropole? The Metropole was on 7th Avenue And it had a window And before they turned to stripping Oh, it was like a go-go club Wait, I remember the Metropole, of course Of course you do

It was a go-go club, right? In fact, in fact What I remember about the Metropole When it was a strip-go club, right? In fact, in fact, what I remember about the Metropole, when it was a strip club, of course, I knew, like, when you walked down that block at a certain angle, you could look in the door and see a naked girl. Is that the place that Oscar Madison's looking in the window in the opening of The Odd Couple? I think so. looking in the window in the opening of The Odd Couple? I think so.

And I remember I used to know exactly what position to be in where you could see inside the Metropole and see a naked girl dancing on the table. See, that takes talent. That takes talent. He's a scout. Yes. Well, prior to the naked woman Woman They used to have musicians in there

And she took me there You know And I saw this guy playing through the window You know what I mean And he was just He was like watching a movie You know He had learned from guys like Louis Belson

And Gene Krupa And these guys How to put on a show As well as play the drums And play them well. And I don't think anybody was doing that at the time, you know, but it was really great seeing that. And so I asked her immediately, do you know a guitar player?

Because she was certainly right about the drum. Yeah. And not to interrupt you, but after years of peeking in the Metro, finally I realized I had gotten some notoriety in show business when the bouncer saw me walking down the street and said, hey, come in for free. You knew you made it.

Yes, yes. I'm sorry he didn't say Don't I know you? The Pussycat Lounge I've been here for like 300 times It's time to come in The Metropole So you put the band together

The Bregatti Brothers You met Gene. It just came together piece by piece, right? Well, Eddie and Gene were working in a club with Joey D. owned called the Starlighter. David was not really with us. He came on to sing with some of the records. Right, the Fifth Rascal, I heard it called. Correct, like Herman Murray.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But, you know, the four of us was Gene, myself, Dino, and Eddie. We started out in New Jersey, and then we went to the barge in Long Island, where we were kind of discovered. Yeah. You know, and then Sid Bernstein came and saw us. He came at, he was, he was asked to come there by another gentleman who,

who wanted to manage us. And then we had literally, we had a deal almost, almost immediately after that. With Atlantic. With Atlantic. Yeah. And you were very proud of the fact that you were the first white act on it, on Atlantic because they had Ray Charles, they had all these people. Well, half my collection,

coasters, a drift collection was all, was all frigging, you know, Atlantic. But the main thing about Atlantic is, is that they allowed us to produce ourselves. I wanted to produce the band. I didn't want to get, you know, somebody to take over the reins. I wanted to produce the band I didn't want to get somebody to take over the reins I wanted to do it ourselves And they were the only ones really That would allow us to do that And Incan Eat My Heart Out was the first single? Well yeah because again We had not really made a transition to being writers yet

And so they brought this song And it was the first time we got on the radio Which was really pretty cool Yeah we've asked that question So they brought this song. And, you know, it was the first time we got on the radio, which was really, you know, pretty cool. Yeah, we've asked that question. When we had Tommy James and we had Howard, we said, what was it like to hear your voice coming out of a, I assume it was a transistor radio, the first time,

a life-changing experience. It was and it is. Wow. You hear yourself, you're walking through a supermarket, you know, and you're hearing Groove and you're going like, these suckers, they don't know that's me up there. That's great. That's me, man.

That's great. You go around smiling and they say, what's wrong with this cat? Yeah, it's a thrill. What about when you hear a Muzak version of your song? I've always wondered that. Well, you know, you got to understand this is a business. Oh, yeah. So there's change being presented at that point.

So, you know, we appreciate the change. We appreciate that. That's about it. Yeah. Yeah, the checks still come. The checks come. Like I say. Yeah. the checks still come. The checks come. Yeah. Like I say. Yeah.

So they wanted covers. I've heard you say that record companies, they wanted covers at that time. They didn't want originals. Clubs wanted covers. They didn't want to hear, you know, your innermost emotions. They weren't interested. You know, I tell this on stage, you know, like the club owners would come up to me, you know, and they say, listen, I want to explain to you exactly what makes a good band.

I said, okay, I can't wait to hear this from my friend that owns this place called the Choo Choo Club, right? He says, you see those people out there dancing? I said, yeah. He says, the next thing they're going to do is start drinking, right? He says, yeah. He says, that's what makes a good band. I says, got it.

I got it. So the idea is keep them dancing. That's it. It gets hot. They start drinking. You're good. Right. Got the message.

So you're still not writing your own compositions yet with Eddie. But how did you, and you were doing covers, but you were trying to find obscure covers. Absolutely. Yeah. And that's how I found a lot of good stuff. And that's how you found Good Lovin'. That's how I found Good Lovin', yeah. Absolutely, yeah. And that's how I found a lot of good stuff. And that's how you found Good Lovin'. That's how I found Good Lovin', yeah. By the Olympics.

Well, yes, by the Olympics. And I heard it on a radio station, so it was legit. I went out and bought a copy, showed it to the club owner, and said, look, this is a cover. I can prove it. Here's the original. Ha ha. Yeah.

