BIOGRAPHY
Mitch Ryder, born William Sherille Levise Jr. in Hamtramck, Michigan in 1945, fronted The Detroit Wheels from 1964 to 1967. The high-energy group scored its first major hit in 1965 with 'Jenny Take a Ride,' a medley of Chuck Willis' 'C.C. Rider' and Little Richard's 'Jenny, Jenny' that reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit No. 1 on the R&B chart, the first time a self-contained rock group had done so. Their biggest hit paired Shorty Long's 'Devil with a Blue Dress On' with Little Richard's 'Good Golly Miss Molly,' peaking at No. 4, and in 1967 'Sock It to Me, Baby!' became a top ten hit despite being banned by some stations for its suggestive title.