Maria Muldaur rekindles the spirit of 'Memphis Minnie' on her latest release

 

 By Ray Shasho

Maria Muldaur interview:

MEMPHIS MINNIE (Lizzie Douglas) was born in Algiers, Louisiana. At thirteen years old, she ran away to Memphis, Tennessee playing her guitar at local nightclubs. In 1929, a Columbia Records talent scout signed Minnie and her new husband Kansas Joe McCoy to a recording contract which led to their hit song “Bumble Bee.”
Minnie became an American blues icon. Not only was she a female trendsetter, but also among the first musicians to play an electric guitar. Minnie was musically engaged between the 1920’s and 1950’s, accomplishing an incredible forty-year journey in show business as a disciple for the blues, an unimaginable undertaking for a woman and a blues artist during those times. She was very popular during the early Depression years through World War II.
Minnie combined her Louisiana-country roots with Memphis-blues, which transformed into electric urban- blues and helped pave the way for artists like Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Little Walter and Jimmy Rogers.

She was an exceptional singer, songwriter and virtuoso multi-instrumentalist. One of Minnie’s co-penned classics was with husband Kansas Joe McCoy, “When the Levee Breaks” (1929), a tune re-created by countless artists over the years including Led Zeppelin. A few other legendary compositions by Memphis Minnie include, “Nothing in Rambling,” “In My Girlish Days,” “Looking the World Over,” and “Me and My Chauffer Blues.”

Memphis Minnie died at the age of 76 in 1973.

The blues are probably the most important genre in American history, and yet there are still many pioneers of the genre that are either forgotten or unknown. And besides the fabulous Bessie Smith, early blues-women are rarely discussed … until now.

MARIA MULDAUR has rekindled the spirit of a legendary blues-woman on her latest release … First Came Memphis Minnie. The album is also a milestone for Maria, it being her 40th recording in an illustrious musical career.
Maria Muldaur began her melodious journey in the early 60s performing blues, bluegrass, and Appalachian “Old Timey” music with John Sebastian, David Grisman, and Stefan Grossman, as a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band. In 1963, she became vocalist for Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band and became part of a Greenwich Village scene that included legendary songwriter Bob Dylan. Maria married guitarist, composer, and fellow jug band member Geoff Muldaur.

When the marriage ended, she began a solo career. Maria’s self-titled first album was released in 1973. The album spawned the megahit “Midnight at the Oasis” (1974 hit #6 on Billboards’ Top 100). The seductive lyrics were evenly matched by Maria’s seductive performance. Maria performed the song on The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. The song penned by music/television/ film composer David Nichterm earned the singer several Grammy nominations.

In 1974, Maria Muldaur opened concerts for Stephen Stills and The Grateful Dead, and also became a backup singer for ‘The Dead’ in the late 70s.

Maria Muldaur continues to sing, record, develop, produce, and amaze audiences by covering American Roots music. Her eclectic musical styles have included gospel, R&B, jazz, and big-band. Maria has also recorded several award-winning children’s albums. But it’s apparent that her favorite genre is the blues. The critically-acclaimed Richland Woman Blues album (2001) was nominated for a Grammy and by The Blues Foundation as Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year. Her follow-up album Sweet Lovin’ Ol’ Soul was also nominated.

In 2009, the album Maria Muldaur & Her Garden of Joy captured Maria’s 6th Grammy nomination.
In 2011, Muldaur returned to New Orleans (her “musical and spiritual home”) to record a contemporary electric blues album entitled, Steady Love. Maria calls her favorite music to perform “Bluesiana Music” … her brand of New Orleans-flavored blues, R&B, and “Swamp Funk.” Steady Love reached #1 on the Living Blues Radio Charts.

Her latest release First Came Memphis Minnie features an incredible lineup of legendary musicians including classic tracks by Phoebe Snow and Koko Taylor. Also new recordings by Bonnie Raitt, Rory Block, and Ruthie Foster … and previously released tracks that Muldaur recorded with Alvin Youngblood Hart, Del Ray, Roy Rogers, and Steve James. The recording is also produced by Maria.

The album is pure, down-home soulful blues at its finest …If you love the blues, you’ll love First Came Memphis Minnie -I’m giving it (5) stars!

Maria Muldaur will be performing live in Tampa at Skippers Smokehouse on Sunday, October 28th. Visit www.skipperssmokehouse.com or call 813-971-0666 for tickets and information.

I had the opportunity to chat with MARIA MULDAUR recently about the latest album and her incredible musical journey.
Ray Shasho: “Hi Maria, thank you for being on the call today … so where’s the band playing tonight?
Maria Muldaur: “I’m in Minnesota, drinking a nice cup of cocoa, but we can’t wait to be down in Florida.”
Ray Shasho: Yes, you’ll be here in Tampa at Skippers Smokehouse on October 28th.
Maria Muldaur: “I played there before and always remember the amazing seafood… nice kind of backyard casual atmosphere which is perfect for playing the blues and we’re looking forward to it.”
Ray Shasho: Well, the weather here in the Tampa Bay area has been consistently perfect.
Maria Muldaur: “Good! … Well tell them to hold that till we get there.”
Ray Shasho: First of all Maria, I want to say congratulations on the release of your fortieth album.
Maria Muldaur: “Thank you dear, yea, I couldn’t believe it when I counted it all up, some people think I’ve done forty three but my count said forty, so we’ll go with that.”
Ray Shasho: Would you say that your musical career has been a smooth journey?
Maria Muldaur: “I think it’s been an amazing journey and its unfolded one passion at a time, and I just followed where my passion has led me and it hasn’t stirred me wrong yet, Even though I’ve had a few huge Pop hits, but basically my career can be described as a long and adventurous odyssey through various forms of American roots. I started out falling in love with Appalachian “Old Timey” music and country blues, bluegrass, jazz, and all sorts of music and at various stages as the mood lent me, I began to explore different genres …and continuing to do that. It’s been fascinating; we have such an amazing, rich, musical heritage in this country and it’s something I never get tired of exploring.”
Ray Shasho: We are very lucky to be able to enjoy so many different styles of musical culture in America.
Maria Muldaur: “Like this fortieth album … a tribute to the late great blues artist Memphis Minnie. Except for one cut … it’s all early acoustic country blues. I travel around with my Red Hot Bluesiana Band … and “Bluesiana” is a word that I made up years ago to describe the kind of New Orleans flavored blues/R&B that we call “Swamp Funk” that we like to play.”
“I had been doing a string of albums for Stony Plains Records and three of them were nominated for Grammy’s in recent years. I got three Grammy nominations back in the days of “Midnight at the Oasis” and just in the last decade got three more Grammy nominations for a series of albums I’ve done for Stony Plains Records paying tribute to various blues legends and pioneers. And they’ve all been acoustic because the early blues were acoustic. My agent last year said, “Why don’t you do an album that reflects what you sound like live with your Bluesiana Band?” … and I thought that was an excellent idea. So I went down to New Orleans and hooked up with some of my favorite musicians down there and did an album called, Steady Love which I really loved doing, and love the songs that are on it. I’m happy to say it made it to #1 on the Living Blues Charts last year. So we’re coming to Tampa with a combination of material from the Steady Love album which is all very high-octane, high-energy, high-spirited Bluesiana music … as well as a lot of music from the Memphis Minnie album.”
Ray Shasho: When I received First Came Memphis Minnie in the mail … I thought it’s about time someone released a tribute album honoring a blues-woman. I commend you Maria for raising that awareness.
Maria Muldaur: “Well, thank you … as I travel around, I ask people in the audience … How many of you have heard of Bessie Smith? Almost everyone in the audience starts to clap. Then I go, okay … How many of you have heard of Memphis Minnie? Maybe two or three of the hipsters in the crowd will say they know who she is … and so that’s exactly why I did the album. She was a woman who started recording in the late 20s, and not only sang the blues, as a lot of the early blues-women did, but she wrote and recorded over two hundred of her own songs. She also played absolutely amazing guitar, and smart enough to marry … not one, but several guitar-playing husbands. She was a pioneer, a maverick, and created a career for herself that spanned several decades against all racial, social, gender, and financial barriers.”
“Despite the fact she was called Memphis Minnie, in the early 1930s she migrated up to Chicago and became the queen of the blues scene up there. In the early 1940s, she was one of the very first blues artists to plug in her guitar and go from acoustic country-blues sound to an electric Chicago-blues sound. She helped forge the sound that would become the electric Chicago-blues sound, which in the late 1950s morphed into R&B and rock and roll. So really, we owe Memphis Minnie a huge debt of gratitude and a lot more recognition that she’s gotten in past times.”
“So, I got together with several of my soul sisters in music that also love and revere her music and we put together this CD. And everyone picked whatever song resonated with them the most. The interesting thing is … here it is 2012, and most of these songs are supposed to be originally written in the 1920s and 30s, and yet they resonate today … very contemporary and universal. To me the very best songs are songs that are very universal and very personal. And Memphis Minnie’s music totally fits those criteria’s for me. She writes about things that really happened to her. Like the song, “In My Girlish Days” is a great example. I think Phoebe Snow’s rendition of it is just phenomenal.”
“Because she had such an interesting and adventurous life as an independent woman … the songs are very interesting and tell the stories of her adventures. At the same time, they’re the kind of situations that many a woman has gotten herself into … Both Bonnie Raitt and myself, Rory Block and Ruthie Foster whom I just adore, and Koko Taylor and Phoebe Snow. And so many other artist as well, love Memphis Minnie and appreciates what she did, and kind of like a role model for us. If I had the time and money there would be more people that I would have gotten on the album, but just the logistics of it … we reached out to Lucinda Williams who is another huge Memphis Minnie fan, and also Michelle Shocked.”
“Memphis Minnie wrote, “When the Levee Breaks” and even Led Zeppelin recorded their version of her song. So I wanted to shine a little spotlight on someone so unique, soulful, and such a great influence on the music that evolved from her day to today.”
Ray Shasho: Just about every American music genre evolved from the blues, and there were so many great blues artists that never got their fair share of credit or fame.
Maria Muldaur: “I’ve paid tributes on other albums to Mississippi John Hurt, Lead Belly, Mississippi Fred McDowell … and on that series as with this album, I’ve always enlisted the help of my fellow blues artists who share my passion for the early music. So I’ve been blessed to do duets with Taj Mahal, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Bonnie Raitt and so forth and so on. It’s a music that is very important to us and I’m hoping that it will endure. I think it will …people are loving the material.”
Ray Shasho: Well, my review is going to say … The album is pure, down-home soulful blues at its finest and if you love the blues you’ll love … First Came Memphis Minnie. I’m giving it five stars!
Maria Muldaur: “Thank you so much! “Each gal on the CD does their own interpretation, they make it their own and true to Memphis Minnie’s basic spirit and vibe, but each track sounds completely different. I think it’s very interesting on how that turned out.”
“When I designed the album cover, I wanted to make the cover like Memphis Minnie was shining down from blues heaven. All her energy and inspiration is shining down on us to this day. That was the idea behind it. And I slaved over the liner notes because the more I looked into it, the more of a complex story I was discovering and wanted to share with people, all in a space of a two inch, by two inch, little piece of paper that they stick in a CD anymore.”
Ray Shasho: Maria, I really like your version of “Crazy Cryin’ Blues,” that had to be a difficult tune to sing?
Maria Muldaur: “Thanks for noticing that! Ray, I’m here to tell you, I love the song; it’s a very haunting song the way she does it. The incredible guitar work on most of the cuts on the album were done by an amazing guitar player named Del Ray, and she loves and reveres Memphis Minnie as much as I do, and focused on Minnie’s guitar styles. And between us, when she’s playing and I’m singing, we pretty much channel Memphis Minnie into the room. But she kept telling me …you’ve got to do “Crazy Cryin’ Blues.” And I said are you kidding me, I could never sing that. So she worked out all the intricate guitar parts and nudged me into doing it. So I said …okay but I’m not promising anything. But in the end, I think it turned out okay.”
Ray Shasho: Maria you did a marvelous job on the song, I knew as soon as I heard it, that it must have been a relentless task.
Maria Muldaur: “It was one of the most challenging things that I ever had to sing …thank you Ray for noticing that. But who hasn’t been in a state of mind like that where you’re just so heartbroken and beside yourself, crying all night, you haven’t slept and in such a deep state of pain. And that’s what all that moaning is all about in the song. I rose to the challenge and I think I pulled it off.”
Ray Shasho: And I really liked Koko Taylor’s version of “Black Rat Swing” … cool song!
Maria Muldaur: “I thought it was so important… two people that are on the album that are no longer with us, I had been planning this project for awhile, and I saw Koko Taylor a little over two years ago because we usually end up at the blues awards in Memphis every year together. I told her I was going to do this project and she excitedly said she’d do it. But that song is done like a real straight ahead electric Chicago blues style. I thought that was such an important song to have on there for the fact that Minnie went electric and helped create that electric Chicago blues sound. And to have Koko Taylor … the queen of the Chicago blues scene for years and years and probably inherited the crown from Memphis Minnie when she was young. When I found out she recorded it for the last album she did, it was just a real blessing that we got the chance to include it on the Memphis Millie tribute album.”
“I met Phoebe Snow in 1970 and one of the first things we talked about was Memphis Minnie. She knew I was a fan because I had already touched “Chauffer Blues” with my husband Geoff Muldaur in 1969 …a quite different version than the version we have now. But Phoebe whipped out her guitar and started playing it right on the street while standing in front of a club in Greenwich Village, and I was just blown away. I had never heard anyone sing like that and then she played pretty damn good blues guitar as well. And so from that moment, Phoebe Snow and I bonded over our love of Memphis Minnie and became friends and sisters from that time forward. Phoebe had been planning a version of “In My Girlish Days” when she heard about the project and unfortunately should took ill, but we found this early version of it and I think it’s just stellar, it’s magical …I love it. What a singer …I miss her so much!”
Ray Shasho: Maria, I’m going to make a comment even though I know my wife is in the room … When I first saw you sing “Midnight at the Oasis” it may have been either on the Midnight Special or Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert around 1974. I was in high school and already had a thing for Linda Ronstadt, but Linda played second fiddle after I saw your performance. Both you and the tune were incredibly seductive and that was one good reason it was such a huge hit.
Maria Muldaur: “Oh my goodness … Linda and I and Bonnie Raitt were definitely the hot babes of the 70s. We palled around a lot and are still very dear friends. But I was just sort of a young hippie doing my little thing. It wasn’t like Madonna, who by the way, I really respect and admire a whole lot. Her sex appeal was kind of calculated and definitely embellished, and I was just out there with my little halter top, denim skirt, little bellbottom jeans … shaking my tambourine. I hear from people that it really got to them … so whatever works.”
“Several years ago, I should have been writing down all the stories that people would come up and tell me when I was signing their CD’s and so and so. All the little stories about what they were doing when they first heard my song …and I’m telling you, I would have quite the X-Rated book by now.”
“I still do those songs too because people love to hear them. At our show, not only will we be doing some of the Memphis Minnie material, and a lot of the Bluesiana material, but also the old favorites like “Midnight at the Oasis,” “Don’t You Feel My Leg,” “It Ain’t the Meat, It’s the Motion,” …so we aim to please and don’t disappoint anyone.”
Ray Shasho: A final question Maria … If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish to sing or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Maria Muldaur: “There are two. The one person I asked to sing with me said yes, but then he got called to do a performance at the White House, so it never worked out … I would love to sing with Al Green. I’ve sung with Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, and Aaron Neville … which is a singers dream come true … I’ve sung with Hoagy Carmichael, Taj Mahal … you name it, but I’d love to sing with Al Green.”
“The other thing I’d like to do is collaborate with Bob Dylan. I have played with him kind of unofficially, but would love to do something with Bob Dylan.”
Ray Shasho: Maria… thank-you so much for being on the call today and more importantly for all the great music you’ve given to all of us through the years. We look forward to your appearance at Skippers Smokehouse in Tampa and the release of First Came Memphis Minnie.
Maria Muldaur: “Thank you Ray, I hope to see you at the show.”

