I just discovered the band today and all I know is from the Wiki page, this board, and a deleted Rare Earth website from the UK I found on Archive.org.
Reading Rare Earth's Wiki page, it's pretty sparse on info. It could really afford to be filled out. If someone on here was ambitious, they could actually add a lot of info to it citing the band member's posts on here as primary sources.
What's really missing is the pre-68 info. For instance, Wiki lists Gil, Peter, Kenny, John and Rod as the band members from 60-69, which I gather from my one night of reading this board seems to not be the case. Didn't Kenny, John and Rod all join much later? There's no info on Ralph, Russ, Fred, and the evolution from the Sunliners, or Glow-somethings from 60-68. That info would be really interesting to see corrected/filled out. For instance, I'd really like to hear about the transition from Sunliners to Rare Earth. What's the story behind Ralph, Russ, Fred, etc disappearance from the band when it became Rare Earth? What was the timeline, reasons they left?
Several people merit solo Wiki pages. If you're not on Wiki, you don't exist. Only Ray has a solo Wiki page (and it's sparse). I think Peter's had a career separate from RE that merits his own page and also Russ and Ralph and their Motown and work on albums etc should get one. They are both mentioned on several other Wiki album and band pages, but no links to their own page.
Also, can a band member explain how band names work? Why does Gil have the Rare Earth name? When Peter left (kicked out?) in the 80s, does he get bought out? Was the Gil the sole founding member? How is it determined that Rare Earth is Gil's? If Ray and Peter got back together, they're more members of the band than Gil, does it transfer to them? Or is it just Gil's, since he's the last surviving member of the band still in the original band/entity formed? If that's the case, and he dies (not to be morbid), does the name die or does it transfer to other former members? And if it does, how, since they're no longer members of the entity? (None of this is meant against Gil, just using as an example, trying to understand it regarding any band.)
The answers to most of your questions relating to The Sunliners and their transition to Rare Earth can be found in Ralph Terrana's excellent book "Road to Motown". You must pick up a copy!!
I don't think there will be any appetite for discussing the final departure of Peter on here as its all been covered in depth already, and the consensus is that sleeping dogs should be left to lie. Same goes for the name rights.
Everybody's doing their own thing. Gil continues to work using the name Rare Earth, having recently lost Ray Monette through retirement, whilst Peter goes out under his own name. It's been made pretty clear that there's no likelihood of the two going forces again so we respect both parties desire not to raise or discuss it.
Wiki could be filled out from information posted here, but it would involve a lot of time and effort from willing volunteers. This forum contains a mixture of facts and opinions. There's a distinction between the two and Wiki would need to be based on just the facts not the opinions.
For anyone like yourself searching for information on the band and its history, discovering this resource will be like finding gold. Far more stimulating than Wiki. You'll need lots of hours to get through it all. Enjoy!!