And it worked. It worked from the first day. I watched a video of it, and there's Billy Preston playing keyboards. Yeah. You know, for the first day we played that song, people, you know, like they just got up and danced, you know? Yeah. Well, obviously I prefer your version. Their version is interesting, but it doesn't move like your version.

They don't have Dino on the drums. They don't have Mr. Dino kicking butt behind you, you know? It doesn't have the sound. I'll play them don't have Mr. Dino kicking butt behind you. I'll play them for Gilbert, too, because I think he'd be curious. It doesn't have the same energy as what you guys brought to it. Absolutely. One, two, three. I was feeling so bad I asked my family doctor just what I had I said, doctor, doctor, Mr. Empty

Doctor Now can you tell me what L in me Doctor You said, and B. L and B. All I really need. Good love. Now give me that good, good love.

Good love. All I need is love. Good love. Good love. Baby, good love. You know, before good Lovin' became a hit, in those days you had to go to the West Coast, you had to tie the whole country together, radio-wise.

So we went out to the West Coast, to the Whiskey-a-Go-Go, and that's really where it happened. Now, we're working with guys out there that were in a complete daze. I'm serious. They were in a complete daze. I'm serious. They're in a complete fog. You know, the drugs out there were so thick you could actually cut it. There was a group, I think it was called Arthur Lee and Love or something like that. I thought they had passed away. They were opening.

Seriously. So we go on. I got these four kids from New York and New Jersey. They kicked butt from the first minute. You know, it was like, like, like, like a, like a hurricane coming through the room, you know, it was East coast versus West coast. Very interesting, man. Never forget that. Tell us about the creative environment at Atlantic that you started to talk about with, with Tom Dowd, with, with, with Arif, with the guys that created this environment for you guys that was just ideal. Well, you know, the studio that is unfortunately no longer there. Yeah.

The history of that studio in terms of what music transpired in that room was absolutely amazing. transpired in that room was was absolutely amazing between john coltrane ray ray charles you know uh you know uh uh the drifters you know uh uh all all these phenomenal phenomenal talent i mean the coasters you know phil specter worked in there you know he did uh benny king you know and all these uh the one thing i gotta say about atlantic and you know i i was a pretty naive guy you know like at that point but as as i say you know i i was a pretty naive guy, you know, like at that point, but as, as I say, you know, I was really in love with where I was and what I was doing. And, and, and I, I really felt that Atlantic, their number one priority was making great music.

And I still believe that the procedure that they kind of taught us to record was kind of in the jazz vein where, you know, you have, you have a moment in time that you, you, you know, you have, you have a moment in time that you, you, you record, you know what I'm saying? There wasn't like, we had only eight tracks and we were the only ones with eight tracks, believe it or not. Everybody else had four. So there was not a lot of overdubs like there are today. So you had to capture a moment and, you know, make it really great. So, you know, I just got, I learned so much from those guys, you know, and, uh, uh, just enjoyed every moment of it because it was all about music

there. And I know the people, they, they wanted to make money. I understand that, you know, but I met and those guys there, Wexler and all those guys, their number one priority was music. And I always, always, always, always will be grateful for that. And we heard a lot of stories from musicians about like the unsung heroes of studio musicians. Right. Now, do you have any stories like that, people, or just what you noticed with studio guys? Well, in our case, we were self-contained with the exception of the bass you know we we had a bass player uh come in uh from king curtis's band

by the name of chuck rainey to begin with but you know it's interesting you say that because you know i live in nashville right now you know and uh uh i had dinner the other night with a guy by the name of Reggie Young. Now, you probably don't know his name. We don't. Google his name. Okay. Look at the records that this guy played on. You will not believe.

He played with Elvis. Oh, wow. He played with, you know, that wonderful song that BJ had, Hooked on a Field. Oh, yeah, sure. Wow. Oh, yeah. You know, the beginning of Drift Away. Drift Away.

Oh, Dobie Gray. That's Reggie Young. Oh, love that. Now, here's a guy who, you know, the beginning of Drift Away. Drift Away. Oh, Dobie Gray. That's Reggie Young. Oh, love that. Now, here's a guy who, you know, nobody knows his frigging name. He played on over 150 hit records. He's not in that movie. He's not in Standing in the Shadows of Motown, is he? No, he was in Motown.

Okay. Oh, he was out of Memphis, you know. Okay, out of Memphis. But, I mean, there's a perfect example of what you're saying. I mean, these guys, you know, nobody knows their name. They got session fees and they went home. But, I mean, without that beginning and those songs, there's no songs. He played on Suspicious Mind for Elvis.

So, anyway, I was with these guys last night from the Crickets. You remember the Crickets? Of course. Yeah, of course. And Reggie. And I told them, man, you guys, these stories are phenomenal. So, the drummer from that, I shouldn't say it on the air because I don't want to give the guy's title away,

but I was telling Kim here, I said, you guys got to write a book. So the drummer says, I am writing a book. He says, you know what I call it? I said, what? No shit. I said, wait a minute. Wait a second. Where'd you get that title from? He says, every time I tell somebody a story, they go, no shit. That said, wait a second. Where'd you get that title from?

He says, every time I tell somebody a story, they go, no shit. That's so funny. Is that great? That's great. You know, both those documentaries that I just mentioned, Felix, Standing in the Shadows of Motown and also The Wrecking Crew, Doc, really shine a light on those guys. Absolutely should. town and also the wrecking crew doc yes really get really shine a light on those guys absolutely should people should rent those our listeners uh should should rent both of those those documentaries

and i saw you in the aretha documentary by the way oh yeah which is very good yeah he was he was he was a great man i really really miss him and talent i mean not only I mean working with obviously Aretha and you guys and I mean they say gave the Bee Gees their sound but jazz I mean the guy ran the gamut well I'll tell you something you know like he was his talent very very talented

guy and the interesting thing about him is that how he was discovered and basically he was in turkey yeah he's turkish yeah and uh uh quincy jones was appearing in in istanbul and you know how he used to give in the old days they used to give people cassettes so before quincy got on the plane and went to the airport or whatever arif gave him his cassette when he got off the plane he called him up and asked him to come to Berkeley to be a

professor. That's how good it was. Wow. That's how he got discovered. Now, this guy was a giant, you know, and it's really an interesting story because, you know, when we got there, he was, he was just an A&R guy. He was a guy on staff, you know. You've said he was your George Martin.

He was a lot of people's George Martin. This guy was brilliant and I miss him terribly. He was a lot of people's George Martin. This guy was brilliant. And I miss him terribly. He was a great guy. Great guy. And the Rascals worked with Bing Crosby. In a special. Yeah, we love that.

And a rowboat. We were on a frigging rowboat with Bing Crosby. Was that a pinch me moment for the kid from the Bronx? You know, there's a lot of pinch me moments. I'll bet. It was interesting, you know. I mean, you know, like, it's just you got to meet all these guys, you know. Like, recently, I had a major shock because I got to know Bill O'Reilly, you know. He loves music.

He loves music, this guy. He loves music. Little did I know he was paying off people like that. I should have asked him for some money. It's true. Great guys. Who knows? Were you guys, and I love this too, you were the kind of guys,

you said you loved what you were doing, but you guys would stay in the studio all night sometimes. Yes. You were so locked in in those days. And the story about Otis Redding, is that apocryphal? That Otis Redding popped his head into the studio? Tell Gilbert,

it's so fascinating. Well, you know, first of all, in answer to the first part of it, Atlantic gave us free studio time. And we took advantage of that, you know,

because as long as we were making hit records, and you know, Wilson Picker used to get really angry. Man, I can't get in there, man, them damn wrestlers always in that room. Always in that room.

But Atlantic had a different kind of environment from, you know, like, for example, Columbia, which we went to later years. It was really a wide open kind of place. You know, there was no signs up recording, do not enter, you know. It was wide open. So Otis, you know, came in, you know, and that's a true story. He opened up the door and he said, my God, they are white. I love that.

Yeah, he was a great guy. I love that. He used to call Ahmet Omelette. Omelette. Omelette. Omelette. You just reminded me, and now it's weird to have him as a fan, but Bill O'Reilly came up to me at a Saturday Night Live party

and told me he was a fan of mine. See? And also, I didn't know how to react to that. Well, I didn't know how to react to it either. You know, he was the nicest guy. He was the sweetest guy. I mean, he came back. I met him at a U2 concert first.

And then he came to three or four of my shows. He's a doll. Of course, you know, I probably get letters, you know. Oh, yes. He was really sweet, man. I mean, I don't know. Like I say, it's a shame, you know,

because there's two sides to every guy. What were the details about the Bing Crosby show that you guys did and how you wound up in a rowboat? And did you ever see Bing beat any of his kids? Yeah. No, it was some sort of like

it was either an Andy Williams special. Oh, you did that too? We did that too, yeah. And we were in a boat. I just remember we were in California, you know. He was nice. He was a nice guy. He was a little old.

Do you remember doing hullabaloo with Alan King in 1965? Sure, sure. And he used to like a Marx Brothers thing. You guys are hiding in barrels. And he's the cop on the beat. I'm going to show it to Gilbert. And they're, where are those rascals? And they pop out of barrels, and I guess you guys sing the first single.

Ain't going to get them hurt. Yeah, ain't going to get them hurt. Well, you see, Alan and Sid Bernstein were close friends. I see. You know, and so, you know, people used to help one another in those days. You know what I'm saying? And, you know, like, so he helped us. He helped Sid, you know, and, you know, people used to help one another in those days. You know what I'm saying? And, you know, like, so he helped us. He helped Sid, you know, and, you know, we appreciated it.

You know, it was a different planet then, you know. Of course. It was different, you know. Alan King was one of the greats. Funny. Oh, my God. Yes, he was. You know, a very smart man, as you well know.