Maria Muldaur official website www.mariamuldaur.com
Maria Muldaur will be performing live in Tampa at Skippers Smokehouse on Sunday, October 28th. Visit www.skipperssmokehouse.com or call 813-971-0666 for ticket information.
Order Maria Muldaur’s latest release … First Came Memphis Minnie on Maria’s official website or at amazon.com

Special thanks to Jill Kettles of Mark Pucci Media www.markpuccimedia.com

Contact music journalist RAY SHASHO at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting. 
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Australian Pink Floyd Show: Are tribute bands keeping rock alive?

  

By Ray Shasho


Interview with keyboardist Jason Sawford

The Australian Pink Floyd Show have been echoing legends with virtuoso showmanship and mind-numbing special effects, while steadily expanding a global fanbase who are simply appreciative for keeping the Floyd spirit alive.
Dubbed as “The best tribute band in the world,” the Australian Pink Floyd modestly lofted onto the music scene from Adelaide, South Australia in 1988, and was cofounded by longtime band members, keyboardist Jason Sawford and guitarist Steve Mac.

Although tribute bands may be considered fun and entertaining, some may also say that they shouldn’t be taken too seriously because they don’t write or perform any of their own material. Then again, there are legendary rock configurations with integrity issues, still touring with maybe one or even no original members left in the band, and still performing under the bands legacy trademark. So regarding today’s music standards, tribute bands probably should be taken seriously.


So are tribute bands keeping rock alive or helping to phase it out?
Let’s face it, our rock and roll heroes won’t be around that much longer, and tribute bands may be a way for mature enthusiasts to recapture the days of their youth, while also enlightening the pristine enthusiast. But it may also put an end to any chance for fostering fresh new rock talent. With only a handful of the traditional record companies remaining, the odds for a resurgence of rock and roll are sadly slim. One can only hope that the old adage “history repeats itself” comes true.

As for the real Pink Floyd … In 1994, guitarist David Gilmour attended the performance of Australian Pink Floyd at Fairfield Halls in Croydon, South London. Gilmour invited Aussie Floyd to an end of tour after-show party for The Division Bell tour at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. In ‘96, Australian Pink Floyd played for David Gilmour at his 50th birthday party. And over the years various band members of the real Floyd have performed onstage with Aussie Floyd.

