Cornish,Gene & The Unbeatables Live At Palisades Amusement Park CD

It is rare that we have an opportunity to look back at a great artist's roots to find out where he has come from and relate that to where he has gone in his career. In that spirit, we are proud to present the only album ever released by Gene Cornish and The Unbeatables. This very special reissue serves as a snapshot of a very important period in rock history. The boys were just cutting their chops in the face of the British invasion and the influences of the day can be heard throughout. Originally released on the Dawn label, it was soon discovered that there was another label of the same name and the group had to change the name of their label quickly to Fawn Records. Of course, Cornish went on to become a founding member of The Young Rascals (later The Rascals) with Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati and Dino Danelli. Their monumental work was honored with an induction into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. These special tracks have been preserved and digitally remastered for your listening pleasure. Here's some added history to shed more light on these historic recordings... Gene Cornish is a true rock 'n' roll pioneer. Originally from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Gene moved to New York City from Rochester, NY with his highly skilled interracial 4-piece band, The Unbeatables, who were making a little noise with their novelty single, "I Wanna Be A BeatIe." If not for The Unbeatables, The Young Rascals may have never existed. In Gene's own words: "I came to New York with my group The Unbeatables and we played The Peppermint Lounge, which was a club that Joey (of Joey Dee & The Starliters) made famous three years earlier. When his band broke up, Joey was putting another band together and my group had broken up. But I wasn't going back to upstate New York. And he offered me a job with his comeback band. It didn't have any of the original members. Felix (Felix Cavaliere) joined. He had played with Joey before. The Beatles had opened for them. Joey had hit records. The Beatles didn't have hit records yet. So, when Joey was forming this new band, Felix was in town to go for his army physical, which he luckily failed. So he joined. Eddie (Brigati) who replaced his brother David, who was an original Starliter. And myself. After about six weeks, we were playing with Joey, we didn't tend to get paid, for some unknown reason. So Felix said, 'Forget this.' And he suggested that we start a band ourselves. He knew this drummer, Dino Danelli. And the first rehearsal we had, we learned 26 songs. So the magic was there from day one." That, in a nutshell, is how the Young Rascals came to be. We all know the rest of the story: The Young Rascals grew to be one of the most popular rock 'n' roll bands of all time, with Gene Cornish being a key lynchpin in their formation and their unique soulful sound. Which brings us to the album at hand. Outside of two 45 RPM singles, these are the only known recordings of Gene Cornish and the Unbeatables. From Billboard magazine, April 8, 1964: "Gene Cornish and the Unbeatables, a new group from Rochester, made their New York debut last week via a series of in-person dates. The group was introduced to the New Yorkers via a party at Hotel Edison on April 3. Hal Jackson of WWRL was emcee and the group entertained. The event was taped for broadcast over WWRL the following night. On Saturday the 4th, the group performed in Connie's Ballroom for over 4, 000 persons, and on Sunday they were the featured attraction at Palisades Amusement Park where they appeared before more than 20, 000 people." From the original liner notes: "Palisades Amusement Park, acclaimed for more than 175 thrilling rides and attractions, is equally famous as a showcase of America's top recording stars. This album was likely cut "live" in a studio setting, recreating the band's set at Palisades Park. Regardless of the facts, these are indeed historic recordings of a historic band at a historic time in rock 'n' roll history. .