"Groovin'" is a song written by the American singer songwriters Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, initially recorded by their group the Young Rascals in 1967.

Cavaliere was inspired to compose the song by his girlfriend Adrienne Buccheri, whom he only got to meet on Sundays amidst heavy touring and recording.

Musically, the song differs from most of band's previous output, leaving the garage rock genre for Latin American influences, such as baião.

In 1966, the Young Rascals rose to commercial prominence, reaching the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in May with their cover of "Good Lovin'".

[1] Though their debut single "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" (1965), was of a similar vein, it was "Good Lovin'" that established what would be categorized as the Young Rascals musical style; a mix of garage rock and rhythm and blues that was personalized by Felix Cavaliere's blue-eyed soul vocals.

[2] The two singles following "Good Lovin'", "You Better Run" and "Come On Up" (both 1966) expanded upon this musical venture, the latter of which featured a "more aggressive sound" through Gene Cornish's fuzz guitar licks.

Their January 1967 single "I've Been Lonely Too Long" abandoned Cavaliere's organ in favor of a more piano-based sound;[5] this moved the band back into the Billboard top 20.

[1] Despite this, the band found the charting to be a commercial failure, having aimed for the single to become a top-ten hit, leading to the members wanting to revamp the group's image.

[10] The musical content of "Groovin'" was largely derived from the time Cavaliere spent working at mountain resorts in Upstate New York, where he was introduced to Latin rhythms, something that compelled him.

[9] Lyrically, "Groovin'" is the evocation of a person in love through the laid-back perspective of someone who would do nothing but spend time with his romantic partner during a Sunday afternoon.

[9][10][16] Though Atlantic Records had given the Young Rascals unlimited session time at their own Atlantic Studios, Cavaliere had requested that the session was held at Talentmasters, due to the fact that "many great R&B groups were making their singles" there;[10] he additionally remembered the studio to have been a small box, something which "didn't matter as James Brown had recorded there".

[9] The structure of "Groovin'" was according to Cavaliere "mapped out" together with Mardin right before right before they entered the studio, with the decision of cutting the drums from the song haven been taken during that moment.

[9] Cavaliere states that Mardin helped with a lot of the arrangement and production of the song, even though the Young Rascals themselves were contractually credited as the producers.

[10] The basic track of "Groovin'" was recorded by Cavaliere on vocals and piano, with Cornish on tambourine and Danelli playing a conga drum and woodblock.

[10] Following the basic track's completion, Cavaliere overdubbed vibes and Cornish guitar while the Brigati brothers added their backing vocals.

[9] With time running out in the studio, Huston used one of Talentmaster's janitors, a local musician named Michael Weinstein, to overdub the harmonica performance of the song.

[35][36] Due to the massive popularity of "Groovin'", the single was chosen to be the title track of the band's third studio album, which was released by Atlantic Records on July 31, 1967.

The review panel in Billboard magazine noted it, considering it to be an "easy-go ballad" and "smooth summertime blockbuster" that was both aptly titled and better than their previous single.

[39] Cash Box magazine held a similar sentiment, the reviewer also noting the change in genres, with them stating it to be an "easy-going, smooth, rhythmic" ballad.

[42] In a blind review for Melody Maker, disc jockey Pete Murray found "Groovin'" to be "the best record the Young Rascals have ever done", stating that it was "a great number" and that he otherwise didn't like the group's music.

[44] The lyrics were positively reviewed by the Whitstable Times, who called the song "slow" but predicted it to become the Young Rascals' first British hit.

[20] AllMusic's Lindsay Planer stated that though the song retained the "same passion that drove" their previous singles, "Groovin'" was an "easy going ballad" that evoked a "pastoral setting with the novel inclusion of bird call sound effects".

[8] Journalist Marc Myers considers "Groovin'" to be a nod to the Young Rascals Latin American fans, owing to the strong influence from baião music the single has.

[48] Cornish states that the song gave the Young Rascals some slight newfound respect amongst underground hippie movements due to the more experimental, laxed nature of it.

[49][nb 4] The Young Rascals themselves were scheduled to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show twice owing to the success of "Groovin'", performing it live on June 4 and September 10, 1967 respectively.

[56] The group's rendition of "Groovin'" is re-arranged to fit their more instrumental rock and soul-inspired sound, featuring a conventional drum kit played by Al Jackson Jr., while Donald "Duck" Dunn provides bass and Booker T. Jones mirrors the original's vocal line on the Hammond B-3 organ.

[65] The next month, the cover became a major hit in New Zealand, reaching number four on the RIANZ Singles Chart and staying in the top 20 for nine weeks.