You know, he was a brilliant guy, you know. Oh, and I remember a buddy hackett story about bing crosby where he said you want to know why bing crosby beat his kids it's because bing crosby couldn't get a hot on wow yeah yeah we met him we met buddy buddy hackett at a at a uh My God. Wow. Yeah. And we met him. We met Buddy Hackett at Sullivan's show. Oh, wow. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I loved him, man. Oh, my God. How funny can you get? Seriously, how funny can you get? Oh, he was. He was. You can't get funnier than these people.

These guys are brilliant. He's hysterical. We were going to ask you about Sullivan, about doing the Sullivan show. Because we had Peter Asher here who did the Sullivan Show. We had Tommy James. And everybody remembers him as kind of stiff, kind of humorless. He hated us. He hated you?

So Ed Sullivan hated the rascals. You know, man, you know. How so, Felix? the rascals you know man you know how so felix well you know how can i put this nicely i can't don't uh you know he was not a nice guy you know what i'm saying he heard that too and and and we were very high at those in those days so i don't know how you got i guess you can say he didn't like looking up to people i don't know what can i tell you he didn't like us because you know we were pretty stoned when i walked in that door he looked at me like get back under that rock you son of a you know ed sullivan struck me as a prick even back, yeah. And you know, his son-in-law, who was the director of the show, is named Bob Precht. Yeah.

So it was pretty close. I see. Well, we'd heard he could be vengeful and wield his power in aggressive ways, Ed Sullivan. Yeah, I had a couple of run-ins, you know, with him over the years because we did it six times. Right. You know? So I asked him for a locker. I said, can we have a permanency here, you know?

Oh, well. Well, Gilbert also wants to know if you have any recollection of doing the Joey Bishop show. Oh, yes. Oh, absolutely I do. Sure I do. And I'll tell you why. Because of Sammy Davis Jr.

Because, you know, in those days, the Beatles had done these two videos, you know, films, Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. Penny Lane, yeah. So we started a company, true story, called Pasta Productions. Danelli, Bregotti, and Cavallari. Thank you very much. Right.

And we did a video down in, oh my my God, down in Puerto Rico of all places. And he wouldn't let us put it on the air, you know, because he said, look, I paid for live music. You guys are playing, you know. But Sammy got us, he got us permission to show that video on the show. And, you know, like I had never met Sammy Davis Jr., but what a nice man. You know what I'm saying?

He didn't have to do that, you know? He just came to our aid. That's nice. What was Joey Bishop like? He was kind of like, you know, he was kind of like a little dry, you know, off the air and funny as hell on the air. You know what I'm saying? He was, you know, he's one of that, that, that,

that those personalities like you guys have, you know, you're in, you're on your, you're one guy. And when you're not on your pain in the ass, you know, but I liked him because he was,

he was nice to us. You know, it was, it was a gentleman to us. And you know, when you're a kid, you appreciate that, you know,

you're nice to us. You know, we liked it. We liked, we liked him. We heard some negative stories about Joey Bishop from, from from several people glad you had a good run in with him well i'm sure you know i mean like i say you know in this business uh if you don't have negative stories you've probably been in it a week you know there's always somebody right tell us changing

changing gears about as far as you can get from joey bishop tell us about the great laura nero who you who you worked with who was a genius and and left us too soon well i i happened to meet david geffen before he was david geffen uh-huh he was you met a lot of people before they were who they were i know that's that that shows you the years that go by. But he was an agent at that time. And he was also her manager. And so he said, this is a true story. He says, how would you like to meet the most impossible person you ever met? And I said, what do you mean? He says, well, we need a producer for Laura Nero.

She's a big fan. What do you think? Well, she and I became like you know dear dear friends i i mean i i adored her you know i'm saying and uh what a songwriter and just a phenomenal talent and one of the strangest people i've ever met as far as the purest artist i've ever met i i never met anybody who's whose music you know really meant that much because a lot of us you know with all due respect you know they, you know, they're not going to play it on the radio like that. You know, so you change it.

She would not change it. Yeah. I found that interesting. You said that she was inflexible that way. She really knew what she wanted and that was that. That was that. Gilbert, you know those songs, Stoney Ends, Sweet Blindness, and Wedding Bell Blues. Oh, yes. She was a genius. And Unknown, a lot of people don't know who she is. Gilbert you know those songs Stoney N, Sweet Blindness and Wedding Bell Blues oh yes

she was a genius and unknown a lot of people don't know who she is sadly and one group we mentioned before that we had two members of on the podcast the Monkees

you worked with yeah did you guys do a Monkees episode that was unreleased no or something like that do i don't blame that on us okay i gotta check my research on that there's i just i just work with those guys i well i just work with mickey and uh and mike and uh you know i know and we knew uh what's his name dav Davy Jones for years. He was a really funny guy. I don't know if you guys know that.

I met him once. He was a really good comedian. I mean, he had a really good wit. Great Davy Jones trivia is, of course, he appeared on The Sullivan Show the night the Beatles made their debut in 64. He was in a stage production of Oliver in the U.K. Did you know that? Oh, yeah. He's on that episode, and so is Frank Gors of Oliver in the UK. Did you know that? Oh, yeah.

