If you go
› What: Mitch Ryder with guests Jess Goggans and Cybil Baker› When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6› Where: Cadek Recital Hall, 725 Oak St., on the UTC campus› Admission: $10
Fans who attend the Mitch Ryder concert Friday night, Sept. 6, in Cadek Hall on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will witness a different side of the legendary soul/R&B singer, who is known for such hits as "Devil With a Blue Dress," "Jenny Take a Ride" and "C.C. Rider."
"I'm going to do a little more talking than usual, and because it's an acoustically correct hall, we might do an all-acoustic or largely acoustic set," Ryder said.
"I'll probably tell some stories, so it's a chance to get to know me, I guess."
The longtime leader of the Detroit Wheels, and Detroit native, now lives in the Chattanooga area with his wife, Megan, and dog Scrapper. He will be backed by a group of local musicians.
He said this will not be the usual, high-energy, hard-driving rock set like he did at Riverbend in 2018, but more of an intimate set of material, including covers of songs by artists who have influenced or meant a great deal to the 2017 inductee into the R&B Hall of Fame. (Elvis Presley is the only other white inductee in the Hall.)
Backing Ryder will be Amanda Rose Cagle on keyboards, Johnny Smith on drums, Jason Lyles on guitar and Michael Andrews on bass.
"It should be a very relaxed atmosphere," Ryder said, "because the size of the room dictates that up-close- and-personal show."
He said he has done only a couple of similar shows, where he was backed only by a guitar, in his career, so he is excited about this opportunity.
"It's going to be ambitious," he said.
Ryder's career has spanned almost six decades and intersected with some of the more legendary figures in music and pop culture. Actress Winona Ryder, born Winona Horowitz, chose Ryder as her last name after seeing a Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels album in her father's record collection.
Ryder continues to tour, especially in Europe, and to record. He tours Europe every year and released a collection of holiday songs called "Christmas (Take a Ride)" last year. Friend and colleague James Brown called him the greatest white soul singer in the business. Ryder was the last person to record with R&B legend Otis Redding the day before he died in a place crash.
Lou Reed called Ryder's version of "Rock and Roll" better than the original Reed recorded with The Velvet Underground. For many years, Bruce Springsteen closed his concerts with "Devil With a Blue Dress," and at one point before his death, guitar god Jimi Hendrix asked Ryder to be the singer in a new band he was forming.
Ryder has often recounted being asked by Hendrix to listen to what would become the "Axis: Bold as Love" album weeks before it was released.
Opening for Ryder will be local singer Jess Goggans and Cybil Baker, author and UC Foundation Professor and associate English Department head. She will read some original works to open the evening.
The show will be streamed at WUTC.org.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.