Young Rascals – "How Can I Be Sure?" (1967)

How can I be sure

In a world that’s constantly changing?

That’s an easy question to answer: you can’t be sure of anything that really matters.

If you think I’m wrong, please identify even one significant aspect of your life that you can feel absolutely certain about.

Are you sure when it comes to your health?  Of course not.  You could drop dead tomorrow – or find yourself suddenly struck dumb, deaf, blind, or immobile.  (That’s true and you know it – but you refuse to acknowledge that truth, and so do I . . . probably because doing so would paralyze us.)

Are you sure when it comes to your relationship with your significant other?  HAH!  

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Here are the lines from “How Can I Be Sure?” that immediately follow the lines that are quoted at the beginning of this post:

How can I be sure

Where I stand with you? 

Can you truly be sure where you stand with anyone?  

I think you know where you stand with your dog.  And I think you know where you stand with your grandparents.

You may know where you stand with your parents most of the time.  But you always know where you stand with your grandparents.

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You probably know that the Young Rascals eventually changed their name to simply the Rascals.

But did you know that they called themselves the Rascals before they became the Young Rascals?

After the Rascals became the first white group to sign with Atlantic Records in 1965, their management decided to rename them the Young Rascals after receiving complaints from the Harmonica Rascals.

You may have never heard of the Harmonica Rascals, but they were a very big deal in the thirties and forties.  Click here to read more about the Harmonica Rascals.

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“How Can I Be Sure?” is a truly remarkable song.  

Felix Cavaliere (who co-wrote the song with fellow Rascal Eddie Brigati) said that the group felt comfortable doing a traditional pop-style song like “How Can I Be Sure?” only because the Beatles had done “Michelle” and “Yesterday.”

I think “Michelle” and “Yesterday” are two of the Beatles’ worst records – Paul McCartney wrote a lot of bad songs, and these two are high on that list.

“How Can I Be Sure?” is something completely different.  It has a slight resemblance to a Burt Bacharach song – if Burt Bacharach was French.

I feel a little girly admitting much I like “How Can I Be Sure?” but it’s time for me to come clean about that.  (Like the Gaspard Ulliel character in the famous Martin Scorsese-directed Chanel Bleu commercial, “I’m not going to be the person I’m expected to be any more.”)

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Click here to listen to “How Can I Be Sure?” – which is hereby proclaimed to be a member of the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME. 

Click here to buy the record from Amazon.