The term ‘super group’ seems to be thrown around with impunity these days. But it’s not out of line to use the term when describing the agglomeration of rock and roll luminaries that comprise the newly-minted Platinum Rock All Stars.
A veritable who’s who of classic rock for the past five decades, the band brings together artists who have sold more than 150 million collectively through their various projects, and who have been parts of some of the most important, successful and popular bands to ever ascend a stage.
The Platinum Rock All Stars are coming to Toronto for a special show at The Rockpile, on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Let’s run down the roster of incredible musicians who will be appearing that night: behind the drum kit will be the incomparable Carmine Appice. One of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music, Appice has played with the likes of Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Ozzy Osbourne and Rod Stewart. Joining him in the rhythm section is bassist Rudy Sarzo, best known for his time with Quiet Riot during their epic ascent to the heights of rock stardom; he has also been a part of Whitesnake and Blue Oyster Cult among other projects.
Keyboard duties are being taken care of by British rock veteran Geoff Downes, a founding member of both The Buggles (Video Killed The Radio Star) and Asia, he is currently in his second stint with progressive rock legends Yes. The versatile Phil Naro is the band’s vocalist. The Rochester, NY native has worked with a number of impressive rock artists including Billy Sheehan’s Talas, the Peter Criss Army, Queen’s Brian May and Julian Lennon.
Finally, the axe slinging duo is one for the ages, as former Guns N Roses guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal will be joined by The Rascals co-founder, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gene Cornish.
The most senior member of the group at 72, the Ottawa-born Cornish explained that the idea for the Platinum Rock All Stars came from his manager Bruce Pilato, who also has professional relationships with many of the other artists involved in the project.
“He inducted me into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame [in 2012] and we became friends after that. When The Rascals ended our reunion tour three years ago, we agreed that he would represent me and he came up with this idea as one way to showcase me. He got Geoff Downes and Carmine Appice, Rudy Sarzo, Bumblefoot and my friend Phil Naro. I tell you we have one hell of a repertoire of hits to play,” said Cornish from his home in New Jersey, a few minutes’ drive from the heart of New York City.
“I don’t know all the guys, but I have known Carmine since 1967 when he was in Vanilla Fudge and I have known Phil for about three years and I must tell you that Phil Naro is one of the most agreeable people I have ever met in my life. He’s hard working, open minded, a talented writer and singer – he is such a joy to work with.”
The set list for the Platinum Rock All Stars will consist of hit songs from the members’ pedigrees. With Cornish being part of the hit-making Rascals, there were a lot of songs to choose from. So at the Toronto concert, fans will get to see People Got to Be Free, Good Lovin’, Groovin’, How Can I Be Sure? and You Gotta Run.
The Rascals were formed in 1965 and within a year, they already had a chart-topping hit single Good Lovin’ and were on the road to superstardom [initially billing themselves as The Young Rascals until 1968.] Besides the aforementioned hits, other classic Rascals songs included A Girl Like You, A Beautiful Morning, and It’s Wonderful.
For Cornish, it all started in Ottawa, where he was born in 1944 – a decade before rock and roll would take over the mainstream music industry.
“I had a ukulele at nine years old and by 11 the first song I ever learned was Guy Mitchell’s Singing the Blues. And that’s a funny story because one of my dearest friends is Tommy James of the Shondells [Crimson and Clover] and it was also the first song he ever learned, and it was also on an Arthur Godfrey model ukulele,” Cornish said.
“And then I remember seeing Elvis Presley’s first television appearance in 1955 on the Dorsey Brothers Variety Show in the middle of winter. I saw this guy with sideburns and a guitar player, a bass player and drummer and Elvis played rhythm guitar as he sang Heartbreak Hotel. I was mesmerized. So I started playing stuff like that. My first band was called The Satellites because in 1957 the Russians sent up the first satellite into space, the Sputnik. And then around that time I saw the Everly Brothers live and that was it. I told my mom that I would dedicate my life to this endeavour of making and playing music.
“So for a while I was very big into Duane Eddy and James Burton, who played with Ricky Nelson, as well as Scottie Moore, who was Elvis’ guitar played, not to mention the Everly Brothers and Little Richard. But when the Beatles came out, they rewrote the rules. Now guitar players could come to the front and didn’t stand behind the singer. It changed the whole game because here was a band that was writing all their own songs and having massive success. I wrote a song in 1964 called I Want to be a Beatle and put it out as a single. It was very big in Puerto Rico. We were the first non-Hispanic band to really play there.”
While Cornish and his then band became stars in Puerto Rico, reality hit when they returned to the highly-competitive and fickle New York scene. His band broke up and he was asked to join a group call Joey Dee and the Starliters who secured a semi-regular gig at the popular Peppermint Lounge. Also in that band was another musician named David Brigati. When that band broke up, a new group of Starliters was proposed, this one with David’s brother Eddie Brigati on vocals, a remarkably gifted Hammond B3 players named Felix Cavaliere, who would also sing and became a tremendous songwriter, and drumming sensation Dino Danelli.
