January 28, 2008

 

Rock n'roll original's performance will celebrate a long career Wayne State University Press presents MITCH RYDER AND THE DETROIT WHEELS in concert on Saturday, March 22 at 8 pm at the Michigan Theater. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, February 2 at 10:00 am.

The performance will celebrate Ryder's long career and the release of a new biography, It Was All Right: Mitch Ryder's Life in Music, by Detroit area author and reporter James A. Mitchell, to be published in April by WSU Press. In place of an opening act, Mitch Ryder will be interviewed live on stage by noted rock journalist Gary Graff.

Born in 1945 in Hamtramck, Ryder has made more than two dozen albums and given upward of 8,000 performances. Some of his earliest gigs were in Greenwich Village clubs, singing with a black trio in the early days of the civil rights movement, jamming with Jimi Hendrix, and attending private parties thrown by the Beatles.

Who can forget Mitch's tear-the-place-down versions of "Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Jenny Take a Ride" or his immortal cover of Lou Reed’s "Rock & Roll," that Reed has called the "definitive version?" Powerful vocals and memorable live appearances have been his trademark for 47 years in the music business.

Reserved seats are $25 and $40, with limited Gold Circle seating at $75; available Saturday, February 2 at 10:00 am at LiveNation.com and all Ticketmaster outlets including Macy's stores and the Michigan Union Ticket Office. Charge-by-phone at 248-645-6666 or 734-763-TKTS.

Books will be available for sale the night of the show or in advance by calling WSU Press (800-978-7323) or online at wsupress.wayne.edu