The Detroit Wheels were an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band, formed in Detroit in 1964. They served as

Mitch Ryder Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades. Career Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...

's backup band from 1964 to 1967. The band had a number of top twenty hits in the mid-1960s before lead singer Ryder was enticed away by Bob Crewe with offers of a solo career, after which the group quickly dissolved. Two of its former members,

Jim McCarty James Stanley McCarty (born 25 July 1943) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only member of the band to featu ...

and

Johnny "Bee" Badanjek Johnny "Bee" Badanjek is an American musician, singer, songwriter and painter. Music career At 16, Badanjek (pronounced:buh-DAN-jek) was the drummer for the Detroit rock and roll band Billy Lee and The Rivieras who later changed their name to ...

, later reunited to establish the nucleus of a new band called The Rockets, after McCarty found some fame with the hard rock outfit Cactus.

History

The band had its origins in Detroit in the early 1960s. At this time, a young white singer by the name of William Levise, Jr., who was singing at a black soul club called The Village, met a rock & roll group which included McCarty, bassist Earl Elliot, and Badanjek. Levise decided to join the group and took the stage name of Billy Lee, and the band became Billy Lee and the Rivieras. After attracting attention from producer Bob Crewe while working as a support act to

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

, the group moved to New York to start recording. However, since another band had already recorded as The Rivieras, the band decided to change its name again. With the help of a phone book, Levise took the new stage name of Mitch Ryder, and Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels were born. The group's live performances are said to have had an "explosive quality" and their style has been described as "revved up... R&B". Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels had their first big hit in 1965 with "Jenny Take a Ride", which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

– the first time a self-contained rock group had achieved the latter distinction.The Ryder Stipulates, ''Metro Times''. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the RIAA. Crewe had originally planned to release the track as a B-side, but changed his mind after seeing the reactions of

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, who were in the Stei-Philips studio in New York City as it was being recorded. Ryder and the Detroit Wheels followed up with another top twenty hit, "Little Latin Lupe Lu," which peaked at No. 17. After a couple of misses, the group had its biggest hit with the "

Devil with a Blue Dress On "Devil with a Blue Dress On" (also known as "Devil with the Blue Dress") is a song written by Shorty Long and William "Mickey" Stevenson, first performed by Long and released as a single in 1964. A later version recorded by Mitch Ryder and The ...

"/"

Good Golly Miss Molly In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

" medley which reached No. 4. Around this period they also recorded a number of albums, largely composed of reworked R&B classics, along with a smattering of original compositions. In 1967, Ryder had another top ten hit with "Sock It to Me, Baby!", which was banned by some stations as too sexually suggestive. The band had its last hit with the brassy "Too Many Fish in the Sea"/"Three Little Fishes" single, which reached No. 24. Crewe then persuaded Ryder to quit the group and embark on a solo career. After Ryder's departure, Badanjek fronted a short-lived band of the same name which recorded several tracks, most notably " Linda Sue Dixon", a song glorifying the illicit hallucinogenic drug

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

, which charted worldwide in 1968. They also recorded "Think (About the Good Things)/For the Love of a Stranger". The band's line-up during this time is uncertain. Ryder's solo career, meantime, had been mishandled and failed to take off. In 1969 he, Badanjek and some other musicians along with Mitch Ryder on vocals covering a number of the songs established a new band called The Band Detroit, which recorded an eponymous named album. One single was released from the album, a cover of Lou Reed's "Rock and Roll" that Reed reportedly liked better than his original version, and Reed subsequently hired Detroit guitarist Steve Hunter for his own band. Detroit's follow-up tour to the album, however, met with little success, after which Ryder departed once again and the band broke up. The final lineup of the band featured harmonica player and powerhouse singer

Rusty Day Russell Edward "Rusty Day" Davidson (December 29, 1945 – June 3, 1982) was a lead vocalist, best known for his work with Cactus, the Amboy Dukes, and Steve Gaines. Career with the Amboy Dukes Day joined the Amboy Dukes in 1969 after their f ...

, who Ryder chose to replace him in 1972, and also featured pre- Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Steve "Crawdaddy" Gaines, guitarist Bill Hodgson of Shadowfax, drummer Ted "T-Mel" Smith of The Spinners, bassist Nathaniel Peterson of Twin Dragons, and keyboardist Terry Emery of the Moxie Band Atlanta. Steve Gaines died on Skynyrd's plane crash October 20, 1977. Also killed in the crash were Gaines's older sister

Cassie Cassie is a feminine given name and a short form of various other given names mostly used in English-speaking countries. It is more rarely a surname. People and fictional characters named Cassie include: People with the name Given name or nickna ...

