Juice Newton

Born Judith Kay Newton on February 18, 1952, in Lakehurst, New Jersey, Juice Newton belonged among the earliest country performers steeped in rock, folk-rock, and the output of singer-songwriters, an upbringing reflected in the character of her breakthrough singles. “Angel of the Morning” and “Queen of Hearts,” the two tracks that crossed over most widely, carried country-pop surfaces yet drew their foundations from sixties pop and new-wave roots rock. Those influences enabled her to score pop crossovers in the opening years of the eighties while also sustaining steady country momentum across the remainder of the decade.

Although her birthplace was New Jersey, Newton grew up in Virginia. During high school her mother presented her with a guitar, which ignited a lasting attachment to folk music. After graduation she enrolled at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, and continued performing folk material in local coffeehouses. There she encountered guitarist and songwriter Otha Young; together they assembled the folk-rock group Dixie Peach and began working the bar circuit throughout northern California.

Dixie Peach endured for only a single year, yet it developed a noticeable regional audience. Once the band dissolved, Newton and Young formed Juice Newton & Silver Spur, a project that leaned more decisively toward country and achieved greater traction. Their growing following prompted the musicians to relocate to Los Angeles in search of a recording contract. In 1975 Juice Newton & Silver Spur secured a deal with RCA Records and issued a self-titled debut that produced the modest early-1976 single “Love Is a Word.” Later that year the ensemble delivered After the Dust Settles, which drew scant notice and led RCA to end the relationship. The band then moved to Capitol Records, releasing Come to Me in 1978; the album likewise failed to register, and Silver Spur disbanded shortly afterward.

Newton and Young nevertheless maintained their partnership. Still under contract to Capitol, the pair immediately prepared her first solo project. Juice appeared in early 1981 and quickly registered as a crossover success. Its opening single, “Angel of the Morning,” climbed to number four on the pop chart and number twenty-two on the country chart. “Queen of Hearts” fared even better, reaching number two pop and number fourteen country. The third single, “The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known),” became her strongest country performer at number one while also peaking at number seven pop. The album ultimately attained platinum status.

Newton’s next release, Quiet Lies, arrived in spring 1982. It likewise performed well, generating the pop top-ten entry “Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me” and the number-two country single “Break It to Me Gently.” The project earned a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, and was certified gold before year’s end. Her third solo album, Dirty Looks, surfaced in 1983 and marked the first occasion Newton failed to reach the top forty on either the pop or country lists.

In 1984 she returned to RCA. Her initial album for the label, Can’t Wait All Night, functioned as a transitional effort, shifting emphasis away from pop and toward country material. Old Flame, issued in 1985, represented her decisive country arrival; it yielded the number-one hits “You Make Me Want to Make You Mine,” “Hurt,” and the Eddie Rabbitt duet “Both to Each Other (Friends & Lovers),” plus three additional top-ten tracks—“Old Flame,” “Cheap Love,” and “What Can I Do With My Heart.” The set proved to be Newton’s sole major country success. Its successor, Emotion (1987), produced only one top-ten single, “Tell Me True.” Ain’t Gonna Cry followed in 1989 and contained the single “When Love Comes Around the Bend,” which barely entered the top forty.

Ain’t Gonna Cry concluded Newton’s recording activity for several years. She stepped away from country and instead presented polished mainstream pop in nightclub settings. Throughout the nineties she maintained an active schedule of live performances without issuing fresh material. In 1997 she rejoined producer Richard Landis to record The Trouble with Angels, a collection of newly tracked hits alongside original songs that appeared in spring 1998.