Yeah, he's on that episode. And so was Frank Gorshin, by the way. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. I also want to direct. I have to talk a little bit about it, and it's an overused term, Felix, blue-eyed soul. Yes. But I have to, and doing the research, there's a clip of you guys on the Tom Jones show.

Oh, yeah. That was cool. research, there's a clip of you guys on the Tom Jones show. Oh yeah. And you and Tom Jones duetting on, on the, in the midnight hour. That's great. Which is frigging fantastic. Yeah. That's, that's a great, great thing. Yeah. Well, you know, we were in England and here it was about 10 AM in the morning and he's completely drunk. Yeah. And man, we just, we just at 10 a.m at 10 a.m well yeah but i'll tell you he was he he was and is he's good man oh yeah we we worked off each other that was fun i remember that i saw that clip many times that was fun and we heard that um tom jones was also a fun guy to work with. Well, I always had a lot of respect to Tom and I'll tell you why, you know, he came to a club that we were working in as the rascals, you know,

and I'm dating this really nice looking blonde, you know, and he's like this humongous, like sex idol, you know, he comes in, asks you to dance. I says, so long. That's it. Goodbye. But when he heard that she was my girlfriend, he left her alone. Class.

Oh, wow. So I said, a mensch, a mensch and a half there. So, you know, I always had a tremendous fondness with this guy. Yes, just to quote Billy Saluga, he was quite the coxswain. What he said about Tom Jones. Yep.

Tom Jones, I once heard a recording of him singing My Yiddish Shemama. Oh, my God. Yes. The other thing Gilbert and I were talking about, too, because he brought up Murray the K. And it's interesting, too. One of the fun stories is you writing Groovin'. Yeah. Because you also had Latin influences.

Right. And what happened? What was Jerry Wexler's reaction? Well, the record company did not like it because there was no drums in it. You know, it was a conga rather than drums. And so they, they, you know, they, they were very concerned about us, you know, kind of leaving our so-called rock and roll roots, you know, but Murray was in the studio at that time.

And he, he went into Jerry and said, I'll put that record on the air tomorrow, you know? And, and, and he did. And that was number one for six weeks number one yeah on a sunday afternoon couldn't get away too soon. I can't imagine anything that's better. The world is ours whenever we're together. There ain't a place I'd like to be instead. Too late, down a crowded avenue Too late, anything we like to do There's always lots of things that we can see

We can be anyone we'd like to be. All those happy people we could meet just through this. On a Sunday afternoon. It's interesting how record executives survive. Well, I've heard you say I mean, they're right sometimes And they're wrong a lot of times Like everybody else

However, you know When you got the power You know You got the power And that's the end I mean, like Imagine the guy And he's legendary

The guy who passed on the Beatles Oh, yes I mean, he's He'll go down in history Biggest schmuck in the world, right? But he did They passed Nah, we don't want you guys. You're not good. You'll never mean anything. And how did people got to be free come about?

Ah, well, you know, again, uh, I was working for Bobby Kennedy's campaign, you know, and, um, I was with this lady, uh, who actually was there at the assassination. You know, she was present. That's incredible. She was at the ambassador. She was at the ambassador in L.A. Wow.

And I was I was on vacation and I heard about it, man. I said, I we got it. We got to say something, man. We got to do something, you know, because, you know, in those days, a lot of us, you know, were really involved. You know, we were involved in what we thought was saving the world, you know, cosmic consciousness, civil rights. We were involved. Whereas today, these people are afraid to tell you what they think

because they're going to lose their audience. You know what I mean? So they're real brave guys out there today, you know? Because if you look at the campaigns, the only guys that are out there, they're older, you know? They're afraid now. They're afraid of saying what they're about. But we weren't. Well, the Rascals were known for not

playing gigs that weren't integrated. Yeah, I mean, you know, little did I know the trouble was causing by saying that. You know, I thought I had a good idea. What a great idea. Oh, yeah, that'll go over big down here. You know, you got to think, my man, you know.

Was there, and if you're uncomfortable talking about this, Felix, I'll just cut it out of the show because we're not live. Was there an incident in Florida that, and, that, uh, and I haven't, I haven't heard you speak about it. I, I, I did a little digging that partly inspired people got to be free. No, no, no, it's just partly inspired me taking up martial arts. Oh, okay. Oh geez. Okay. Oh yeah. Well, long hair in the South, you know, in the sixties and you ran into you ran into some trouble well you know it was dino's fault you know he said let's stop there let's eat over there you know oh boy

now the bobby kennedy assassination didn't that drive bobby darren nutty for a while i don't know well he was close to him and yeah a lot of people, John Frankenheimer was a friend of his and was working with that campaign. There's a new book out right now that, you know, I'm reading right now. I mean, who knows what would have happened if he had, you know, made it a little further into the history of the United States. He certainly had some good ideas, that's for sure. Well, that song not only took off when went to number one but i it went it was big in hong kong it was big in south africa i mean that song was really embraced yes and that's something i've always been proud of you know because like you know when they knock

the berlin wall down they play people got to be free yes that's not that had to feel great yeah that does feel great it really does and springsteen said to you that, that, uh, that it would, the song would never be surpassed in terms of, and that was, that, that's, that had to feel good too. Yeah. We, we had a couple of meetings way back, you know, in the beginning and, uh, you know, he told, told me that, you know, he really felt, you know, the truth of those words, you know, spoke, you know, to him. Did it change you, Felix, the assassination? I mean, you were working for the campaign. Obviously, you described what you guys were, well, you were idealistic. Yeah.

