The group was originally called the U-Men[2] and played most of their gigs in the Rockaways (Peyton Place & McNultys) and Long Island (The Attic, Tiger's Tail etc.)
By the fall of 1966 the composition of the band had changed with Peppi's brother Micky on guitar, Denny Ryan on drums, Teddy H. on rhythm & singing, and Art Fahie (aka/ Crazy Artie) on bass.
The introduction of the "Rats" to Long Island's northshore took place at a club called the "Knotty Knee", whose owners Jack Dowd & Al Cunningham trusted the group to fill the venue seven nights per week.
The Good Rats continued to build a following, playing Long Island's thriving club scene, along with other groups, such as Twisted Sister and Zebra.
Various songs from this record, including "Injun Joe", "Papa Poppa", "Back to My Music" and "Songwriter", and the blues title track, received airplay around the country on FM radio.
During the following years, the Rats performed at venues such as Madison Square Garden, The Philadelphia Spectrum, The Nassau Coliseum, The Hammersmith Odeon in England, and New York's Central Park, as well as showcase rooms such as The Bottom Line (Manhattan), My Father's Place (Roslyn, New York), Whiskey a Go Go (Los Angeles), Casino Arena (Asbury Park, NJ) and The Paradise Room (Boston).
In 1981, Gatto and Kotke left the band, and were replaced by future Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick and bass player Schuyler Deale (who later played with Billy Joel and Michael Bolton), for the album Great American Music.
This band featured Gene on guitar and lead vocals, drummer John Miceli (Meat Loaf, Rainbow, and bassist Nick DiMichino (NineDays [Something To Listen To, Monday Songs, Three, The Madding Crowd, So Happily Unsatisfied, Flying the Corporate Jet]), (Matt White [Best Days]).
Billed as "The Original Good Rats" Peppi was joined by Mickey, Kotke, Franco, and Gatto on October 4, 2008, in a small venue on Long Island, and for a pair of sold-out shows at B.B.
Nevertheless, The Good Rats, featuring Peppi and Stefan Marchello continued playing weekend club dates around Long Island.
[7] In Magnolia Pictures 2011 release Roadie,[8] the character Nikki pulls out Ratcity in Blue from Jimmy's vinyl record collection and they listen to a couple of tracks starting with "Advertisement in the Voice".