Felix Cavaliere

Cavaliere was born to an Italian American family in 1942. At an early age, he studied piano at his mother's behest from age 6 until her death when he was 14.[4] He joined The Stereos, and moved on to form The Escorts, while attending college. He later produced albums by other artists[5] such as Laura Nyro and Jimmie Spheeris.

Following a pair of solo efforts, Cavaliere recorded under the band name Treasure and released a self-titled AOR-styled album in 1977 which featured future Kiss member Vinnie Vincent on guitar. Cavaliere had a solo hit with "Only a Lonely Heart Sees" (1980), which reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[6] Cavaliere and former Rascals bandmate Dino Danelli joined Steve Van Zandt to record Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul's album, Men Without Women (1982).[7] However, Cavaliere strongly disputes this and claims that he was never a member of Little Steven's band.[8]

He recorded Dreams in Motion in 1994, produced by Don Was. During 1995, Cavaliere was a touring member of Ringo Starr's third All-Starr Band. Cavaliere can be seen playing keyboard in the official video for "Hey Girl" by Billy Joel, a cover version of the Carole King song, recorded by Billy Joel in 1997 to add to his Greatest Hits Volume III compilation. The track was released as a single, but Cavaliere was not playing on the recording.

On October 15, 2006, he inducted Vanilla Fudge into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, he recorded an album with Steve Cropper, Nudge it Up a Notch, which was released July 29, 2008. He continues to tour as Felix Cavaliere's Rascals, and on June 18, 2009, Cavaliere, along with former writing partner Eddie Brigati, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. On April 24, 2010, all four members of the Rascals reunited for the Kristen Ann Carr benefit, which was held at New York's Tribeca Grill.

Cavaliere recently reunited with his bandmates. The Rascals appeared at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY for six shows in December 2012 and for fifteen dates at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway (April 15 – May 5, 2013). Their current production, entitled "Once Upon A Dream", is currently touring North America (Toronto, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago, Detroit, Rochester, and New York City). It is produced by long-time Rascals' fans Steven Van Zandt and his wife Maureen.

In 2014, Cavaliere was inducted into the Hammond Hall of Fame.[9]

He appeared with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden on May 28, 2015.

In 2017 and 2018, Cavaliere was a spokesperson in a television infomercial for the Time Life The 60s music CD collection.

Cavaliere was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019.

Cavaliere was married to Mary Theresa (Thompson) Cavaliere for approximately 30 years and had three daughters with her. He also has four grandchildren.[10] He lives in Nashville, TN, with his current wife Donna Lewis.[11][12]

Albums

• Felix Cavaliere (Bearsville/Wounded Bird) (1974)
• Destiny (Bearsville/Wounded Bird) (1975)
• Treasure (Epic/Wounded Bird) (1977)
• Castles in the Air (Epic) (1979)
• Dreams in Motion (MCA) (1994)
• Nudge it up a Notch (Stax) (2008)
• Midnight Flyer (Stax) (2010)[13]

Singles

• Only A Lonely Heart Sees (1980) - #36 Billboard Hot 100, #2 Adult Contemporary[14]
• Good to Have Love Back (1980) - #105 Billboard Hot 100, #41 Adult Contemporary[15]

• Felix Cavaliere website
• The Rascals Appreciation Site
• Felix Cavaliere performing "People Got To Be Free" on YouTube
• Felix Cavaliere's Rascals