At the time of the British Invasion, America's counter was frequently considered....The Beach Boys? Nothing against the genius of Brian Wilson, but c'mon. If you wanted to Rock, and Rock hard, few did it better than Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. Ryder combined all the best sounds the Motor City had to offer--Garage Rock, Soul and Blues--and his group racked up iconic hit after iconic hit..."Devil With The Blue Dress On", "Jenny Take A Ride", "CC Rider", "Sock It To Me Baby" and "Too Many Fish In The Sea". They were like the Stones on high octane rocket fuel and espresso spiked with home brewed whiskey. Though Mitch Ryder and the Wheels' charting years were brief (just 1965 - 1968), their impact was sufficient that Ryder has never had to worry about being forgotten and Mitch has worked steadily and been in high demand in all the decades that have followed. Ryder was also a major influence on artists like Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen. Inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame last year, Mitch Ryder was in an Austin, Texas, studio earlier this month laying down tracks for his first ever Christmas Album. While details on the new record are, as yet, scarce, Ryder is not entirely without representation in the already existing holiday canon.
"Hey Hey Santa"--credited to Mitch Ryder & The Garfield Blues Band--originally appeared on the 1994 local artist CD "Christmas In Detroit Too", the second in a trilogy of holiday sets brought together by author Mitch Albom to raise money for S.A.Y. Detroit, a non-profit dedicated to rebuilding the inner city one life at a time by funding homeless programs in the area. "Christmas In Detroit" (the original) was released on cassette in 1992. "Christmas In Detroit 3" was released in 2009 and was only available as part of a 3-CD set that included the first two volumes as well. As we're a decade removed from the latest release, and as they were local Detroit compilations, you'll have to seek them out on the secondary market and they might be pricey. But you can stream the tunes at ReverbNation, if you're curious.
Though the mostly exceptional material on these three Christmas comps has remained largely unavailable anywhere else, "Hey Hey Santa" did appear on another local artist Detroit charity comp in 1996. "A Little Holiday Spark" is available for relatively cheap through Amazon vendors. Make no mistake, the "Christmas In Detroit" comps are far far superior. But "A Little Holiday Spark" does include worthwhile tracks from The Sun Messengers and Marshall Crenshaw in addition to Mitch Ryder's track (assuming that's the one you're after).
Still rockin' at age 73 (though he now lives in Tennessee), it's gonna be interesting to hear what Mitch Ryder does with a full Christmas album.
Though the mostly exceptional material on these three Christmas comps has remained largely unavailable anywhere else, "Hey Hey Santa" did appear on another local artist Detroit charity comp in 1996. "A Little Holiday Spark" is available for relatively cheap through Amazon vendors. Make no mistake, the "Christmas In Detroit" comps are far far superior. But "A Little Holiday Spark" does include worthwhile tracks from The Sun Messengers and Marshall Crenshaw in addition to Mitch Ryder's track (assuming that's the one you're after).
Still rockin' at age 73 (though he now lives in Tennessee), it's gonna be interesting to hear what Mitch Ryder does with a full Christmas album.
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