Rustix (or The Rustix) were an American R&B/

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and Stax ...

ensemble from

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

Career

Rustix formed in 1967; the band was signed to

Rare Earth Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, a

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

subsidiary. When they signed, they were the first all white act that did not use other musicians to back them (ie. The Funk Brothers) to be signed to a Motown Label. When they were signed, Rare Earth hadn't yet been signed. The label didn't have a name yet. Prior to signing with Rare Earth, the band had a single on the

Cadet Records Cadet Records was an American record label that began as Argo Records in 1955 as the jazz subsidiary of Chess Records. Argo changed its name in 1965 to Cadet to avoid confusion with the similarly named label in the UK. Cadet stopped releasing ...

label. Prior to their recording career, the group had been a popular attraction in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, opening for

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

at one point. Among their singles were "Can't You Hear the Music Play" from the album ''Bedlam'', released in 1969 and "Come On People" from the album of the same name, released in 1970. ''Bedlam'' peaked at No. 200 on the ''Billboard'' 200. A sophomore effort, ''Come On People'', followed in 1970; both of the group's first two records were produced by

R. Dean Taylor Richard Dean Taylor (May 11, 1939 – January 7, 2022) was a Canadian musician, most notable as a singer, songwriter, and record producer for Motown during the 1960s and 1970s. According to Jason Ankeny, Taylor was "one of the most underra ...

. A third album was recorded in 1971 but never released, and the group disbanded later that year. At that point, Chuck Brucato and Al Galich recorded a pair of songs under the Rustix name ("We All End Up in Boxes" and "My Peace of Heaven") backed by the Funk Brothers. Both were released in 1971, and both backed by a Rustix outtake from their 2nd album sessions ("Down Down"). They were inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame on April 24, 2016. The surviving band members regrouped for the occasion. They were joined on stage by members of the band Prime Time Funk.

Members

*Chuck Brucato – vocals *Ron Collins – bass *David Colon – drums *Bob D'Andrea (deceased) – guitar *Vinnie Strenk –

Hammond B3 Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

*Al Galich (deceased) – lead vocals

Discography

Albums

*''Bedlam'' (

, 1969) *''Come On People'' (Rare Earth, 1970)

Singles

*"Leaving Here" b/w "When I Get Home" (

, 1968) *"Can't You Hear the Music Play" b/w "I Guess This Is Goodbye" (Rare Earth, 1969) *"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" b/w "I Guess This Is Goodbye" (Rare Earth, 1969) (non-U.S. single) *"Come On People" b/w "Free Again (Non C'est Rien)" (Rare Earth, 1970) *"We All End Up in Boxes" b/w "Down Down" (Rare Earth, 1971) *"My Piece of Heaven" b/w "Down Down" (Rare Earth, 1971)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control American rhythm and blues musical groups Motown artists Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups from Rochester, New York