Australian Pink Floyd ‘Exposed in the Light World Tour 2012’ will be performing at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Friday October 12th. It will be the productions’ fifth area appearance at the Hall.
The Australian Pink Floyd Show is a magnificent onstage production mechanized by amazing musicians. But you also wonder what these virtuosos are capable of creating musically when out of their realm.
This week, I had the opportunity to chat with keyboardist Jason Sawford about the bands incredible journey since its inception in 1988.
Here’s my interview with keyboardist and founding member of Australian Pink Floyd … JASON SAWFORD.
Ray Shasho: Hello Jason! Thank you for being on the call today. How’s the tour going?
Jason Sawford: “Really well, we’re in Austin, Texas at the moment and we’ve had some great gigs.
Ray Shasho: I’ve always been amazed over the way they setup these shows, especially a show of your size, and you’re doing back- to- back performances each night.
Jason Sawford: “There’s a lot of logistics involved … I’ve finally figured out how they do it. They work really hard. They get up really early in the morning and go to bed really late.”
Ray Shasho: Then the soundcheck is still a very important part of the process.
Jason Sawford: Soundchecks are still pretty important, when you get into a schedule soundchecks get shorter. At the beginning of the tour soundchecks are longer because you’re getting the sound equipment right and all the settings. Once that’s all in place, you get a schedule and the show goes ahead pretty smoothly.”
Ray Shasho: Jason your accent sounds very English, are you from England?
Jason Sawford: “I live in England and have lived there for a number of years because it’s just easier to tour. We started in Australia and moved to England in 1992, so we do have Australian roots. That’s why we call it The Australian Pink Floyd Show. But we’re based in England now and work with a lot of English people.”
Ray Shasho: What were you doing before joining the band?
Jason Sawford: “I was a student at University and doing a science degree in biochemistry and genetics … that kind of thing, and the Floyd thing was like a little band on the side that I did. I also studied a bit of music but didn’t finish the music degree because we decided to move to England. So we took all our equipment and that’s when I concentrated on what I was doing and just made a career out of it.”
Ray Shasho: Are you surprised over the bands success?
Jason Sawford: “Oh yea, I would have never of imagined. Twenty four years ago when I started, I was just playing around pubs; it was just something to do, just playing for fun …and it changed my life.”
Ray Shasho: At what age did you start playing Pink Floyd music?
Jason Sawford: “I was in the early 20s and I’m 45 now, so it’s been a long time.”
Ray Shasho: Were you primarily influenced by progressive rock music while growing up?
Jason Sawford: “Yea, you could say that. When I was in my teens I was actually into classical music. But it was actually Pink Floyd that kind of got me into more of these other progressive rockers as well. I’d listen to Atom Heart Mother that had this orchestra opening and then the rock band would kick in and it works together really well, and I really liked it. So I kind of got into it from that angle.”
Ray Shasho: So how many times have you seen the real Floyd in concert?
Jason Sawford: “They Performed in Adelaide in 1988, which was the year we actually formed, and I saw them at Earls Court in 1994, and saw them a couple of times there. Obviously, I didn’t see them with Roger playing because this was the post Roger band when I saw them play. But it was a fantastic concert and I was quite moved … it was an emotional experience.”
Ray Shasho: The first time I saw Floyd was the Wish You Were Here tour … so I was fortunate to see Roger in the band. It’s something to see the band transform itself from a simple four-man setup with back-up singers to almost a mini orchestra. Why do you think Floyd added so many additional musicians to the band … I thought the original four sounded really tight musically.
Jason Sawford: “Yea, they basically have two of everything now, the more musicians you put in, the bigger the sound, and maybe it looks more interesting …I don’t know. But the music became more complex and required more musicians. Our basic band is just five people; their albums are double- tracks so it was pretty hard to do with just four … we’ve got two guitarists because you need two guitarists. It’s just gotten more involved, so you need more people.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve talked with a lot of legendary artists who are concerned over touring with a large band. After paying everyone and travel expenses –it’s just not cost effective.
Jason Sawford: “It is difficult, our production is pretty expensive. You’ve really got to have a handle on the budget to make sure we don’t overspend here or there, because if things go wrong and if you have to replace equipment or whatever …it just eats up the funds.”
Ray Shasho: Does Pink Floyd get their check from you guys every time you play a gig?
Jason Sawford: “Yes, we do pay royalties to them; I’m not sure how that’s handled our management deals with that side of things.”
Ray Shasho: Aussie Floyd actually played at David Gilmour’s birthday party?
Jason Sawford: “Yes we did, we played for him in person at his birthday party a few years ago. He came to one of our gigs and we didn’t know he was there. He was just sitting in the balcony and he turned up after our show … a head popped out from around the corner and it was David Gilmour, and he shook our hand and asked if we’d play a party or something. So a couple of years later we ended up playing his birthday party. He actually saw us play at the Royal Albert Hall as well and again didn’t tell us he was there in the balcony. (Laughing)”
Ray Shasho: Did David Gilmour make any comments about the show?
Jason Sawford: “He said it was a lot of fun, and I think he enjoyed it. I think his wife also bought a number of T-shirts. (All laughing)”
Ray Shasho: You guys also had some Pink Floyd band members join you onstage?
Jason Sawford: “On this particular tour we’re joined with Lorelei McBroom who toured with Pink Floyd on The Delicate Sound of Thunder tour. She’s the sister of Durga McBroom who used to work with Pink Floyd. We’ve also played with Guy Pratt as well.”
Ray Shasho: Did you ever get the opportunity to meet with Richard Wright?
Jason Sawford: “I did at the birthday party. It was a great memory of mine, we were doing the show and towards the end he came to the front of the stage and asked me politely if he could play my Hammond. He was very polite, came up on stage, and said you play the synthesizer and I’ll play the Hammond. And I was next to him shoulder to shoulder while playing “Comfortably Numb” together. And he was doing all this crazy stuff on the Hammond …and it was great.”
Ray Shasho: Obviously, Richard Wright was always one of your favorite keyboardists?
Jason Sawford: “Oh yea … his playing was very subtle, and used all these strange chords and things. He wasn’t someone like Jon Lord… very fast playing. He was just very subtle and a great player. And he was so important to the Floyd family. Pink Floyd would not be Pink Floyd without Rick Wright.”
Ray Shasho: Have you met Roger Waters?
Jason Sawford: “I’ve never met Roger. I’d like to but he’s the only one I haven’t met. And apart from Syd Barrett and of course I’ll never meet him now.”
Ray Shasho: Are there specific Pink Floyd tours, specific years, or setlists that you perform each year, or do you create and mix your own setlists?
Jason Sawford: “We kind of design a setlist every year basically; we might have one or two alternating sets. We’ve covered albums in its entirety; we’ve done … Dark Side of the Moon, Animals, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall has been done in its entirety. But of course if you do that you’re kind of limited in what else you could put in. So we’re trying to do a more well- balanced set that includes a little bit of everything. You’ve got to have certain songs in there that all the Floyd fans want to here. But we do like to put in some more unusual numbers like “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” and songs from the Animals album like “Sheep” or “Pigs on the Wing” and “The Fletcher Memorial Home” from The Final Cut. And we just have to put it together in a way that works, and I think we’ve got a really good setlist.”
Ray Shasho: I think the Animals album was more popular than a lot of people thought.
Jason Sawford: “It’s a great album. It’s probably my favorite in a way; because I think it’s one of their purest albums …it’s just the band Floyd. Just a lot of great instrumental parts as well as cutting lyrics, and it’s a real rocking album. Anytime we play songs from the album it goes down really well.”
Ray Shasho: Jason, what’s your favorite piece to perform … I’m guessing “Echoes?”
Jason Sawford: “Echoes” is great and one of my favorites, but it’s such a long song and we can’t do it every time. I love it and it’s a fantastic track. But I think one of my favorites is “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” For a keyboardist, it has great keyboard parts … especially the mysterious opening and that little duet between guitar and keyboards. It’s wonderful, I love playing that.”
Ray Shasho: It’s amazing when you think how much of Pink Floyd’s sound was about keyboards and synthesizers.
Jason Sawford: “I’m the only one who’s on the stage all the time… they’ll be gaps when there’s no bass, no guitar, or no drums on certain songs …but there’s always keyboards. And it’s always in the background, people don’t always notice it. It just creates that mood and atmosphere.”
Ray Shasho: Any plans to record and release original material?
Jason Sawford: “People do ask about it. We do have ideas and they are in our archives. It’s just a matter of finding the time to do it because we’re pretty busy touring all the time. And when you’re off tour you think, do I really want to hang out with Steve after finishing a long tour? (All laughing) I want a bit of a break.”
Ray Shasho: Jason thank you so much for being on the call today, we’re looking forward to the show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Friday, October 12th.
Jason Sawford: “Thanks Ray!”

The Australian Pink Floyd official website www.aussiefloyd.com
Pink Floyd official website www.pinkfloyd.com
The Australian Pink Floyd Show Live at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Fl on Friday, October 12th, tickets available at www.rutheckerdhall.com or call 727-791-7400 for more information.

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Peter Rivera the heart and soul of Motown’s Rare Earth

 




An Interview with legendary     Rare Earth drummer and lead singer Peter Rivera



 By Ray Shasho


Peter Rivera is the original voice and beat of Rare Earth, a very hip band of musicians that played an incredible mix of music comprised of rock, funk, soul, and psychedelic fusion.

Rivera (stage name) aka Peter Hoorelbeke was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of eleven years old, Pete received his first drum set and practiced to the likes of Glen Miller, Sammy Kaye, and Stan Kenton. The first rock ‘n’ roll records that he purchased were “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard and “Blue Suede Shoes” by Carl Perkins. It was the charisma of Elvis Presley that inspired Pete into becoming a performer, but it was the Detroit music scene inspired by R&B and Soul music that would define Pete’s future.

The Sunliners were formed in 1960. The band had been playing “Get Ready” for three years on the club circuit. The Sunliners became a smash in Detroit, but also performed at the hippest nightclubs in New York City. At the height of the bands success … Motown took notice and signed them to a recording contract. The Sunliners changed their name to Rare Earth and their song “Get Ready” (The albums long version was reduced for radio airplay) caught fire at top black radio stations in Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. as a single. After gaining notoriety on the R&B charts, “Get Ready” began to climb on the pop charts, finally reaching #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Peter Rivera and Rare Earth became superstars and a part of the Motown legacy.

Rivera became the undisputed leader of Rare Earth, the only white band to score hits with the Berry Gordy, Jr. Motown Record label … “Get Ready,” “I’m Losing You,” “Born To Wander,” “Hey Big Brother,” and “I Just Want To Celebrate” were all Top 40 hits. The albums … Get Ready (1969), and the live double-album set Rare Earth In Concert (1971) won double platinum. Ecology (1970) and One World (1971) achieved single platinum, Willie Remembers (1972) and Ma (composed and produced by Norman Whitfield -1973) went gold.

In 1974, Rare Earth was the opening act for the California Jam …sharing the stage with Earth Wind & Fire, The Eagles, Seals & Crofts, Black Oak Arkansas, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Peter Rivera and drummers of his sort are an enigma, and part of a very elite group. Rivera plays drums and sings lead vocals at the same time. But Rivera is an exceptional drummer; I would rank Pete in the top 20 of all-time … that’s how good he is. But Rivera is also an extraordinary and soulful lead singer. He’s also a songwriter and has written two of the most underrated and heartfelt compositions in the bands history … “The Seed” and “If I Die” (both from the One World album, released in 1971).

After several futile attempts to rejuvenate the band and tour, Peter Rivera left Rare Earth for good in 1983.


In 1992, Peter Rivera formed the Classic Rock All Stars. The core lineup became Jerry Corbetta (Sugarloaf), Mike Pinera (Blues Image, Iron Butterfly & Alice Cooper), and Dennis Noda (Cannibal & the Headhunters). The band became very successful and toured extensively until Dennis Noda’s death, and the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s to Jerry Corbetta.

Although Rare Earth was at the height of its success between 1970 to the mid 70s, a resurgence of their material has been spotlighted on countless advertisements, television shows, movie trailers and motion pictures. “I Just Want To Celebrate” was featured on advertising campaigns for AT&T and the Ford Motor Company, and the tune was highlighted in the motion pictures … Three Kings, Tropic Thunder, A Knights Tale, and most recently at the end of The Expendables 2 … to name just a few. “I Just Want To Celebrate” was penned by renowned songwriters Dino Fekaris and Nick Zesses. The song was released on the One World album in 1971 and was a #7 hit on the Top 40 charts.

Rare Earth’s version of “Get Ready” has also been widely exhibited on advertisements, TV, and film. The song was written by another Motown legend Smoky Robinson, and became huge hits for both The Temptations (#29 hit in 1966) and Rare Earth (#4 hit in 1970). Rare Earth’s 21:32 minute version on the album Get Ready gained cult status, somewhat like the album version of Iron Butterfly’s mesmerizing psychedelic rock masterpiece, “In-A- Gadda-Da-Vida.”

Rare Earth has sold over 30-million records worldwide and was inducted into The Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

Rare Earth continues to tour without original singer and drummer Peter Rivera. The current Rare Earth features two longtime members … Saxophonist Gil Bridges and guitarist Ray Monette.

Although those classic Rare Earth hits continue to inspire numerous generations, there’s been a reluctant effort to report about the man behind the music, or more specifically …behind the drum kit and microphone.

Peter Rivera lives in Spokane, Washington. He’s co-written a book entitled “Born To Wander” his Autobiography and story of Rare Earth. He’s currently touring with a new band of talented musicians and has released an unplugged CD called, ‘Been There ...Doin’ This’ –that includes all of the Rare Earth classic hits.
Rivera recently wrote and released an emotional music video entitled, “Look What We’ve Done” that sums up the collapsed Detroit economy in a song. It’s an incredible composition sung to rare video footage of a barren city captured by Pete’s son. The song also mirrors the economy for the rest of the nation.

Here’s an in-depth interview with the original lead singer and drummer for Rare Earth and longtime member of the Classic Rock All Stars … PETER RIVERA.
Ray Shasho: Hi Pete, I know you’ve been pouring concrete outside your home, what kind of project are you working on?
Peter Rivera: “I have a driveway that comes up from the street into a two car garage and its all asphalt except for the porch. This was a very old house that was abandoned and I rehabbed the whole house. It’s a small house for me and my wife, but just perfect for us, and I have a studio in here. The driveway was all asphalt and we have these big trees and everything was bumpy and water just sat on it and just ridiculous. So, I finally bit the bullet and said it’s got to be done, so they put in a whole walkway around the house, a driveway, and the two car garage … and it’s all beautiful. It was a big job, we got rained out two days ago and it poured yesterday. So, it’s finally done, and I was out there powerwashing and cleaning all that crap up.”
Ray Shasho: So, you’re living in Spokane, Washington now?
Peter Rivera: “I was in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho which is about thirty miles from Spokane, and lived there in the 90s for a few years raising the kids, but once they took off and went to college, then we went back to LA in 2003, and then came up here in 2009.”
Ray Shasho: Are your children close by or scattered around the country?
“I’ve got one son in Vero Beach, Florida and he and his wife are entrepreneurs in the medical billing world. My other son is a professional photographer and has done all my video work, and loves baseball so much that he goes off and plays every summer for these teams that pay him really good. He’s the Independent league all-time homerun hitter. He plays for the Somerset Patriots. My daughter is married and teaches fastpitch softball. She played in Europe and Holland for four years, and played on The Dutch National Team. When she came back, she was the pitching coaching for The University of Tampa, and then left Florida and came out here. She has her own academy now and teaches fastpitch.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve noticed on your website that you’ve started to pick up a bunch of new gigs around the country.
Peter Rivera: “Next Thursday, I’m playing at this show called ‘Pig Out in the Park’ in Spokane, Washington and the whole city turns out for it. It’s a four-day event and we’re going to be doing Thursday night which is the opening of the big stage, and it should be a great crowd and a lot of fun. Then I’ll be going to Kansas City for a private show and then a couple of other shows … but always working on shows and never know when they’re exactly going to popup.”
Ray Shasho: Back in the Rare Earth days, you guys were very popular here in Florida …especially Miami.
Peter Rivera: “Yea, Miami Marine Stadium, and in Ft Lauderdale, and we played Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa, Jacksonville a bunch of times … Florida was a great state for us. It wasn’t too bad when you were leaving two feet of snow in Detroit and headed down for Florida.”
Ray Shasho: Your latest CD is a collection of Rare Earth classic material performed unplugged. Are you currently performing an unplugged setlist onstage?
Peter Rivera: “I’ve got two configurations of what I do … I go out there unplugged with Joe Brasch on the acoustic guitar and Danny McCollim on keyboards, and I play percussion … you may have seen that video on my website … and we do that show.”

