“Get Ready” (The Temptations/Rare Earth)

Today’s classic song of the day is “Get Ready,” a hit for two different Motown groups. It was initially a hit for the Temptations in 1966, then it was a hit again in 1970 by Rare Earth.

“Get Ready” was written by premiere Motown songsmith Smokey Robinson. He envisioned it as an up-tempo dance number and had the Temptations in mind to record it, which they did, on Motown’s Gordy label. With lead vocals by Eddie Kendricks, the Temptations’ version first hit the charts in December of 1965 and rose to #29 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 (and #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart) early the following year.

Towards the end of the decade, Motown started to add some white rock acts to its primarily black R&B roster. One of those acts was a band called Rare Earth, which hailed from Detroit. The band had been playing “Get Ready” in concert for a year or two and decided to make it their first release on Motown’s then-unnamed rock subsidiary. (The label was eventually named for the group, hence the group Rare Earth recording on the Rare Earth label.)

Rare Earth released their version of “Get Ready” in February of 1970. It was a smash, bigger than the Temptations’ original, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Cash Box Top 100. It also topped the charts in Canada and was Billboard’s #8 record for all of 1970.

The guys in Rare Earth first got together in 1960 as the Starliners and changed their name to Rare Earth in 1968. That same year, they recorded an album for Verve, titled Dream/Answers, that went absolutely nowhere. It did, however, get the attention of Motown executives, who signed the group; the album Get Ready and the same-named single soon followed. (Note that the album version of “Get Ready” ran 21 minutes 30 seconds and took up the entirety of side two; the single was edited down to a more compact and radio friendly 2 minutes and 46 seconds.)

Rare Earth was unusual in that the drummer, Peter Rivera (real name: Peter Hoorelbeke), also was the lead vocalist. Other members of the group in this era included Gil Bridges on sax, Rod Richards on guitar, Kenny James on keyboards, John Persh on bass, and Eddie Guzman on percussion. I caught them in concert on February 10, 1972, at the Indiana Fairgrounds Coliseum with supporting acts Don McLean and the Five Man Electrical Band. They put on a powerful, highly energetic show, the highlight of which was Rivera’s drum solo on a 20+ minute version of “Get Ready.” I still remember it more than 50 years later.

The band had a few more singles, including 1971’s “I Just Want to Celebrate” and the cover of another Temptations tune, 1970’s “(I Know) I’m Losing You.” They went through numerous personnel changes over the years; Rivera, for example, left the band in 1974, returned for another stint in 1976, then left again in 1983. There’s actually a band touring under the Rare Earth moniker today, albeit sans any original members.

And here’s your daily bonus video of the day, Peter Rivera playing his legendary “Get Ready” drum solo with Rare Earth live in concert, circa 1974. I definitely remember that double-bass set of his!