Cover photo © 2025 Arnie Goodman

Back in 1966, a new band hit the airwaves with a huge, horn-driven sound behind a brawny singer. They quickly let the world know that Detroit had more than just the sounds of Motown to offer the world.

Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels took off like a heat-seeking missile with hit records including “Devil With The Blue Dress On,” “Jenny Take A Ride,” “Sock It To Me Baby, “C.C. Rider,” and ‘Little Latin Lupe Lu,” records that filled dance floors across the country.

His star ascending, continued fame seemed a certainty for the singer.

“That’s the shame of it, you know, my exile in Europe. To remain a star in America, you have to have those power people behind you. It’s not just about having a demographic audience that’s dying to hear more. In my case, a couple things happened.”

Born in Hamtramck, Michigan, a community in the midst of Detroit City, William Levise Jr. started singing in a high school band, eventually picking his stage name out of a phone book. His career took off when he was discovered by Bob Crewe, a producer and songwriter who had struck gold with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The early hit records came out on one of Crewe’s record labels, New Voice. But the producer’s vision for Ryder quickly had the singer headed straight for oblivion.

“Right after we had our last hit with Mitch Ryder and Detroit Wheels, my producer decided to go in a direction that totally sabotaged what the public expected of me. He put out this schmaltzy record called What Now My Love. That caused me to sue him to break the management contract. He ended up selling my contract to Paramount. And it went from here to there to there, in the hands of different people trying to market Mitch Ryder.

“I was quickly fading. Every year that goes by that you don’t have a record, you’re getting further and further lost in people’s memories. There were no new takers. The industry people had already found new replacements because we always do that in America. We look for the youngest who have the best chance of making a high visibility impact.”

In 1971, the singer cut a a killer self-titled record as part of the band Detroit. It included a hard rocking cover of Lou Reed’s “Rock & Roll,” with Steve Hunter on guitar. Reed was so impressed that he eventually hired Hunter for his band.

While Ryder seemed to be all but dead to American listeners, it was a far different story in Europe.

“There were years without management, without a booking agent, and finally I got a break by appearing on a European television show, broadcast to 130 million people. That’s what created my fan base in Europe, and because of the non-popularity in America, but the popularity in Europe, I began signing to European labels, and none of those records were available in America. People got the impression for decades that Mitch Ryder was inactive, that I was out on pasture. Nobody knows what the hell happened to him, but in reality, I was very busy every year churning out music, recording, and touring.

“The tours in America weren’t much to be appreciated for me. The fans loved it, of course, when you would appear for them and you’d give them a good show. But we’re talking about being packaged on an oldies show, then going from oldie shows to legend shows. I don’t even know what they’re calling them now for artists my age. But the truth of the matter is, I’m doing very well. I’m more active and being more productive than I have been in a long time.

That fact is borne out by his last two releases on Ruf Records, once again shining the spotlight on Ryder around the world, including the US.

“I’ve been touring in Deutschland for 47 years, every year except for the year of the COVID. We would record some things during the course of those years. The tour in 2019 and 2020 makes up the body of the double live album, The Roof Is On Fire, released last year. They’re not recent recordings, but they are live recordings.

“The new project is very, very impressive. It comes out of a studio in Detroit, Rust Belt Studio in Royal Oak, Michigan. We laid down tracks in five days, then took another ten days to do overdubs. It was a quick project, but the reason it was quick was because of the prep, a lot of preparation, and a lot of very, very good talent on it musically, including Laura Chavez on guitar. By the way, the writing is excellent, too. So you’ve got good songs, good production, good musicians, and you’ve got a great album, With Love.

The latest album project was guided by another Detroit native, producer Don Was, who has receive six Grammy awards, including one for Bonnie Raitt’s 1989 release, Nick Of Time. He has also produced a number of albums by the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan.

“We’ve known each other a long, long time. Originally he was a fan of my work. When he started spreading his wings in production, I was there with him to help him out on a couple of projects. I had already established myself as an artist, and Don appreciated the help. And then, over the years, we’ve done a couple other projects together. I think seven years ago was the last time. He’s a Detroit guy, loves the music that comes out of Detroit. I do too. I think it’s a little different than other places. I’m not sure that’s not a bias, but it feels to me and sounds to me like it’s a different thing from the rest of the country. But I wouldn’t put my hand on a Bible for that one.

The album is filled with original songs that find Ryder pondering the lessons learned over the last 80 years.

“One Monkey” is obviously about addiction. It chronicles a part of my life that’s no longer a part of my life, and hasn’t been a part of my life for decades. And “Pass It To The Right”, it’s about introducing somebody to pot smoking who’s never done it before. It’s two different situations, I’d say about 20 years separating those two incidents. The album has a lot of different sonic textures. I like that. These musicians that I worked with, they all grew up under the influence of Mitch Ryder. When they came into the studio, they were getting paid, but they came out of friendship, too. In their minds, they wanted to help me make the best record I could make. And I think they succeeded at that task.”

Ryder and the band turn the energy level up several notches on “Wrong Hands,” a song that delivers a message with Ryder declaring, “Love, peace, and happiness are words we haven’t learned.”

“I’m a bit of a conservative, so the second amendment has some meaning for me. What the song is focusing in on are these mass murders that people get guns, then go in and slaughter children. How do they get them and what can we do to keep that from happening? I think what we need to do is tighten our laws to the point where you at least have to go through some kind of psychiatric exam if you’ve got a history of trouble.

