The (Young) Rascals

1
  • Year:
    1997
  • Inducted by:
    Steven Van Zandt (E Street Band)
  • Category:
    Performers

Introduction

The epitome of blue-eyed soul.

The Rascals set themselves above the pack with their excellent songwriting and instinct for adaptation. Their masterful pop-soul singles landed them a string of Sixties hits.

 

 

Hall of Fame Essay

1997

Lenny Kaye

The Long Island Sound. 

Let us caress it: thick slabs of Hammond B-3 organ, all furniture polish and drawbars and majesty; a chopping rhythmic guitar; a precise, almost clockwork sense of percussion; a vocalese whose tremolo vibratos as if doubling back on itself, riding a wave form of infinite shimmy. Pure show and go.

Surely the crowds at Shea Stadium waiting for the Beatles had no idea they were witnessing the birth of a phenomenon when, in the summer of 1965, promoter-manager Sid Bernstein flashed the Young Rascals are coming on the scoreboard.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 1997
1 of 2
1997 Inductees Young Rascals Accepting Their Induction
in the center of the universe, New Jersey, the Rascals were the first band
Stevie Van Zandt

Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage