Juice Newton to appear at Gogebic County Fair

IRONWOOD — Judith Kay Newton, better known as Juice, was part of the first wave of country singers raised on folk rock music and is excited to perform on stage Friday during the Gogebic County Fair.

Over her career, Newton has been nominated for a Grammy five times for Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist, won an American Country Music Award for Best New Female Artist and won two Billboard Female Artist of the Year awards consecutively.

The vocalist has several gold and platinum records to her name, including “Juice” and “Quiet Lies.” During the 1980s, Newton charted 14 pop 10 hits across the Billboard charts.

Newton was born in New Jersey in 1952, but was raised in Virginia. Growing up, Newton said she listened to folk and liked to listen to rock and roll legend Bob Dylan, among others.

When she entered high school, Newton said her mother gave her a guitar, which prompted her “infatuation” with folk music.

Newton attended Foothill College in Los Angeles, where she played music in area coffee houses.

During this time, Newton said she met Otha Young, a fellow guitarist and songwriter. Newton said they had great chemistry when they played together, so they formed a band called Dixie Peach and played at bars around northern California.

The band only lasted one year, but managed to gain a local following. After the band broke up, Newton and Young formed Juice Newton and the Silver Spur, which Newton said had more of a country feel to the band than Dixie Peach.

She said the fan base was large enough to try to land a record contract in Los Angeles.

In 1975, Juice Newton and Silver Spur signed with RCA Records and released the debut album in 1976 that featured the single “Love is a Word.”

The band later signed with Capitol Records and released “Come to Me” in 1978, but it was unsuccessful and the band broke up.

Newton said she and Young continued to work together. Together, they became even better friends while working on Newton’s solo debut, “Juice,” in 1981. It quickly became a cross-over hit by combining country and rock music. She said the first single from the record, “Angel of the Morning,” climbed to No. 4 on the pop charts.

Newton said “Queen of Hearts” was a bigger hit, reaching No. 2 on the pop charts and 14 on the country charts. But she said “The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known),” the third single taken from “Juice,” was her biggest country hit, reaching No. 1 on the country charts and No. 7 on the pop charts.

Newton released “Quiet Lies” in 1982. She said the album won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance for a female.

Her third solo album, “Dirty Looks,” was released in 1983. Newton said the record was the first time she failed to make either the pop or country top 40.

Newton said she then decided to concentrate on country, instead of pop. She switched labels to RCA and released “Can’t Wait All Night” in 1984. She released “Old Flame” in 1985.

In 1989, she released “Ain’t Gonna Cry,” which featured the single, “When Love Comes Around the Bend.”

Newton said the album was her last for several years. She stopped playing country music and performed mainstream pop in night clubs. During the early 1990s, she performed concerts without recording new material.

In 1997, Newton reunited with producer Richard Landis and recorded “The Trouble with Angels,” which is a collection of recorded hits and new songs. It was released in 1998.

In 2009, Young died. “It was a real blow,” Newton said. With Young in her heart, she looks forward to perform Friday at 7 p.m. during the fair on the grandstand stage.

“It should be a good show,” she said.