How many of you caught Mike Huckabee’s show last month when rocker Peter Rivera of “Rare Earth” joined Huck to perform one of the group’s 1969 hit, “Get Ready!”
Note the signage behind Rivera as he sits chatting with Huckabee. The logo design and sign was fabricated by my friend Robert Kase, owner of Kase Sign in Gold River, California, a longtime fan and friend of the drummer and lead vocalist. (Congrats, Robert!)
“As lead singer and drummer for the classic rock band Rare Earth,” Huckabee began, “my next guest helped blend rock and R&B into a hard-driving sound that topped the charts with unforgettable hits like “Get Ready” and “I Just Want to Celebrate.”
The music of Rare Earth was very much a part of the fabric of Mike Huckabee’s life in the 60’s and 70’s as a bass player in a rock band and as a radio disc jockey and just fan of their innovative sound.
Rivera performed TRUST, a song from the 2022 album by the same name.
According to AllMusic, 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.