, and Skynyrd founder and lead singer Ronnie VanZant. Rusty Day was murdered on June 3, 1982, at his own home in Longwood, Florida. Nobody knows who killed Day, and the case remains open even now. Bill Hodgson died around 1983 shortly after having moved to New York. Hodgson died due to what was confirmed to be a drug overdose, most likely accidental. Ted "T-Mel" Smith died of natural causes in 2006. Terry Emery joined the Moxie Band Atlanta in 1997, which he's remained in ever since. Nathaniel Peterson has been in several bands after The Band Detroit broke up, in particularly one that Peterson founded called Twin Dragons. In 1972, Badanjek and former Wheels guitarist McCarty reunited to form the nucleus of a new group called The Rockets, which recorded a number of albums through the 1970s and 1980s. McCarty continues to perform today with his group, Mystery Train. John Badanjek remains active as well and still plays out with McCarty. McCarty also played with Rusty Day,

Tim Bogert John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III (August 27, 1944 – January 13, 2021) was an American musician. He graduated in 1963 from Ridgefield Memorial High School in his hometown of Ridgefield, New Jersey. As a bass guitarist and vocalist he was best ...

and

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( , born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is also Vinny Appice's ...

in the group

Cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

Discography

Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

''Take a Ride'' (1966)
1. Shake A Tail Feather
2. Come See About Me
3. Let Your Lovelight Shine
4. Just A Little Bit
5. I Hope
6. Jenny Take A Ride
7. Please, Please, Please
8. I'll Go Crazy
9. I Got You
10. Sticks And Stones
11. Bring It On Home To Me
12. Baby Jane (Mo-Mo Jane)
13. Joy Re-released on the Sundazed Music Inc. label, ASIN B000003GX4. ''Breakout...!!!'' (1966)
1. Walking The Dog
2. I Had It Made
3. In The Midnight Hour
4.

Ooh Poo Pah Doo "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" is a song written and performed by Jessie Hill. It was arranged and produced by Allen Toussaint. The single reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and No. 28 on the Hot 100 in 1960. Ike & Tina Turner versions Ike & Tina T ...

(

Jessie Hill Jessie Hill (December 9, 1932 – September 17, 1996) was an American R&B and Louisiana blues singer and songwriter, best remembered for the classic song "Ooh Poo Pah Doo". Life and career Hill was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United Sta ...

)
5. I Like It Like That
6. Little Latin Lupe Lu
7. Devil With A Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly
8. Shakin' With Linda
9. Stubborn Kind Of Fellow
10. You Get Your Kicks
11. I Need Help
12. Any Day Now
13. Breakout Re-released on the Sundazed Music Inc. label, ASIN B000003GX5. ''Sock It To Me!'' (1967)
1. Sock It To Me-Baby
2. I Can't Hide It
3. Takin' All I Can Get
4. Slow Fizz
5. Walk On By
6. I Never Had It Better
7. Shakedown Listen Listen
8. A Face In The Crowd
9. I'd Rather Go To Jail
10. Wild Child
11. Too Many Fish In The Sea/Three Little Fishes
12. You Are My Sunshine
13. Ruby Baby & Peaches On A Cherry Tree Re-released on the Sundazed Music Inc. label, ASIN B000003GX6. ''All Mitch Ryder Hits!'' (1967. Collector's Edition with bonus tracks, 1993)
1. Devil With A Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly
2. Jenny Take A Ride
3. Joy
4. Breakout
5. In The Midnight Hour
6. Sock It To Me - Baby!
7. Little Latin Lupe Lu
8. Takin' All I Can Get
9. Too Many Fish In The Sea/Three Little Fishes
10. I'd Rather Go To Jail
11. Shake A Tail Feather
12. (You've Got) Personality/Chantilly Lace (bonus track)
13. Baby I Need Your Loving/Theme For Mitch (bonus track) Re-released on the Sundazed Music Inc. label, ASIN B000003GXU.

The Detroit Wheels

*" Linda Sue Dixon"/"Tally Ho" (single, 1968 - Inferno I-5002). *" Think (About the Good Things)"/"For the Love of a Stranger" (single, 1968 - Inferno I-5003).

The Band Detroit

''The Band Detroit'' "featuring; Mitch Ryder" (1971 album). MCA label, ASIN B00004VPJG. 1. Long Neck Goose
2. Is It You (Or Is It Me)
3. Box of Old Roses
4. It Ain't Easy
5. Rock 'N' Roll
6. Let It Rock
7. Drink
8. Gimme Shelter^*
9. I Found A New Love
^*Bonus track on CD that was not on original album

Members

Their original members were: *

- lead vocals,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

* John Deleone - drums,

* Mark Manko - lead guitar * Joseph Kubert - rhythm guitar * Earl E. Elliott - bass (replaced) * Jim McCallister - bass (replaced Earl Elliot in 1966, pictured on album displayed on this page) *

- drums In an offshoot of the band called

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, there was: *

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and backing vocals, harmonica,

* Steve Gaines - guitars, backing and lead vocals * Bill Hodgson - guitars * Steve Hunter - guitars * Nathaniel Peterson - bass, backing vocals * Terry Emery - keyboards, backing and lead vocals * Ted "T-Mel" Smith - drums, backing and lead vocals, percussion * Wilson Owens - drums, Percussion

References

External links

Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels performing "Jenny Take a Ride"
- YouTube. {{DEFAULTSORT:Detroit Wheels Rock music groups from Michigan American rhythm and blues musical groups Musical groups from Detroit Musical groups established in 1964 1964 establishments in Michigan Musical groups disestablished in 1967 1967 disestablishments in Michigan