A band previously known as Sir Timothy and the Royals was renamed "The Ohio Express" and hired to promote the singles by appearing at all live performances.
The otherwise exhaustively annotated Nuggets box set (which includes "Beg, Borrow and Steal") suggests the Rare Breed were from New York or New Jersey, but offers no other data.
However, a 2003 interview[5] and a 2009 YouTube post of a performance of "Beg, Borrow and Steal"[6] identifies the members of the Rare Breed as John Freno (vocals, guitar), Barry Stolnick (keyboards), Joel Feigenbaum (rhythm guitar), Alexander "Bots" Narbut (vocals, bass) and Tony Cambria (drums), all originally from Brooklyn and the Bronx, New York.
Of the "official" group members, only Dale Powers (lead vocals) appeared on the second single credited to Ohio Express, "Try It", later covered by the Standells.
Unfortunately, the record label went into bankruptcy shortly after that and was purchased by music business mogul Allen Klein, who owns the masters to this day.
Two songs on the Beg, Borrow and Steal LP, "I Find I Think of You" and "And It's True", were actually recorded by the Kent, Ohio, band the Measles, led by Joe Walsh, later of the James Gang and the Eagles.
In addition, the Measles recorded an instrumental version of "And It's True" (retitled "Maybe") which was placed on the B-side of the "Beg, Borrow and Steal" single.
[2] At the same time, Joey Levine (who had co-written "Try It") was coming up with new material for the Ohio Express at the behest of Super K Productions.
However, Buddah head Neil Bogart liked the demo enough that he released the record "as is", with Levine's vocals intact and no input at all from the touring version of the Ohio Express.
One later minor hit single, "Sausalito (is the Place to Go)" was co-written and sung by Graham Gouldman, and performed by the four musicians who would later make up 10cc.
Today, a line-up led by original drummer Tim Corwin on lead vocals, John Baker (Lead guitar), Stan Rust (Bass), Bill Hutchman (Drums), Jeff Burgess (Keyboard) and Warren Sawyer (Rhythm guitar and Keyboards) tours the oldies circuit.
On July 23, 1988, the original touring quintet of Powers, Kastran, Grassel, Pfahler and Corwin reunited for a "20 Year Reunion Concert" at the Renaissance Theater in their Mansfield hometown.
He also plays bass and sings in the Eggerton-Kastran Group (a.k.a., EKG), an acoustic duo with vocalist/guitarist Denny Eggerton, and the five-piece band the Caffiends, both based in Mansfield, Ohio.
Dale Powers is now a Christian music evangelist based in Mansfield, Ohio, and founded his own record label as well as website for his ministry.
Dean Kastran plays bass in the Race Ministries Band and recorded tracks with Dale on his album of original songs titled "The Journey Within!