“The same as it has always been. One of the major pillars to please, bring comfort and joy to society as a whole. I want them to enjoy it and for it to somehow make their lives a little better.”

Mitch Ryder: From Detroit … With Love 

When an artist of Mitch Ryder’s caliber looks back over their storied six-decade career and tells you their latest album “With Love” (Release Day: February 21st, 2025, Ruf Records) is essential listening, you should take that statement seriously. Ryder, as anyone who has followed the roots and branches of American music will attest, is one of the faces carved onto rock ‘n’ roll’s Mount Rushmore, and the spiritual forefather to every bluecollar firebrand – from Bruce Springsteen to Ted Nugent – who ever turned up their amp and hollered their truth. He’s the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer who was there at the flash-point in the late-’50s. He’s the hit-maker who tore up the charts in the mid-’60s with Detroit Wheels cuts like Jenny Take A Ride and his reworking of Devil With A Blue Dress On. Amongst his myriad claims to fame, Ryder was both the last man to play with Otis Redding (in 1967), and the first living white artist inducted into the R&B Hall Of Fame (in 2017). An impressive discography comprising more than 30 albums: That is the balance sheet of his more than 50-year musical career. The rock musician and singer Mitch Ryder has long since become a legend. With his band “Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels”, he had his first hit in 1965 with “Jenny Take A Ride!”.

(Mitch Ryder / Photo © by Alejandro Saldana — “With Love” album’s cover / Photo © by Peter Szymanski)

For many musicians of Ryder’s vintage and status, age heralds a creative slowdown and reliance on the hits. But as he broaches his eighth decade, the Michigan-born singer-songwriter remains in constant motion, his backstory only rivaled by what is yet to come. It’s an attitude epitomized by the new Don Was-produced 10-tracks studio album “With Love” on Ruf Records, and packed with tough, tender, personal songs that stand alongside anything in his catalog. Incredibly, more than a half-century since Mitch Ryder first lit up the rock ‘n’ roll radar, With Love proves this lifelong visionary still has creative gas in the tank. True and beautiful, with that certain dirt and whiskey in his voice, that’s real rhythm & blues and that’s exactly what Mitch Ryder does. According to Keith Richards, the original rocker from Detroit is one of the most exciting singers to have emerged on the music scene. Inspired by James Brown and Motown, Mitch Ryder still does what he does best: Singing blues from the bottom of his heart.

Interview by Michael Limnios

Special Thanks: Mitch Ryder, Doug W. Deutsch, Brett Steele, Thomas Ruf (Ruf Records)

How has the music influenced your views of the world? What moment changed your music life the most? 

Interesting question, but I enjoy life a lot more when I separate music from world events. Recording my first record at 16 in Detroit for a gospel label. 

Why do you think that Michigan music legacy continues to generate such a devoted following?

Apparently it is music that many people on the world need to soothe their soul and bring them joy.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

To be honest, the music of the past appears to have returned. At this stage of my life, there is no time for fear but only time to continue to pursuing hopes and dreams.

Currently you’ve one more release with Ruf Records. How did that relationship come about? Do you have any interesting stories about the making of the new album With Love?

I was looking for a new record label and our dear friend Peter from the Hirsch in Nurnberg introduced me to Thomas Ruf. 

Yes, it was not only interesting but amazing to be in a studio with so many extremely talented people.

”I am just continuing the journey chasing my passion and if the next generation finds it valuable then that is a bonus.”

(Mitch Ryder with Don Was and Thomas Ruf)

What characterize “With Love” album’s music philosophy and songbook? Where does your creative drive come from?

Out of the 21 studio albums that I have recorded, this one is in the top two. It is one of the most honest albums I’ve ever made. Not that the other ones were lies, but I was able to access previously hidden feelings. Everything on the album is autobiographical. “One Monkey” is about my drug addiction and how I overcame it. “Fly” is about my career and being happy about it, the trajectory and body of work I was able to produce.

What is the role of music in today’s society? How do you want the music to affect people?

The same as it has always been. One of the major pillars to please, bring comfort and joy to society as a whole. I want them to enjoy it and for it to somehow make their lives a little better. 

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

The music teaches me about life every day….But the music industry taught me that if you are going to be in this business, you need a good accountant and a good lawyer. 

What are you doing to keep your music relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

I am just continuing the journey chasing my passion and if the next generation finds it valuable then that is a bonus.

Mitch Ryder - Home

(Mitch Ryder / Photo © by Alejandro Saldana)