“Then we also do a show where there’s seven of us, and we’re fully plugged in, and I’ve got a couple of girls singing background, we’ve got guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, percussions, and the nucleus of the show is the Rare Earth hits.”

“So we do those in both configurations. The unplugged allows us the opportunity to stretch out a bit, and it’s a very intimate kind of situation where it kind of draws the crowd in. The crowd has commented many times that they really have a nice chance to listen to us and hear everything clear. And the big band … that’s the big band … here we go. And some places want the big band, the problem is, they don’t want to pay for the big band because we have seven airfares and seven hotel rooms, and it’s just lots of money. That’s one of the reasons I went with the trio.”

“I love the trio more than the big band because we have so much fun together; it gives me more time to talk with the folks in the audience and be intimate without the distraction of six other people standing around on stage while I’m talking. It’s a different thing but still the same material, and the same impact. The unplugged is real strong because I play a bass drum too while I’m playing congas. We played to 3,500 people in Michigan a couple weeks ago and it was just awesome. Sometimes buyers, they think in their mind, unplugged … aw man; it’s an acoustic guitar and a bongo player. And I say it’s not a coffee house kind of thing, it’s a full out show.”
Ray Shasho: A very powerful music video that you wrote and performed most recently is “Look What We’ve Done.”
Peter Rivera: “Look What We’ve Done” was actually spurred onto me by my good friend in Detroit. He’s been in the car business since we came out of high school, and of course I went towards music and he went that way, and after all these years he’s a pretty big time guy in Detroit. With all the problems that came … people losing jobs, and the auto industry shutting down … he use to say to me, “Man, look what we’ve done to ourselves, you’ve got to write a song about that, I’m really upset about it.” I said Aw Rick I don’t know. So, he’d talk to me and kept telling me to write a song about that.”

“So one day, I got this idea and wrote that song. Then I called Rick back and said here it is. He said, “Okay where can we get video?” So I got my son, who is a photographer, and he shot all the video and did all the editing, and of course …we did the song. We went to Detroit for about three or four days and shot all the video, he put it altogether and we put it out there …“Look What We’ve Done.” On that video … it shows three little houses in a row and the third house on the right was the house I grew up in, that was our little brick cubicle.”

“I think it’s a pretty cool song and it’s still holding up right now. It may have taken place in Detroit but really it’s widespread, it’s like a tsunami wave over the country. It affected a lot of people when Detroit shuts down … I mean the ripple effect is incredible. I’ve been trying real hard to get that song more and more exposure, even to the political arena. I had a guy come up to me in Michigan who is the president of the UAW and he said, “Man, I want to use that song on our website at our next convention,” and I said … be my guess, that’s what it’s for. I think it’s just a good song for addressing that social issue, and we do it at all our shows.”
Ray Shasho: Pete, I also enjoyed your book “Born to Wander.”
Peter Rivera: “I was going to do a sequel to it and just leave all the pages blank. (All laughing)”

“But I left off in the book with the Classic Rock All Stars … and sadly, Jerry Corbetta has Alzheimer’s now, and Dennis Noda on bass …he committed suicide, and I didn’t want to keep going with Mike Pinera, I’ve been with him for sixteen years … I just want to be doing what I’m doing now. I’m more peaceful now and can choose dates when I want to, when they come in. It’s not like I want to be the big baseball bat swinging boss, but I do like the fact that I can make the final decision. And after sixteen years, it was a democracy of sometimes who lobbied the most, and I don’t want to live that way in a band …so I’m not.”
Ray Shasho: So I’m assuming that you’re still not talking with Gil Bridges and Ray Monette? (Ex Rare Earth bandmates)
Peter Rivera: “No we’re not. With Ray, a little bit through social media and Rare Earth forums …you sounded great on that … and I hope you’re doing well. Just stuff like that …but with Gil, absolutely no contact at all. It was in the book on how all that happened. A couple of booking agents said, we could probably get you a bunch of dates if you’d only get back together with Rare Earth, and I said, I don’t think it’s going to happen because we’ve kind of washed each other out. So they went to Gil and he said, “I’ll go to my deathbed before I reunite like that.”
Ray Shasho: It’s amazing because you guys were together since The Sunliners.
Peter Rivera: “Yea, but when you’re in a group and there’s a particular person that you are not necessarily tight with and you kind of pretend that you are for the sake of the group. And if you peel back all the other group members and these two members are standing there and you have no real reason to be buddies because you are just totally different … that’s what happened. It sounds childish and it probably is … but, it is what it is …which is a song that I’m writing right now.”
Ray Shasho: I had a similar conversation with Mark Farner … but as music fans, we’re always hoping for reunions from bands like Rare Earth or Grand Funk Railroad. It would certainly be huge for today’s music scene, but just a shame that it’s not going to happen.
Peter Rivera: “I think what happens is when you initially break off you say okay that’s it. Then somebody does something, and somebody retaliates, and somebody retaliates again, and then it gets out of hand and you look at it and say …wow, even if we wanted to we couldn’t repair this because you did all this to me since we broke up, and then the other person says you did all that to me since we broke up, and it just gets worse and worse.”

“I know Mark Farner real well and know Don Brewer, and I’d never say to Don Brewer … hey how’s Mark, or when are you guys going to get back together, because I know the story, I worked with Mark. He told me; every time I put down Mark Farner/Grand Funk … I get a letter. You know Don Brewer is a lawyer. So if Mark Farner does one thing out of line …boom, he gets a threatening letter. So it gets to the point, okay, I’ll just do it on my own and won’t use the name and stuff like that, and you go on with life.”

