A Beautiful Morning – The Rascals | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#3); 1968

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

In 1964 Peppermint Twister Joey Dee had his very own Manhattan nightclub where he and his Starliter house band performed. In 1965 three former Starliters – Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati, and Gene Cornish – along with Dino Danelli racked up their first hit, I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore, as the Young Rascals.

The “young” appended to their intended one word name surprised the band: the legal eagles at Atlantic Records, fearful of a lawsuit from another group, had changed it without consulting them. It took over two years and several hits, among them Good Lovin’ and Groovin’, before Atlantic agreed to shorten the group’s name to simply “Rascals,” as they were commonly known.

The first single released under the new name, A Beautiful Morning – with music by Felix and lyrics by Eddie – continued the blue-eyed soul band’s hit streak. Sadly, the next single, People Got To Be Free, was to be the Rascal’s biggest and final hit.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

  • The Rascals

Lyrics Written by:

  • Felix Cavaliere
  • Eddie Brigati

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Ed Osborne

Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).