"A Beautiful Morning" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Rascals | ||||
from the album Time Peace: The Rascals Greatest Hits | ||||
B-side | "Rainy Day" | |||
Released | March 22, 1968 | |||
Recorded | March 6 & 8, 1968 | |||
Studio | A&R Studios, New York | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:32 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati | |||
Producer(s) | The Rascals | |||
The Rascals singles chronology | ||||
|
"A Beautiful Morning" is a song written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati and recorded by the Rascals. Coming out in early 1968, it was the group's first track released after shortening their name from the Young Rascals. The single was one of the earliest released in stereo, as 7-inch singles generally were in mono. [3] Together with the Doors "Hello, I Love You", it's credited with changing the industry standard of singles. [4]
The song continued the theme of carefree optimism that had distinguished the previous year's "Groovin'". It was written one morning in Honolulu, Hawaii when the band was invited to perform there by promoter Tom Moffatt. It became a big hit in the United States, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and also reaching number 36 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. [5] It was RIAA-certified as a Million Seller on June 28, 1968. The first album on which the song appeared was Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits .
Renée Geyer covered the song on her album Dedicated (2007).
The song is featured in a Scrubs episode, at the start of a season 6 episode with Zach Braff, who plays J.D., dancing to it. It was also featured at the end of a second-season episode of The Greatest American Hero , in which Ralph had to disarm a nuclear missile. It was also featured in the movie Kingpin immediately following the scene that shows how Roy got his rubber hand.
The song was featured during the 1969 college graduation scene in The First Wives Club . It was also used in the 1993 movie A Bronx Tale opening the racetrack scene, as well as on Arrow at the end of the eighteenth episode of the fifth season, titled "Disbanded". [11]
The song was also featured in season 3 episode 14 and season 5 episode 1 of The King of Queens . Sugar Pine 7 used it in the episode of the same name from their webseries Alternative Lifestyle in 2017. The song's opening lines featured prominently in a 2002 TV commercial for the (since-recalled) pain reliever Vioxx, which opens with an idyllic clip of former Olympic champion figure skater Dorothy Hamill, skating on a pond amid bright sunshine.
It was also used with a cover in Bounce fabric softener ad campaign in the 1990's.
The song was used in a documentary of football club AFC Ajax about their 5-1 win over Liverpool F.C. in 1966.
"Time of the Season" is a song by the British rock band the Zombies, featured on their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in September 1967. Over a year after its original release, the track became a surprise hit in the United States, rising to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Cashbox chart. It has become one of the Zombies' most popular and recognizable songs, and an iconic hit of 1960s psychedelia.
"Angel of the Morning" is a popular song written by Chip Taylor, originally recorded by Evie Sands but which first charted with a version by Merrilee Rush. The song has been covered by many artists including Chrissie Hynde, Dusty Springfield, P. P. Arnold, Connie Eaton, Mary Mason, Guys 'n' Dolls, Melba Montgomery, Olivia Newton-John and most recognizably by Juice Newton.
"Since I Don't Have You" is a song written and composed by Jackie Taylor, James Beaumont, Janet Vogel, Joseph Rock, Joe Verscharen, Lennie Martin, and Wally Lester. It was first a 1958 hit single for the doo-wop group the Skyliners on the Billboard Hot 100. Country music singer Ronnie Milsap had a hit with the song in 1991. American hard rock band Guns N' Roses also had some success in 1994 with their version of the song which reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart.
"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" is a hit single recorded by Jimmy Ruffin and released on Motown Records' Soul label in the summer of 1966. It is a ballad, with lead singer Jimmy Ruffin recalling the pain that befalls the broken-hearted who had love that's now departed. The song essentially deals with the struggle to overcome sadness while seeking a new relationship after a breakup.
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature song. Between 1970 and 1975, it was a top-40 hit three separate times for three separate artists: Lenny Welch, The Partridge Family and Sedaka's second version.
"Hello, I Love You" is a song recorded by American rock band the Doors for their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun. Elektra Records released it as a single that same year, which topped the charts in the U.S. and Canada. Although the Doors are credited as the songwriters, songs by other artists have been identified as likely sources.
