MITCH RYDER


Mitch Ryder is alive and well and ready to rock 'n' roll.

Billy Levise, Jr. was 17 when he went in from the Detroit suburbs to cut his first record in the Motor City, as Billy Lee. By the summer of 1964, he fronted a band called the Rivieras. When the Riverias got to record in 1965 for Bob Crewe (who also produced the Four Seasons and wrote the '5Os rock ballad "Silhouettes"), their name had to change because another Rivieras had charted with "California Sun".

So Billy Lee and his group became Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. They reeled of a series of driving, soul-drenched rockers including "Jenny Take A Ride!," "Little Latin Lupe Lu," and two Top 10 smashes, "Sock It To Me Baby!," and a medley of "Devil With A Blue Dress On" and "Good Golly Miss Molly."

Mitch Ryder said the success of "Jenny Take A Ride!" was a surprise, but they aimed at a hit with the medley of "Devil" and "Good Golly Miss Molly".

Mitch Ryder went solo in the late '60s, and quit music entirely for several years in the mid-'70s. He made a comeback in the late '70s.

In 1978, Mitch Ryder released "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" a critically acclaimed album. In 1983, he released "Never Kick A Sleeping Dog", produced by John Cougar Mellencamp.

Mitch Ryder continues to record but likes doing the old songs as well. "Oh, I have to do the oldies. People demand that. In Europe, I'm more established for the new material. But those are great records we did. They are great party records because they are a lot of fun."