| Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels |
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Page 1 of 2 MITCH RYDER &THE DETROIT WHEELS  Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels scorched up the charts circa 1965-1967. Their brand of rock-pop craziness could yank you out of your seat and throw you into a frenzy. They specialized in revved-up re-tellings of old rocker songs. Their signature song and biggest hit was the wild and crazy “Devil With A Blue Dress On”. The song is a classic. Billy Levise Jr. (Mitch Ryder) was born in Hamtramck, Michigan in 1945. The Motown influence was all over him. His version of soul, however, was pepped up a few notches and helped hatch the other Detroit raucous rock sounds of Ted Nugent, Iggy Pop, and MC5. Billy started by fronting a black quartet called The Peps. It was an intriguing and adventurous combination for the early 60s, but he eventually had to quit due to harassment. He then formed a group with future Wheelers-- Jim McCarty, John Badanjek, Joe Cubert and Earl Elliot. Their name was Billy Lee & The Rivieras. Their strong live act caught on with such force locally that they were hired to open for The Dave Clark Five in 1965. Bob Crewe (producer of rock superstars The Four Seasons) was in the audience and immediately signed them, moving the band to New York City.  Crewe wanted a name change for the group. The new moniker “Mitch Ryder” was found leafing through the Manhattan phone book, and soon “Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels” were set into motion. Their first try was “I Need Help” and it did. The song hadn’t quite captured their essence. But “Jenny Take A Ride” took off in late 1965. This also cemented a formula that they would use frequently: hooking two different songs together and cementing them into a frenzied medley, with Ryder wailing over the frenzy. “Jenny Take A Ride” combined Little Richard’s “Jenny, Jenny” with Chuck Willis’s “C. C. Rider.” The song peaked at #10 in the winter of 1966. Their beat was the perfect fit for discotheques in the mid-60s. The debut album “Take A Ride” captured the fun with other danceable numbers, “Shake A Tail-Feather" and “Sticks and Stones”. Their rockin’ remake of “Little Latin Lupe Lu” followed and landed at #17 in the Spring. Mitch and the Wheels toured extensively and appeared in the appropriate television shows (Hullaballoo, Where the Action Is, American Bandstand). He was the rock maniac with soul. |