Felix Cavaliere

Felix Cavaliere, born November 29, 1942, in Pelham, New York, is an American musician, composer, and Broadway performer best known as the co-lead vocalist and Hammond B-3 organ player for The Young Rascals. Of Italian-American heritage, Cavaliere began studying piano at age six at the Allaire School of Music, continuing until his mother's death when he was fourteen. He enrolled at Syracuse University in the early 1960s as a pre-med student, performing at campus social events with a group called The Escorts. Before completing his degree, he left Syracuse during his junior year to take a position as a musician at a Borscht Belt resort in the Catskills. While at Syracuse, he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity alongside poet and songwriter Stephen Kalinich.

Cavaliere's professional career began with stints in The Stereos and The Escorts before he joined Joey Dee and the Starliters, the group behind the hit "Peppermint Twist." Between 1965 and 1972, he served as keyboardist and vocalist for The Young Rascals and The Rascals, alongside Eddie Brigati, Dino Danelli, and Gene Cornish. During that period, the band achieved three number-one singles on the US charts, with Cavaliere providing lead vocals on six of their successful recordings. Following the group's dissolution, he pursued solo work and also recorded under the band name Treasure, releasing a self-titled album in 1977 that featured future Kiss member Vinnie Vincent on guitar. His solo single "Only a Lonely Heart Sees" reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1980.

Beyond his own recordings, Cavaliere worked as a producer for other artists, including Laura Nyro and Jimmie Spheeris. In 1982, he and former Rascals drummer Dino Danelli participated in the recording of Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul's album Men Without Women, though Cavaliere disputes having been a formal member of that band. He recorded the album Dreams in Motion in 1994, produced by Don Was, and in 1995 joined Ringo Starr's third All-Starr Band as a touring member. In 1997, he appeared in the official video for Billy Joel's cover of "Hey Girl," though he was not a performer on the studio recording itself. In 2008, he collaborated with guitarist Steve Cropper on the album Nudge it Up a Notch, released July 29 of that year.

A full Rascals reunion took place on April 24, 2010, when all four original members gathered for the Kristen Ann Carr benefit at Tribeca Grill in New York City. The group reunited again for six performances at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York, in December 2012. That reunion extended to Broadway, where the Rascals performed fifteen dates at the Richard Rodgers Theatre from April 15 through May 5, 2013, in a production titled Once Upon a Dream — the credit that marks Cavaliere's Broadway appearance. The production was created by Steven Van Zandt and his wife Maureen, both longtime fans of the band, and subsequently toured North American cities including Toronto, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago, Detroit, and Rochester. Cavaliere appeared with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden on May 28, 2015, and served as a television spokesperson for the Time Life The 60s Music CD collection in 2017 and 2018.

Cavaliere has received numerous honors throughout his career. In 1993, he was inducted into the Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Fame. He and the Young Rascals entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. On June 18, 2009, Cavaliere and former bandmate Eddie Brigati were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Hammond Hall of Fame in 2014 and into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019. On October 15, 2006, he inducted Vanilla Fudge into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Cavaliere was married to Mary Theresa Thompson for thirty years, with whom he has three daughters, including Nashville-based singer Aria Cavaliere, and four grandchildren. He currently resides in Nashville with his wife Donna Lewis.