Michigan produced an incredible number of rock artists during the sixties and seventies. Bob Seger, The Stooges, MC5, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, and Grand Funk Railroad all came out of that state. Then there was Motown, which was another world altogether. There must have been something in the water up there.
One artist I haven’t covered nearly enough is Mitch Ryder. I previously wrote about his song B.I.G. T.I.M.E. because, as usual, I went for something less obvious. This time I’m going with the song most people remember him for.
Devil with a Blue Dress On / Good Golly Miss Molly is three minutes of pure rock and roll. He was born William Levise Jr. in Hamtramck, Michigan, in 1945. He started singing around Detroit and eventually joined a band called Billy Lee & The Rivieras. After attracting the attention of producer Bob Crewe, they became Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels.
The first part of this medley was originally recorded by Motown artist Shorty Long in 1964. Long wrote Devil with the Blue Dress with William “Mickey” Stevenson. It was a good R&B song, but it didn’t become a major pop hit. Ryder and the Wheels took it somewhere else entirely. The second song, Good Golly Miss Molly, was already a rock and roll classic associated with Little Richard. It was written by John Marascalco and Robert “Bumps” Blackwell. Putting these two songs together turned out to be a great idea.
The Detroit Wheels played with a loud, raw energy that fit Ryder’s voice perfectly. Guitarist Jim McCarty was an important part of that sound. There was nothing delicate about this band. They came out swinging and didn’t let up.
The record was produced by Bob Crewe and released in 1966 on his New Voice label. It appeared on the album Breakout…!!! and reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became the band’s biggest hit.
What makes this recording work is the way the two songs fit together. They don’t sound like two separate numbers that somebody decided to stick on the same record. The band moves from one into the other without losing any momentum.
And Ryder’s voice is something else. He doesn’t have the smoothest voice in rock and roll, but that’s not what this song needs. He sounds like he’s giving everything he has, and the Wheels are right there with him
I love this kind of rock and roll. It’s loud, it’s raw, and it sounds like a band having a great time. There is no need for a long guitar solo or a complicated arrangement. They get in, play the song, and get out.
I’ve always thought Michigan had its own musical personality. The Detroit rock bands had a toughness about them. You can hear it in Seger, the MC5, and The Stooges. Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels were part of that same musical world, although they leaned more toward R&B and early rock and roll.
I usually try to find the forgotten songs by artists like Ryder. There are plenty worth hearing. But sometimes you have to go with the obvious choice. Especially when it sounds this good.
The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard 100 and #5 in Canada in 1966.
Devil with a Blue Dress On / Good Golly Miss Molly
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Fee, fee, fi, fi, fo-fo, fum
Look at mine today, here she comes
Wearin’ her wig hat and shades to match
Her high-heel shoes and an alligator hat
Wearin’ pearls and diamond rings
She’s got bracelets on her fingers, now, and everything?
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Hey I said now, devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Wearin’ her perfume, Chanel No. 5
Got to be the finest thing alive
Walks real cool, catches everybody’s eye
Catch you too nervous and you can’t say hi
Not too skinny not too fat
Real humdinger and I like it like that
She’s the devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Good golly, Miss Molly (good golly, Miss Molly)
You sure like to ball (good golly, Miss Molly)
Good golly, Miss Molly(good golly, Miss Molly)
You sure like to ball (good golly, Miss Molly)
If you’re rockin’ and rollin'(good golly, Miss Molly)
Hear your mama call (Good golly, Miss Molly)
From the early, early mornin’ ’til the early, early nights
See Miss Molly rockin’ at the House of Blue Lights
Good golly, Miss Molly (good golly, Miss Molly)
You sure like to ball (good golly, Miss Molly)
You have take it easy (good golly, Miss Molly)
Hear your mama call (good golly, Miss Molly)
Fee, fee, fi, fi, fo-fo, fum
Look once again, now, here she comes
Wearin’ her wig hat and shades to match
Got high-heel shoes and an alligator hat
Wearin’ her pearls and her diamond rings
That sort of thing is now everything
She’s devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Hey I said now, devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on