Hailing from Detroit, Rare Earth were a band inspired by the Motor City's twin legacies in hard rock and soul. Their biggest hits saw them covering classic Motown songs of the past, while their sound found a middle ground between full-bodied rhythm & blues and tough bar band rock & roll. This dichotomy was reinforced by the fact they were the only white act signed to the Motown Records organization that regularly achieved chart success, and their tight musicianship found room for them to transform their songs through extended jams, with their biggest hit, "Get Ready," often clocking in at 30 minutes in concert. 1969's Get Ready was their most successful album and defined their approach, 1973's Ma was written and produced by one of Motown's greatest behind-the-scenes figures, Norman Whitfield, and 1978's Grand Slam took their music into the funk and disco era. Rare Earth originated in a band called the Sunliners, who were formed in the Detroit area in 1960. The original lineup of the group included Pete Rivera (aka Peter Hoorelbeke) on drums and lead vocals, Rod Richards on guitar and vocals, John Persh on bass, trombone, and vocals, Gil Bridges on sax, flute, and vocals, and Kenny James on keyboards. The band spent years playing club dates in and around Detroit, not attracting much notice but slowly honing their skills. In 1968, they decided that they needed to revamp their image and changed their name to the hipper-sounding Rare Earth. They attracted more attention under their new banner, and Verve Records signed them to a record deal. Motown session guitarist Dennis Coffey helped produce and arrange their debut album, 1968's Dreams/Answers, although it didn't find an audience and Rare Earth were quickly dropped, but the album made it possible to explore more of the country on tour, and their cover of the Temptations' hit "Get Ready," which was recorded on Dreams/Answers, became an extended, show-closing jam that would sometimes stretch out to half-an-hour. Meanwhile, Motown Records, far and away Detroit's most successful label, enjoyed tremendous success with their soul and R&B classics, but the company had little luck breaking into rock & roll, which was dominated by white acts. Motown founder Berry Gordy decided to create a subsidiary label devoted to rock bands, and was looking for a band to launch the new venture. Rare Earth's sound, which straddled rock and R&B styles, appealed to him and he signed them; when he asked the group to help brainstorm a name for the new label, they jokingly suggested calling it Rare Earth, and Gordy took them up on the suggestion. Rare Earth's second album, Get Ready, appeared in September 1969, with their extended version of "Get Ready" filling all of side two. Initial sales were slow, but when an edited version of "Get Ready" was serviced to radio, it rose to number four on the singles chart in early 1970, boosting sales of the album, which would eventually go platinum. Rare Earth's third album slipped out before they could record a proper follow-up; they had performed the musical score for a generation-gap comedy/drama called Generation (it would soon be re-titled A Time for Giving), and Rare Earth issued the soundtrack at the tail-end of 1969. When the film flopped at the box office, the LP was soon deleted from their catalog. By that time, the group had expanded to a six-piece with the addition of percussionist Eddie Guzman. Album number four, Ecology, arrived in stores in June 1970, and produced another hit single, a cover of "(I Know) I'm Losing You," while "Born to Wander" racked up significant airplay in the Midwest. The LP introduced further lineup changes; Rod Richards and Kenny James left, and Ray Monette took over as guitarist, while Mark Olson was recruited to play keyboards. 1971's One World produced another hit single with "I Just Want to Celebrate," which cracked the Top Ten, peaking at number seven. The band rounded out 1971 with the release of Rare Earth in Concert, a live album that included most of their hits while also demonstrating their knack for extended soloing. The 1972 album Willie Remembers introduced a new bassist, Mike Urso, as well as a change in approach. Rare Earth's previous albums had been dominated by covers, and all of their hits had been written by tunesmiths outside the band, but for Willie Remembers, they opted to record only original material for the first time. (The group had also relocated to California after Motown moved its offices from Detroit to the West Coast.) While One World had risen to 28 on the LP charts, Willie Remembers staggered to 90 before losing its momentum. 1973's Ma represented an about-face for the group and their patrons at Motown; the sessions were produced by Norman Whitfield, known for his work with the Temptations, and Whitfield wrote all five tracks, two in tandem with Barrett Strong. The album fared better commercially but produced no hits, and Pete Rivera, Michael Urso, and Mark Olson all walked away from Rare Earth. With Jerry La Croix on lead vocals, Reggie McBride on bass, Gabriel Katona on keyboards, Paul Warren on rhythm guitar, and Barry Frost on drums joining Gil Bridges, Ray Monette, and Eddie Guzman, Rare Earth soldiered on to record 1975's Back to Earth, which was moderately successful on the charts. Norman Whitfield returned as producer and primary songwriter for 1976's Midnight Lady, by which time Paul Warren had dropped out of the group. The album failed the chart, and was their last for the Rare Earth label. However, Barney Ales, a former Motown executive who had worked with the group, returned to the company to head their Prodigal imprint, and he took on the band. Ales was keen on reuniting the lineup that recorded Willie Remembers and Ma, but Ray Monette and Mark Olson opted not to participate, and Rivera, Bridges, Urso, and Guzman were joined by session players Dan Ferguson (guitar) and Ron Fransen (keyboards) to record 1977's Rarearth. Monette and Olson returned to the fold for 1978's Grand Slam, which added disco and funk flavors to their formula. The sessions generated enough material that a second album appeared later the same year, Band Together. After the poor commercial reception accorded Grand Slam and Band Together, Prodigal cut ties with Rare Earth, and for the first time since 1969, the band was not affiliated with the Motown organization. It would be four years before Rare Earth would release another album, and 1982's Tight and Hot (which featured the same lineup as Grand Slam and Band Together) was issued only in Canada. From this point forward, a variety of musicians floated in and out of Rare Earth, who continued to perform regularly even if they rarely recorded, and from 1981 to 2004, Gil Bridges and Ray Monette were the sole constants in their membership. In 1993, the group issued Different World through Koch International, and a self-released, self-titled disc came out in 2005. In 2004, Ray Monette would drop out of the band, and didn't appear on their 2008 album A Brand New World. However, he would rejoin in 2009, and continued to tour with them until 2017. The final original member of Rare Earth left the lineup with the death of Gil Bridges in Detroit on December 8, 2021; he succumbed to complications of COVID-19 at the age of 80. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rare Earth

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