Rustix were an American R&B/blue-eyed soul

Blue-eyed soul

Blue-eyed soul is a media term that was used to describe rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and...

 ensemble from Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

.

Rustix formed in 1967; the band was signed to Rare Earth Records, a Motown Records

Motown Records

Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...

 subsidiary. Prior to signing with Rare Earth, the band had a single on the Cadet Records

Cadet Records

Cadet Records was started 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...

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

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, opening for Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

 and Soft Machine

Soft Machine

Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...

 at one point. Among their singles were "Can't You Hear the Music Play" from the album Bedlam, released in 1969 & "Come On People" from the album of the same name, released in 1970. Bedlam peaked at #200 on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

. A sophomore effort, Come On People, followed in 1970; both of the group's first two records were produced by R. Dean Taylor

R. Dean Taylor

R. Dean Taylor is a Canadian singer, most famous as a recording artist, songwriter and record producer for Motown Records company during the 1960s and 1970s...

. A third album was recorded in 1971 but never released, and the group disbanded later that year. At that point, Chuck Brucato & Al Galich recorded a pair of songs ("We All End Up In Boxes" & "My Peace Of Heaven") backed by the Funk Brothers. Both were released in 1971, backed by a Rustix outtake from their 2nd album sessions ("Down Down").

Members

• Chuck Brucato - Vocals
• Ron Collins - bass
• David Colon - drums
• Bob D'Andrea - guitar
• Vinnie Strenk - Hammond B3
• Al Galich - Lead vocals

Discography

Albums

• Bedlam (Rare Earth Records, 1969)
• Come On People (Rare Earth Records, 1970)

Singles

• "Leaving Here" b/w "When I Get Home" (Cadet Records
  Cadet Records
  Cadet Records was started 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...
  
  , 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 US 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)