The new band soon became known as The Young Rascals and signed to prestigious Atlantic Records in 1965.
“The success was real quick. The band was so special and I am humble to be able to brag about that band because we were actually pretty different to most of the other bands. We had a B3 organ player as our singer, who was a white guy with an incredible Soul voice. We had Eddie who was another soulful singer and we had this phenomenal drummer in Dino, and between the three of them I had to run my ass off just to keep up with them,” Cornish said.
“It was the first time I was in a band where I wasn’t the leader and having to drag guys up to my level. There was no leader in The Rascals, it was four individuals. It was one for all and all for one. Most other bands were followers and doing a lot of covers and wanting to be the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. When I came to New York I was exposed to really hard-core rhythm and blues which I had never heard in Rochester. And the music that was played in the clubs was very groovy and very funky. I absorbed that like a sponge. And I learned so much from Dino and Felix about music, about learning how to play behind the beat – if you want to have that black R&B feel you have to play just behind the beat. Dino picked that up in New Orleans when he was a young man.
“And when we did do covers we really changed them around. We would do Supremes songs and some Beatles stuff and slow them down and make them R&B. We were always looking at Billboard and Cashbox magazines every week at what the ‘bubbling under’ R&B records were, because at that time, unfortunately, black R&B acts were not getting much radio airplay. But they were magnificent records and we knew that we could do them. That’s how we found Good Lovin’ which was done originally by The Olympics.”
The Rascals released nine studio albums between March 1966 and 1972, with their final two albums being released on Columbia Records, without featuring all four original members as Brigati left in 1970 and Cornish a year later. Overall, they had nine top-10 singles, 13 in the Top-40, including three number ones in the U.S. (Good Lovin’, Groovin’ and People Got to be Free).
Canada proved to be an even more fertile market, as the band had six number one singles, with A Girl Like You, How Can I Be Sure and A Beautiful Morning joining the three American chart toppers.
“You have to remember, it was a very competitive time, so to have hit records was a real achievement. We were all very young and had all this energy. Fortunately we had all these great songs written by Felix and Eddie and we were in a zone for a few years. And we produced them ourselves, so it was a joint effort in everything we did. It was interesting that we made 17 hit singles and had eight gold and platinum albums and the record company actually thought we were lazy. So, yeah, it was intense and competitive,” Cornish said.
“When you had a record that you were blessed with having go up the charts, you had to have the next one ready because the momentum could die immediately. And you look at what we were up against during those years. You had the Mamas and the Papas, the Beatles, the Stones, The Who, Dave Clark Five, Herman’s Hermits and then you had the whole Motown thing with them putting out tons of records. And in California you had The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Loving Spoonful and The Doors. Basically all of these artists and others were making hit records.”
Cornish credits a lot of his success to the support he received from his mom Ada, a former professional singer, and his step-dad Ted Cornish, whom he refers to as his father.
“Before my mother was married she went to New York and she sang with Woody Herman’s band and she also filled in for Harriet Nelson sometimes in Ozzie Nelson’s orchestra. And then she became a Rockette but when the Second World War broke out, she went back to Ottawa and got married. My biological father kind of deserted us but then she met the man I consider my dad,” Cornish said.
“They were both so supportive. The family ran a very blue collar sporting goods store. We sold fishing bait and tackle, ammo for guns for hunting. We never wanted for anything but we also never had extra. My mom and father made sure that I had a good guitar and a good amplifier and in those days the musicians all wore fancy suits or tuxedos, so they got me one of those and also used to drive me to a lot of gigs.
“My dad is my hero. He passed away in 1973 at age 59 unfortunately from complications after an operation. But I had him for 25 years and I am very grateful for that. My mother taught me how to dress and carry myself and my dad gave me the work ethic. I learned how to be a band leader by the time I was 13 years old.”
And all the hard work paid off. Cornish never stopped writing and playing music after the Rascals folded in 1972. Not long thereafter he began producing music for other acts. He and Danelli produced the first live album from Canadian rockers April Wine in 1974 and a year later the massively popular Stand Back album for the group (which features the songs Oowatanite, I Wouldn’t Want to Lose Your Love and Tonight is a Wonderful Time To Fall in Love).
A short-lived Rascals reunion happened in 1988 without Brigati, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. A special reunion concert for a fundraiser in 2010 saw all four members on stage performing for the first time since 1970, and led to their 2012-2013 full scale reunion tour where, once again, Canada seemed to be in thrall with The Rascals.
“On that tour we did see a lot of our loyal, long-standing fans coming out, but also the younger generations were coming out too because so many of our songs have been used in television commercials and movies. And I was honestly surprised at how popular we were in Canada on that tour. We sold out 10 shows at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto for David Mirvish,” he said.
“So I am really excited to be returning to Toronto with the Platinum Rock All Stars. It’s going to be quite a show.”
Indeed!
For more information on Cornish, visit http://www.genecornish.com.
For information about the Platinum Rock All Stars and their show at The Rockpile on Oct. 19, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1795726327372531.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com
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