The political climate of the time helped fuel the songwriting efforts for '' Freedom Suite '' ; most notably , " People Got to Be Free " was inspired by the April 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King , Jr. , and " A Ray of Hope " by the June 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy ( the latter song 's figurative " ray of hope " is surviving Kennedy brother Edward Kennedy ) . Cavaliere was quoted in '' Billboard '' magazine , remarking " After King and Kennedy and what happened in Chicago ( i.e. , the demonstrations and resulting police actions at the 1968 Democratic National Convention ) , we just had to say something . " Prior to this album , the Rascals ' primary vocalists Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati co-authored most of the band 's original songs . On '' Freedom Suite '' , however , that trend began to change , with Cavaliere credited as sole author of four of the album 's vocal tracks . Brigati 's songwriting and vocal contributions would continue to decline on subsequent albums
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
Freedom Suite (The Rascals album)