"Sideshow" is a song recorded by American R&B soul vocal quintet Blue Magic, released in 1974. It was first released on the album Blue Magic and when issued as a single it sold over a million copies, going to No.1 R&B in April 1974 and No.8 pop in the United States in that summer. Billboard ranked it as the No.19 song for 1974. In the Canadian Year-end chart, it was No.77.
"Stray Cat Strut" is the third single by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, released April 17, 1981 by Arista Records in the UK, where it peaked at No. 11 on the Singles Chart. It was taken from the band's 1981 debut album, Stray Cats. That same year, as an import, it peaked at No. 78 on the US Disco Top 80 chart.
"Groovin'" is a song written by the American singer songwriters Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, initially recorded by their group the Young Rascals in 1967. Cavaliere was inspired to compose the song by his girlfriend Adrienne Buccheri, whom he only got to meet every Sunday amidst heavy touring and recording. Musically, the song differs from most of band's previous output, leaving the garage rock genre for Latin American influences, such as baião. Lyrically, "Groovin'" tells the tale of a narrator spending time with his partner on a Sunday afternoon. The song was arranged and recorded at the Talentmasters Studios, New York City in March of 1967.
"People Got to Be Free" is a song released in 1968 by the Rascals, written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati and featuring a lead vocal from Cavaliere.
"Grazing in the Grass" is an instrumental composed by Philemon Hou and first recorded by the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Released in the United States as a single in 1968, it followed United States trumpeter Herb Alpert's vocal performance of "This Guy's in Love with You" to the top spot on the Hot 100 chart, ranking it as the 18th biggest hit of the year. The song also reached No. 15 Adult Contemporary. Masekela included the song in his albums Grazing in the Grass: The Best of Hugh Masekela (2001), Still Grazing (2004), and Live at the Market Theatre (2006).
"Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969.
"The Most Beautiful Girl" is a song recorded by Charlie Rich and written by Billy Sherrill, Norro Wilson, and Rory Bourke. The countrypolitan ballad reached No. 1 in the United States in 1973 on three Billboard music charts: the pop chart, the country chart, and the adult contemporary chart, as well as in Canada on three RPM charts: the RPM 100 Top Singles chart, the Country Tracks chart, and the Adult Contemporary chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 23 song for 1974.
"Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me" is a hit song by country and pop singer-songwriter Mac Davis. From his breakthrough album of the same name, the song reached No.1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts in September 1972, spending three weeks atop each chart. Billboard ranked it as the No.8 song of 1972. Davis wrote it when the record company demanded he write a tune with a "hook".
"She's a Lady" is a song written by Paul Anka and released on his album Paul Anka '70s. The most successful recording was performed by Tom Jones and released at the beginning of 1971. It is Jones's highest-charting single in the U.S..
"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk. It was first released in 1962 by Don Cherry, as a country song and again as a doo-wop in 1967 by the group The Casinos on its album of the same name, and was a number 6 pop hit that year. The song has since been covered by Eddy Arnold, whose version was a number 1 country hit in 1968, and by Neal McCoy, whose version became a Top 5 country hit in 1996.
"All I Know" is a song written by American songwriter Jimmy Webb, first recorded by Art Garfunkel on his 1973 debut solo album, Angel Clare, released by Columbia Records. Instrumental backing was provided by members of the Wrecking Crew, L.A. session musicians. Garfunkel's version is the best known and highest-charting version, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Easy Listening chart for four weeks in October 1973. Garfunkel's version begins with a solo piano, before he begins to sing. When the orchestration is beginning to fade out, the solo piano takes over, playing melodic passages to the song's end.
"Morning Side of the Mountain" is a song written by Larry Stock and Dick Manning and first recorded in 1951 by Tommy Edwards. It settled at #24 on the pop chart. Edwards re-recorded it in 1959, reaching #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The re-release was featured as the B-side of Edwards' other hit, a cover of Johnnie Ray's 1952 success, "Please Mr. Sun."
"Little Arrows" is a single by English artist Leapy Lee. Released in 1968, it was the first single from his album Little Arrows. Written by Albert Hammond & Mike Hazlewood.
"Me and My Arrow" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson for his 1970 album The Point! It was also released as a single in 1971, reaching number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
One of the Rascals' most lovely and timeless creations, "A Beautiful Morning" neatly encapsulated the group's R&B roots
In the end, it's nothing short of one of the finest pop creations of the late '60s.