“And I think parents have to take responsibility in this. If some nut takes a gun from his parents house that they haven’t secured, the parents need to be held responsible for the actions of the of the perpetrator as well. So you just bring it down hard. People that are doing the right things with their guns, let them have it.

“There needs to be a pass-along punitive if you’ve got parents that are absent and you’re allowing your children access to your weapons. You’re just as guilty as they are. Believe me, they talk about losses in different countries. We kill more Americans every day than anywhere else in the world, We’ve got too many guns in the wrong hands and that’s why the song is called “Wrong Hands”.”

The singer claims that the song “Too Damn Slow,” which features a beautiful contribution from Chavez, is simply a result of his hormones acting up.

“I’m not ready to accept slow music, really, unless it’s a beautiful ballad. “The Artist” is a wonderful ballad that is a poem that was written by my wife. I put the music to it, brought in the chord changes. There’s only two instruments on it besides my voice. But it’s about what art does to an artist, essentially. “Fly” is not the swan song, but it’s a decent goodbye, and a thank you in case I don’t get a chance to record again. But I’m planning on recording, I’m writing for the next album as we speak. I love my fans, my American fans, my fans all over the world. I just wanted to give them a, a nice, decent, civilized goodbye, if that had to be the way to go.

“And then we have the swan song at the end, “Just The Way It Is,” which basically is just, hey, calm down, you are gonna die. It’s gonna happen. Just calm down. That’s not a problem for me. It is soulful with a Motown feel. My writing, as a writer, has developed to a place where I’m starting to get really comfortable and use the English language the way I intend to use it. It comes out being more understandable to the listener. But it is a language that you do have to listen to because some of those songs can fool you until you really hear the lyrics.

“When we were in the studio, Don Was had some remarks about that. He apparently likes my writing, likes the clarity of it. It’s easy to understand. It’s not tricky, complex, nothing like that. It’s kind of straightforward. He calls it a common language. That’s a pretty nifty goal to achieve as a writer, where you can find a plurality and commonality. That’s wonderful, and I’m so happy with it.

“The latest tour is going well. Our shows are being so well received. From the beginning to the end, you could hear a pin drop. There’s silence during the songs, there’s silence between the songs until the eruption at the end, and it does become an eruption. The other day we were leaving a gig and we were talking about young students. There was four or five young female students sitting having a cigarette outside the club as we left and these young ladies stood up and gave me a standing applause. I couldn’t believe that. I mean, I’ve had it happen from old people, but not young people. So it was cool.”

When it comes to songwriting, the singer admits that he is a “writing fool”:.

“It normally starts with a word. I have my equipment in my office. When I get something of substance, and I need to start creating melodies and rhythms, I have my drum machine and my keyboards. That’s where it goes next. Usually I’m sitting looking at a blank computer, and I come up with a word. Okay, what does that mean to you in your life? You plant the seed and you try to grow it right in front of you. It takes some time. Sometimes it comes real fast.

“For a couple years in Detroit, I did a weekend radio show and did a lot of interviews, too. It is tricky. It’s an art form to get out of the artist what you’re what you’re actually looking for. Artists can be cantankerous sometimes, and some of them can be very aloof. But every once in a while you get somebody that just wants to be honest and talk honest. Those were the ones I loved. Having the option to talk freely is important. You have to give the artist that. Of course, once you get them talking freely, sometimes you can’t shut them up. It’s not what I do for a gig, but it was fun having tasted that part of the business. I prefer to just be in the studio recording and writing and touring. And I hope that your readers will take the time and trouble to discover the decades of music of mine that you have never heard.”

Asked if he has noticed any differences in the way the music business is run these days versus earlier in his career, Ryder had a swift response.

“No, it’s just as corrupt and demonic as it’s ever going to be. The biggest change to the benefit of the industry has been technology. I’ll give you an example of what I’m talking about. I went to a major label once , I had a partner at the time, My partner walks in with me and this young kid, he’s 26 years old, but he’s head of A& R for a major record label.

“He walks in the room, goes over to my partner, sticks his hand out and says, Hello, Mr. Ryder. To my partner! What the fuck, where is this kid coming from? You know, I’m Mitch. I’m sitting here and he’s grabbing my partner’s hand and calling him Mitch So that’s that’s the kind of shit you have. Somebody’s wife said, Hank, you better get Junior a job at that record company or I’m not gonna feed you anymore, or whatever she says to him. You get kids that don’t have any pedigree, they don’t have any knowledge, and they’re thrown into a position of luck.

Over the last 45 years, Ryder has had over 30 albums released on a variety of labels, including his latest projects. It is a body of work that few people stateside have been able to enjoy, but the singer is proud of what he has accomplished, and appreciates every bit of acclaim that comes his way, wherever it comes from.

“We were in a club. I forget where on this tour, but we were waiting to pack up after the show. I heard this one song. I didn’t take the time and trouble to hear who it was, but it was beautiful. And it went on for 12 minutes. I think one frigging song, a beautiful blues song for 12 minutes. And I’m going, damn, why aren’t we hearing that? Why is that hidden away in a club in a basement somewhere? Crazy stuff, crazy.

“It’s just crazy, and today is just really absolute chaos, even in every boardroom, they don’t know what the hell the other one’s talking about. It’s just about trying to figure out ways to make more money, that is the bottom line. It has nothing to do with art. And that’s the shame of it. That’s why the blues are taking a beating.”