David Brigati Dies at 85
Born in Passaic and raised in Garfield, David Brigati rose to prominence singing lead on “Peppermint Twist” by Joey Dee & The Starliters. It hit #1 in 1961, knocking “The Twist,” by Chubby Checker, off the top spot. But by ’65, he quit the group, and was replaced by his younger brother Eddie. When Eddie quit the group to form his own, he took two Starliters with him—lead guitarist Gene Cornish and keyboardist Felix Cavaliere. They called themselves The Young Rascals.
David was the secret sauce of the Rascals (who dropped the Young from their name early on). He provided sumptuous harmony, arranged many of the vocals, went totally uncredited the whole time, but was unofficially known as the fifth member of the band. He went on to collaborate with Average White Band and formed a duo with his brother called Brigati. When The Rascals were inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, he was right up there with them performing those songs. He was back with the band in 2010 for a series of gigs. In 2024, he was honored at a Hackensack tribute concert.
Brigati was already a respected doo-wop vocalist before he met Joey Dee. The Hi-Fives recorded for Decca, enjoying regional hit single “Dorothy.” Dee recruited Brigati after a gig at Garfield High School after hearing his beautifully high tenor voice. He subsequently toured and recorded with Bobby Valli (brother of Frankie), Dee and Eddie Brigati. David Brigati can be seen in The Jersey Sound documentary, talking about when an unknown Jimi Hendrix played lead guitar in Joey Dee & The Starliters.