“An agent I was just talking with said …if Grand Funk Railroad were to get together, they could get them six and seven times the money, probably get up to $150,000 a night in certain places, maybe other countries, if they were reunited … but they aren’t going to do it.”
Ray Shasho: I was delightedly surprised to hear “I Just Want To Celebrate” at the end of The Expendables 2. I can’t believe how many times I’ve heard that tune on advertisements, TV and movies.
Peter Rivera: “It’s amazing how much they use it. Recently, I heard Nicorette and Hershey’s S’mores using it as a re-record. But on The Expendables 2 my daughter said it was our version that’s in there, so it’s time for me to call the Screen Actors Guild and say, hey … where’s my little money? And it aint much I tell you.”
Ray Shasho: The ways it’s been played, you’d think you were making millions.
Peter Rivera: “Well I didn’t write the song … the writers are doing really well, but the only time that I get paid is like when they did the AT&T commercial, and the way you get paid on that is at the time we recorded the song. On that particular night there was a union contract issued and we got scale for the union contract. So all they’re required to do is pay you scale again, the same amount as forty years ago, but because they play it in so many markets you get scale here, and here, and here … and so it’s pretty substantial when the AT &T commercial comes out. I got several-several thousands of dollars for that one, when they do a movie its several hundred dollars.”
Ray Shasho: Two of my favorite Rare Earth tunes are Peter Rivera compositions … “The Seed” and “If I Die.”
Peter Rivera: “It’s really great that you picked out those two songs. I’ll listen to them once in awhile and say … not bad! Not bad! I played a show a few years back for the Viet Nam Vets, it was amazing, a couple thousand people there and they stood up tents and everything, and it looked like the show MASH. They were driving jeeps around and dressed in camouflage clothing, they do these ceremonial tributes to the guys who have fallen, and have the portable wall there. It’s really an emotional kind of gig. They insisted when they hired us that we played “If I Die.”
Ray Shasho: Is “If I Die” solely about the Viet Nam War?
Peter Rivera: “It was just a song about guys going off to war, and it just happened to be in 1971 during the Viet Nam war.”
Ray Shasho: Are you disappointed that you didn’t get to write more of the music with Rare Earth?
Peter Rivera: “Motown was always trying to find us writers, the only reason those songs came out is … Tony Clarke was the producer of The Moody Blues and Motown brought him in to do an album on us. Tony came in with his ideas from England and all that, and Motown just didn’t understand it, but we were diggin’ it. So we were in the studio and started writing. Everyone in the band started writing ideas down and I did “If I Die” and “The Seed.” Tony was axed from the project and they handed it over to Tom Baird. And Tom really liked the songs, so we went in and completed them and it came out on the One World album. So that’s how those songs came out.”

“Motown had that machinery where a producer got an idea about an artist, once he got the okay from the committee, he’d go in and do some tracks on that artist and then the committee would say okay we like the tracks now you can put the singer on them … they did it in steps like that. The writers were all over the place trying to find songs for their artists. So when we came, they kind of looked over our shoulders and said we’ve got to get some songs for these guys from these writers. We were sitting there going; well we want to write stuff too, we had some ideas but it really wasn’t too approved of in the first couple of albums.”

“We did Tom Baird songs, which were great, “Born To Wander” and some of that, and then Norman Whitfield was brought in because they thought the Ecology album wasn’t going to be that strong, and Whitfield came in and did “I’m Losing You.” Between “I’m Losing You” and “Born to Wander” there were two producers. Then when we did the One World album, it was back to Tom, and he was cool enough to like “If I Die” and “The Seed.” After that we did the Rare Earth In Concert album and then it was time to do another album.”

“We got in to do Willie Remembers with Tom Baird and I remember the day we finished that album, we were loving it because we had some songs on there. We were diggin’ the album and walked in, and Suzanne de Passe who was Berry Gordy’s right hand man just looked at us and said, “Now that you’ve got that out of your system, we ought to go and do a real album.” When Willie Remembers came out it didn’t get any promotion at all, and that’s when they said the only way to save a dying ship was to bring Norman Whitfield in.”

“Motown thought the only redemption to our career was Norman Whitfield because he had, “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” “Ball Of Confusion,” “Just My Imagination” and he was Norman Whitfield of Motown. Norman was a great guy, a great producer, and rest his soul, but the political side of it back then was … they just didn’t trust anybody except in their own stable of people. So Norman came in and we did the Ma album. I always called it the Norman Whitfield album played by Rare Earth. And you didn’t get the essence of Rare Earth. As a result, Ma got just a little bit of attention but nothing serious, and we didn’t have the hits, so things just started getting worse. So after Ma came out that was pretty much it man.”
Ray Shasho: So do you think it was good decision to sign with Motown?
Peter Rivera: “It was a great decision because we had nothing else; we were a band in Detroit playing in the clubs, and the whole Motown experience came about not because they were out hunting for bands and they found us, and not because we had 4- million hits on You Tube, because none of that existed, we were a hot band in Detroit that’s true, but like I said in the book … Gil’s friend wanted to manage us and he had a friend that was a hairdresser (salon owner), he did Berry Gordy’s ex- wife’s hair. As soon as the manger got Berry involved to get us into Motown, and we signed at Motown, he blew off the hairdresser. The hairdresser guy became friends of mine and he would later say that they would have meetings with him on how to divide and conquer the band, because he wanted to split me and Gil up.”

“Was it a good decision to sign with Motown? …Yea, because you don’t pass up an opportunity like that. And when they invited us down to the studio, we packed up our stuff and went down there and played into the wee hours of the morning for a week and did the, Get Ready album, and well … what’s going to happen now? Well nothing happened for two or three months, and all of a sudden somebody in Baltimore played it, somebody in Washington D.C. played it, and something started from that, and the whole rest of the story takes place.”
Ray Shasho: Rare Earth was aligned perfectly to be spotlighted on album rock FM radio stations in the 70s. The band had some incredible jams on those albums that included hard rock and psychedelic fusion. I think the turning point was the Norman Whitfield era.
Peter Rivera: “I think where Motown made a mistake, was when they panicked and they brought in Norman Whitfield, and once you’re not selling records with the company, it’s like nobody wants you anymore. And then we were having internal problems with jealousy and there were drugs involved and stuff like that, and everybody was acting crazy and it just kind of went away.”

“But what should have happened …I believe the management should have taken us all to some house somewhere and said, okay look guys, here’s what’s happening … you need to put all this stuff aside …almost sequestered us somewhere. Then leave us alone with Tom Baird in the studio and give us a month to see what we can come up with, as well as listen to some songs from other writers. Because it got to a point where the writers didn’t want to give you anything from drawer A, they’ll give you the drawer B stuff, but once you get a hit … here comes all the stuff out of drawer A, once you stop selling records that drawer is closed again, they’re looking around to give other people those songs to because other people are happening and relative to what’s going on. So it was harder for us to get songs.”

“But you look back at forty years ago and say … it is what it is … Now, I’m sitting here trying to book a trio. But I’m real happy with what’s happened. I’m 67 years old now and I look back on it now … and I was just at dinner at my doctor’s house … and we’re riding our Harley’s up to northern Canada tomorrow and gone four days. But we were talking last night, and reminiscing about the past … I look back and it was just great! I was just so thankful for having lived through it, and I’ll never be able to explain it to everybody. How fortunate was I to live through all that, and maybe it’s unfortunate that I can’t continue to do that, but I don’t need all that notoriety anymore. My life is balanced out, I’ve got family and I’m happy.”

