by Jason AnkenyThe unsung heart and soul of the Motor City rock & roll scene, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels blue-eyed R&B attack boasted a gritty passion and incendiary energy matched by few artists on either side of the color line. Born William Levise, Jr. in Hamtramck, MI on February 26, 1945, as a teen Ryder sang with a local black quartet dubbed the Peps but suffered so much racial harassment that he soon left the group to form his own combo, Billy Lee and the Rivieras. While opening for the Dave Clark Five during a 1965 date, the Rivieras came to the notice of producer Bob Crewe, who immediately signed the group and, according to legend, rechristened the singer Mitch Ryder after randomly selecting the name from a phone book. Backed by the peerless Detroit Wheels — originally guitarists James McCarty and Joseph Cubert, bassist Earl Elliot, and drummer Johnny Bee Badanjek — Ryder reached the Top Ten in early 66 with Jenny Ta...