It didn't change any of my, no. I don't mean it didn't change your politics. No, it didn't change at all. No. No, it just, you know, like everybody, you know, it's like, you know, when we were at Atlantic, you know, when Martin Luther King was assassinated, Atlantic was an all black label. You know, and everybody said, well, were you guys all right?

Everybody was crying. How could we not be all right? You know what I'm saying? I mean, you know, there was no anger there, danger there of us. You know, everybody was sad. Everybody was crying. They lost their guy. They lost their, you know everybody was sad everybody was crying they lost their guy they lost their you know their father figure their you know their their you know the guy who they thought

was going to bring it was a different world then sure now boy your god you know it's something else now isn't it yeah and so the rascals eventually went their separate ways you did you did a lot of solo work you work with with Todd Rundgren. You worked with all kinds of people. And then there was a reunion tour, a brief reunion tour without Eddie in the 80s? Yep. In 88? Yep.

Yeah. That's also when Atlantic did its 40-year anniversary. Right. You did that show, too. Oh, that was so much fun. Yeah. All of the acts came together, and we were all pretty much at the same hotel, so it was really, really nice.

Is that show available, by the way, that Atlantic 40th anniversary? I think it is. There was a little kind of funny business going on with some of the royalties, so it may not be still available, but yeah, that was a great show, by the way. You know, Zeppelin and everybody else, Bee Gees, man, you name it, they were all there.

That was fun. And then you guys did the cancer benefit in 2010. Right. At the Tribeca Grill. And I've heard you say some fence mending took place at that point. People have to understand it's a long, it's a long, a lot of long relationships here that are going back what 30 40 years with you guys yeah you know like a family it's real silly you know it's silly i mean you know like i say to break up when you're on top of the you know top of the pile there man it's just stupidest thing you know we've ever done and we've done a lot of stupid things since then let me tell you what was happening when you were on top and like between all of you oh god that's a tough question there you know

because um yeah you know uh i i think if the more groups you talk to you'll probably hear the same story well howard told us a similar story about the turtles. Over and over and over, you know. There was really no reason, concrete reason, for any of that to happen. And by that, I mean there was nobody, like, stealing, you know, embezzling, stealing each other's wives, you know. There was nothing. It was just, you could only say the word ego, jealousy, stupidity. And I do mean that with a capital S, stupidity.

You don't break up a winning team, man, you know? So it was real sad. That affected me very much, you know, because. I'm sure. You know, you put this dream together, and then all of a sudden, you know, like one of the guys decides to leave. It's like your car, all of a sudden, you know, the front wheel says, screw this, I'm going. You know? And it leaves, you know, like one of the guys decides to leave. It's like your car all of a sudden, you know, the front wheel says, screw this, I'm going, you know.

And it leaves, you know. Well, tell us about a better memory. Tell us about getting inducted into the Hall of Fame and little Steven inducting you guys. And I didn't know when I was telling Gilbert that when he made the induction speech that that led to him being cast in The Sopranos, which is great trivia.

It's great trivia. And have you seen his little bit there that he did? I watched it yesterday. I can see what David Chase saw in him. He told me he had another half hour and he was too embarrassed to do it. He really, really takes off the coat. He's wearing a big

heavy coat and the schmata. Yeah, that was great. He takes the coat off, and he's wearing the old rascals, little Lord Fentler with the little tiny tie. That was really good. Really great. You didn't see that coming, did you? He surprised you, too?

Absolutely. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So how did it feel? I mean, give us some perspective. Well, you know, unfortunately, you know, the rascals is kind of like, it's like saying suras. You know what I mean? Seriously.

I mean, your audience will know what I mean. It's never like, you know, like, boy, that's great. No, no. It's aggravation from you don't have a dull moment. There's never a dull moment because there's always somebody making, you know, trouble. You know what I'm saying? Otherwise, it was a great night. Yeah.

Eddie came on. He looked like an Apache. Yeah. You know, he was an Indian gob. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And I don't know if you saw his speech but

i saw i saw the whole thing oh yes yeah all you have to do is listen to that and you say like why yeah you know why i took it very seriously you know i took it very seriously you know and and and i felt like okay this is cool and you know not only that but i got a chance to see people it was the last time i got to see a lot of these people because they passed, like, you know, from the Bee Gees. Oh, yeah, Robin and Maurice. Maurice was gone shortly after. Michael from the Jackson 5, you know.

You know, so it was a big thing for me to, you know, kind of see these guys, you know, like, you know, it was fun. I say that word fun because, look, man, I've had a ball. I, I, I, I, I enjoy every, everything I do. Let me tell you. So I don't look back at the aggravation, but unfortunately it was a lot of it, you know, with us. Right. Well, do you, do you allow yourself those moments? Like, you know, I'm the kid from Westchester and, and I idolize these guys. And now I'm in the hall of fame with Elvis and Chuck Berry and the Beatles and it still costs me Chuck Berry and the Beatles.