“Mark Farner and I were talking … we believe that we’ve got another hit in is, and we have to believe that always, because that’s what keeps you going. It may never happen but once you lose that feeling …I think that’s why guys commit suicide or turn to serious drugs or alcohol and just give up. Sometimes it’s tough when you sit there and go … what good am I anymore? You have to be careful because when you’ve had a run at notoriety and fame and all that stuff, you have to be careful that it doesn’t go to your head in a certain way, so when it’s not there … you just can’t live with yourself. Or you have the risk of getting hopeless.”

“Eddie Guzman (Longtime Rare Earth conga player) was a diabetic and he was drinking, I went out to see him shortly before he passed and I looked at him and said …Eddie, what are you doing man? But he just drank himself to death. Mark Olsen (Longtime Rare Earth Keyboardist) wouldn’t stop drinking either and he had all these problems …and I said Mark, you’re a good looking guy, you have a beautiful wife, a daughter … what’s going on here? He just couldn’t stop drinking. I get moments when I’m just kind of down and I go … wow man, what I’m doing now is just a futile attempt … but then the next day I go wait a minute … I’ll hear something like … it is what it is and I’ll start writing that song.”
Ray Shasho: Pete, what was the thought process when Motown created the Rare Earth record label?
Peter Rivera: “Motown wanted to do this white-rock-FM-label and they didn’t have a name for it. So we suggested, why don’t you call it Rare Earth Records, and a friend of ours actually drew the picture (that tree) on the record label. Nobody knew what they were doing back then … there was Gordy Records, Motown Records, and there was Tamla Records, and they’ve been in existence for years doing things a certain way and all of a sudden we were coming out saying things like posters and artwork on our album covers and they didn’t know from all this. So they bought a lot of our suggestions and when we said Rare Earth Records … they said we liked that. Then they bought several masters from groups from England. They thought …anything from England sells so let’s buy some English groups. It became a stepping stone for a lot of well-known groups. (Some artists on the Rare Earth label …The Pretty Things, UFO, Toe Fat (became Uriah Heep) and Stoney & Meatloaf). So we were like the favorite baby of that group.”
Ray Shasho: I watched Rare Earth perform at the Baltimore Civic Center back in 1973 with Funkadelic and the Ohio Players, to a sold out arena of 13,000 people. My friend and I were the only white folk there. Being an all white band, did you ever receive any kind of racial tension while headlining a predominately black concert lineup or audience?
Peter Rivera: “Never. As a matter of fact for the first year after “Get Ready,” ninety percent of the audiences we played were a black audience in the big cities. It was just phenomenal and we had a great time man. Everybody was just so nice to us and there was no racial crap at all, we were out there doing what we did and they loved what we were doing. It was just a great time and I had a ball. People in the big cities seemed to be a lot looser than out in the outlying areas.”

“One time when we were just beginning and “Get Ready” came out, we got this job offer to play a place in Washington, D.C. and it was a downstairs club in a totally black community. We pulled in and it was only twenty minutes from Georgetown, and a couple of the guys got really nervous. We went back to the hotel after the soundcheck and they said, man, I’m not playing there … they were scared. The owner of the club and his assistant came to our hotel and said, “Look you guys, we know that you may be feeling funny about this or that but we assure you that nothing is going to happen to you, people are going to love the fact that you are there, please come to the show, we promise they’ll be no problems whatsoever. So we went over there and we did the first nights show and I think we played there a week and had a phenomenal time. After that, we never had a problem with our own anxiety and got out of that judgmental attitude right away.”
Ray Shasho: Who were some of your friends from the Motown days?
Peter Rivera: “David Ruffin was a really cool dude, he use to come into the club where we played. We’d get him up on stage and he’d sing with the band. I’d been over his apartment a couple of times and hung with him a bit, but kind of stayed away because there was a little too much crazy stuff going on for me.”

“But we knew Marvin Gaye really well, he’d be in the next studio from us and we’d talk to him in the hallway. I was in the studio when Stevie Wonder was twelve years old, he was singing songs for the Fingertips album and I was watching him. And Smokey Robinson was very nice to us, Levi Stubbs was great … everybody we met was very nice and cordial to us. They would come in the studio while we were recording …playing and singing while some megastar is there watching through the glass was kind of intimidating sometimes.”

“Berry Gordy didn’t want to have too much to do with us.”
Ray Shasho: You wrote a letter to the Motown museum for not including Rare Earth anywhere inside the building?
Peter Rivera: “I’m out there on the road … this is years ago, and Motown was having a 25th anniversary and we weren’t even invited. Then the 50th anniversary came and we weren’t on that either. It was just a couple of years ago and I was back in Detroit shooting for the “Look What We’ve Done” video and my son was there of course, and we went over to Motown to take a picture and he said, “Huh, Motown … it’s just like a house? I said, yea. So he took some video and then I said let’s go on in. So we went in, and I had Joe Brasch with me and my son, and I started pointing out … this is studio ‘A’ and it’s in time capsule. I told them I use to set up my drums right over there and we looked in the control room and my son says, “Wow this is amazing” … because to see a studio like that now is like prehistoric. So we walked around the hallways of the place where they have all the displays and everything and kept looking and looking … and there was nothing there of Rare Earth. My son looks to me and says, “Don’t you have any of your stuff in here dad?” I said …well …I guess not son.”

“So I wrote that letter two years ago. The other day I came across that letter and I thought …I’m going to post it on Facebook, and I got about fifty replies from people who were just outraged by it. I just did it to get it off my chest and get it out there. But you know what …it is pretty bad; Mark Olson’s kids, Eddie Guzman’s kids, even John Persh … these guys are all deceased. Just put one or two of our album covers in there and say Rare Earth was here. It would be great if my grandson saw it one day. I just thought that it was pretty flaky. I don’t want to make too much of it because pride is one of the seven deadly sins, but I just thought … legacy, legacy, legacy, and why not? So I wrote the letter, I’m not sure what it’s going to do? To not acknowledge us doesn’t take away from them, it just adds to them we think … but maybe they don’t see it that way.”
Ray Shasho: Pete ... final thoughts?
Peter Rivera: “I put thirteen new songs on CD Baby over the past year, and you can hear previews on CD Baby. I’ll be putting one minute previews on my website peterrivera.com and my other website www.peterriveramusic.com. So I’m in the process of doing that and there are quite a few songs that I feel really strong about. And we’ll see what comes out of my little studio in the springtime, because the wintertime is when I’ll be in there.”
Ray Shasho: Thank you so much Pete for spending time with me today and especially for all the fantastic Rare Earth music over the years, and we’re looking forward to some great new songs by Peter Rivera.
Peter Rivera: Thanks buddy …take care!

Peter Rivera official website www.peterrivera.com
Peter Rivera music website www.peterriveramusic.com
Peter Rivera new music on CD Baby … www.cdbaby.com/Search/cGV0ZXIgcml2ZXJh/0
Purchase Peter Rivera’s Autobiography and story about Rare Earth at amazon.com

Contact classic rock music journalist RAY SHASHO at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

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