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.