But it still cost me to get on the subway. What am I going to tell you? The same price. So there you go. It's the same price. You got real perspective, Felix. You got that right. Do you know who I am? Yeah.

$2.50, please. Absolutely. Yeah. By the way, some of those B-sides, like What is the Reason and Love is a Beautiful Thing, I thought those could have been hits, too. I'm surprised they weren't released as singles. Okay, I got a good story for you. Go ahead.

Because I know it's getting late. No, no, no. We're not out of time. And I do this in my show because this is correct. We didn't know anything about business. Today, the people come in, they have a little bit of knowledge. So we didn't know that

the front side, the back side of 45 sells exactly the same amount of records as this front side. We didn't know that. So years go by, years go by, and I'm in a club in New York, and we're doing one of those sing-around things, you know? And this guy comes up to me and gives me this huge Bugs Bunny-type kiss, you know? I said, what's that, man? He says, man, you have no idea. You changed my life. I said, what do you mean?

He says, well, you put my song on the other side of good loving. He says, man, I made so much money, you can't believe it. He made money. Then Wilson Pickett heard it. It was Mustang Sally. Wow. Oh, geez. Yeah.

So we learned. Put your song on the other side. Got it. Absolutely. Absolutely. I liked your solo album too. Your first solo album with Rundgren, High Price to Pay and very, very good stuff. Thank you. Thank you. Well, you know, I just enjoy making music, man, you know, and, and, and all the years, you know, it's, it's difficult, you know, to leave a, to leave a a a a a group that was successful and go on your own you know but of course that's the story that's what happens you know what about

touring with ringo and the all-star band and working with billy preston got memories yeah you know it was it was uh it was an experience you know of course it was john entwistle was oh john entwistle yes yes you know and we had uh mark fwistle. Oh, John Entwistle, yes. John, you know, and we had Mark Farner and Randy Bachman. Mark Farner from Grand Funk. Yeah. Right. That's an interesting concept because, you know, Ringo, like, you know, he's such an interesting

guy because, you know, he's just a big ham. You know what I mean? I mean, like, he needs money, right? He needs to go on stage he was just here at the Beacon last week with the all-star band he's still doing it you gotta pull him off

pull him off the stage but it was really interesting when you're in the dressing room with a Beatle you know and everybody's like you know pretending they're not in the conversation then all of a sudden somebody asks him a question, you know, and everybody turns around.

They want to see what he's going to answer. You know, you know, like they asked him one night, they said, Hey, Ringo, how come you had your drum, your stool up so high? And then everybody turned around and said, well, they got to see me, right? Yeah. Really, really good guy, man. You know, like, but you know, he can't go anyplace. You know, when he used to try to go out, like if we had a day off,

he'd have to have the whole theater for the movies to go in there. They'd open the place up just for him. That's amazing. Even now. Even now. Man in his 70s. The Beatles could only talk amongst themselves to know what it's like, what their life is.

Absolutely. Amazing. Although I'm sure, like, Bruce has got the same thing going on, and, you know, maybe Billy and, you know, you too. I mean, there's certain, you know, people in that echelon that, you know, that's a different level. Saw you at the garden with Billy, too. That was a treat.

Yeah, well, he's an old friend. I know. You guys go way back. Yeah. And boy, can you imagine? He's going to do his 50th show there, Sell Out. Amazing. Yeah.

That's insane. Yeah. So you're in Nashville now. Right. You're still touring. I know you're coming here. Yep. We didn't coordinate this. I know you're coming here. Yep. We didn't coordinate this.

We like to have you here in person. You know, I could have done it next week, but, you know, I didn't really know I was coming. I was taking a couple of days off, you know. But this is fun. We'll come back next week. I love talking to you guys. You guys are great. You don't have your keyboard with you, do you?

I do, but it's not activated, as they say. Oh, okay. Too bad. Well, the next time we're going to make you play. Okay, that's a deal. And we have to do a duet of Rascal songs. Yeah, not the mouse, though. We can't do the mouse.

You know, Felix, he sang Money Money with Tommy. He sang Sugar Sugar with Ron Dante. The man sitting next to me. MacArthur Park with Jimmy Webb. He sang MacArthur Park with Jimmy. All right. Tire Yellow River with Tony Orlando. Who else?

Okay. So he sang The Rainbow Connection with Paul Williams. That's right. I'm in. I'm in. Okay. That's right. I'm in. I'm in. See, you should be honored to be singing. It could be worse, absolutely. I'm not sure about that. So, by the way,

the album you did with Steve Cropper, the Nudge It Up a Notch, great. Yeah. Thank you. Great stuff. I want our listeners to find that. Another brilliant musician, Steve Cropper. And tell us what's going on. Tell us about the website. Tell us about the tour.

