Motown Records is widely known as the premier record label for R&B and Soul acts of the 1960s and 1970s. The artist lineup for Motown includes Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye and countless other famous acts. Unknown to many, Motown also branched out to genres other than soul with several other subsidiaries. Perhaps the most interesting subsidiary label of Motown was Rare Earth Records – started in 1969 and named after one of their first acts. In 1969, the label began releasing records by white rock groups. In 1970, the label released Rare Earth’s cover of the Temptation’s “Get Ready” – which was originally written and produced by Smokey Robinson. Although the song was only a minor success for the Temptations in 1966 (peaking at #29), the Rare Earth version became a massive hit reaching #4 on the Billboard 100. From 1969 – 1976, the Rare Earth label released a plethora of albums by rock acts – most of which remained obscure. However, there were some notable acts that released albums over the label’s history. Below is a list of the artists and albums on the Rare Earth imprint.
Rare Earth – Get Ready (1969); Ecology (1970); Generation Soundtrack (unissued) (1970); One World (1971); Rare Earth in Concert (1971); Willie Remembers (1972); Ma (1973); Rare Earth Live in Chicago (1974); Back to Earth (1975); Midnight Lady (1976)
Love Sculpture – Blues Helping (1969);
Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow (1969); Parachute (1970); Real Pretty (1976)
Rustix – Bedlam (1969); Come on People (1970)
The Messengers – The Messengers (1969)
Toe Fat – Toe Fat (1970); Toe Fat Two (1971)
Sounds Nice – Love at First Sight (1970)
Power of Zeus – The Gospel According to Zeus (1970)
Lost Nation – Paradise Lost (1970)
Poor Boys – Ain’t Nothin’ in Our Pocket But Love (1970)