You're coming here. You're going to be on Long Island. You're going to be in Massachusetts. You're going to be in Connecticut. It's on your website. But, you know, I still enjoy what I do you know and and and basically i i'm excited about next year uh i'm going to be with the nashville symphony i'm doing my my music with the symphony here it's going to be a real treat i'm looking forward to that great that's that's

something i've been wanting to it's kind of full circle from when i started with classical i'm doing a book you know i'm trying to finish finish the book i was just gonna say howard howard wrote a very funny book, Howard Kalin. And you've got to have a book in you. Yeah, well, Howard's a funny man. He's a screenwriter, if I'm not mistaken. Yes, he's a DJ. He's everything.

You know how long I know those guys? I mean, it's unbelievable how old I am. No way. I mean, seriously, I remember them, oh, God my god you know which is cool you know and now you know he's a Mark Vollman's a professor here at the one of the universities yes yes that's how low we've gotten in this country leave us with one thing any memories of doing a tonight show with Janice Joplin Santana and Phil Spector oh yes yes yeah I've got a lot of memories of doing a tonight show with Janice Joplin, Santana, and Phil Spector. Oh, yes.

Yes. Yeah, I've got a lot of memories of that. And I was just thinking, I think the hosts were Steve and Edie Gourmet. I believe they were. Wow. Exactly, yeah. Well, I remember Janice was very, she smelled of liquor a lot. There's a lot of liquor in the room.

Yeah. And Phil, you know, I've been a huge fan of Phil Spector all my life. You know, I just feel so badly about, you know, the karma that has befallen him because what a genius. There's another genius. You know, we don't have too many geniuses, but, you know, he was one of them. Now, was Phil a nut when you knew him? I mean, he was just well he's carrying a gun into the studio oh god no no he was he was a yeah he was a strange man

you know he was a very strange man uh he used to hang around with oh come on now you guys got to help me who's that comedian that way in the old days got in such trouble with the bad words? Lenny Bruce. Lenny Bruce. Yeah, he was very, very close with Lenny Bruce. Ah, I didn't know that. Through that whole period of time when he was going through all the court cases and everything. Yeah.

So they were two crazies, right? You know, but Phil was always, you know, he's just very different, man. You know, he's not like, you know, like most people you would meet you know but he was so talented oh my god yeah what about bobby darren you didn't really get to know bobby darren bobby darren was like a little cocky guy you know what i mean like you know he he kind of didn't really you know socialize you know that much with with with guys with long hair oh really you were the you were the long-haired hippie freaks. Yeah, he was like, exactly.

He was a Sinatra, you know, he was in that world there, you know. But he was there. He was always nice, but he was not like a, you know, he didn't come out and talk to you, you know. You know, one thing that's refreshing, Felix, and we'll let you go, is that I read, saw a lot of interviews with you, read a lot of interviews with you, and you're humble because you said luck has played a role in everything.

Who knows? You know what I mean? Like you said before, did I think I was going to be a musician? I didn't think anything. You know, I'm just very happy to be here, folks. You know what I'm saying? Because I've had a great career. I've had a lot of fun.

I got a great family, a healthy body, and no money. So where did I go wrong? What can I say? Felix, you promise you next time you see us, you'll play and sing with Gilbert? Absolutely. My pleasure. Hey, thank you so much, guys. I really enjoyed it.

You know, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Well, thank you so much, guys. I really enjoyed it, you know. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Well, thank you for the music, my friend. Thank you. It's been our honor. We wanted you. We started this thing, what, 180 shows ago? Oh, my God. You've been on our list, and we said to Jackie, get Felix. Oh, thank you, man. Happy holidays to you all.

I will. I'll make sure we get together. We owe ourselves a duet here. Oh, absolutely. Happy belated birthday, by the way. All right, my friend. Thank you. God bless. And we want to thank Jackie Martling, too, for setting this up and for bringing you into the fold. Absolutely.

Absolutely. We'll see you again. All right. Take care. I'm Gilbert Gottfried. I'm here with my co-host, Frank Santopadre. And this has been another edition of Gilbert Godfrey's Amazing Colossal Podcast. And today we've been talking to a guy who's a guinea, but he knows a lot of chew words.

You might say that. So, in that case, he's okay with me. Felix Cavallari. Thank you. Mazel tov, my friends. See you. Thanks, Felix. See you, guys.

See you. to see. People everywhere just want to be free. I can't understand it's so simple to me. It is. People everywhere just got to be free. Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast is produced by Dara Gottfried and Frank Santapadre, with audio

production by Frank Bertarosa. Web and social media is handled by Mike McPadden, Greg Pair, and John Bradley Seals. Special audio contributions by John Beach. Thank you. And I'll do unto you what you do to me Said no I'll be shouting from the mountains on out to sea Nothing weighs about a tree, we'll have to be free Ask me my opinion, my opinion will be Not just a tuition for a man to be free

Uh-huh. We'll just come over me. It's enough to rule a mountain and a blind man. Leave us. Everybody said, come on, let's go see. Peace in the valley, now we're talking, be free. I'm a lost man. Look, see that train over there? That's the train of freedom it's about to arrive any minute now

you know it's been a long long overdue look out cause it's coming right on through ha ha yeah ha ha yeah