By Paul Freeman [October 2012 Interview]

As she has been doing for decades, pop-country singer Juice Newton continues to delight audiences.

After recording a couple of albums with the band Silver Spur, Newton went solo in 1977. “It’s A Heartache” introduced her to the pop world. In 1978, “Sweet, Sweet Smile,” which she co-wrote with Otha Young, was recorded by The Carpenters and made an impact on the country and Adult Contemporary charts.

It was Newton’s third solo album, 1981’s “Juice,” that propelled her to major stardom. It included the smash hits, “Angel of the Morning,” “The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known)” and “Queen of Hearts.”

Her follow-up album featured “Love’s Been A Little Bit Hard on Me” and a remake of a Brenda Lee classic, “Break It To Me Gently.” The latter earned Newton a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. She has garnered five Grammy nominations.

Country hits kept coming. But, at the end of the ‘80s, Newton settled in San Diego with husband Tom Goodspeed and concentrated on raising her two children, Jessica and Tyler. A skilled equestrian, she has participated in polo and jumping competitions.

Newton has returned to performing and recording. In 2007, she released “The Gift of Christmas.” Her “Duets: Friends & Memories” album arrived in 2010, with guests WIllie Nelson, Frankie Valli, Melissa Manchester, Randy Meisner, Glen Campbell and Dan Seals. Last year, the Fuel 2000 label released “Juice Newton: The Ultimate Hits Collection.”

Juice Newton chatted with Pop Culture Classics prior to her November 13th concert at Yoshi’s San Francisco [$25; www.yoshis.com; 415-655-5600].

POP CULTURE CLASSICS:
With your current set, what’s the range of material?

JUICE NEWTON:
Well, it’s a very different show, because we’re going to do these classic hits in an acoustic setting. And that makes it interesting, to rearrange these tunes in a way that present themselves and yet stays true to what the audience would hope to hear.

So it’s interesting to present those big power ballads with just three pieces and not piano even. We’re going with two guitars, dobro and bass. It’s fun!

PCC:
It must make those songs fresh for you, as well?

JUICE NEWTON:
It does make it fresh. And that’s the part that makes it interesting, because I hadn’t been doing this trio set for quite some time, because I lost one of my players... meaning, he passed away. So I put it away, because he was so integral. And then, luckily for me, I came across another great guitar player, out of New Orleans. So it’s a different slant on it. So I’m excited about it. We’ve only done it a couple of times, so San Francisco should be the acid test.

PCC:
It must give it a nice, intimate feel, when you’re doing them acoustically.

JUICE NEWTON:
It does. And it just changes the whole dynamic. And the arrangements are very different. Very, very different. So you have to learn to tap your foot in time, that’s for sure.

PCC:
You mentioned losing one of your band members. Is that Otha Young [who died of cancer in 2009]?

JUICE NEWTON:
Yes.

PCC:
It must have been a very special creative relationship you two had over the years, collaborating on so many great songs.

JUICE NEWTON:
It was very sad, yes. The last stuff that we got to write together was on a Christmas album that we did a few years ago, right as he started to get really sick again. So it was actually special that we could push that through. I worked with him for over 30 years.

PCC:
As far as your roots, the way you mix so many genres, is that just reflective of your eclectic tastes? Or was that the result of a conscious decision?

JUICE NEWTON:
No. You know, there are people that choose a specific genre. But when I grew up, and where I grew up, it was just, if you liked the music or you loved the tune or you covered a tune that you really liked, that was it. The critera was not what someone else thought you should be. So you just had to do the tunes that were right for you, whatrever they might be. And I’m really lucky, because I actually started more in folk music. And then I moved into pop. And there were several albums that were on the pop charts and then we were accepted on AC, which is actually even a smaller slot, and then it moved over into country. That’s because country radio opened up. They had to open up. They needed more audience, so they were more accepting of stuff that wasn’t traditional, heritage country.

PCC:
How old were you, when you moved with your family, from the Northeast to Virginia?

JUICE NEWTON:
I was, oh, gee, like two. I was very young. My Dad was in the service for 27 years. So we were in teeny, tiny place in New Jersey. They had just moved from Florida. My Dad was stationed in Florida, then New Jersey, then he was reassigned to Virginia.

PCC:
Was music a stabilizing force for you, growing up?

JUICE NEWTON:
Well, I’m actually the only musician in the family, that I know of, period.

PCC:
What were some of the early inspirations that drew you to music?

JUICE NEWTON:
Remember, I actually grew up in the South, in Virginia, in a tourist town. So I was actually raised on more what I called horn bands. All the bands had a horn section. Sort of R&B. With horn blasts and saxophones. So I think it’s interesting that I came out not doing R&B.

It was a tourist town and we had all these dance bands, especially in the summer, because the town came alive in the summer and rolled up shop in the winter.

PCC:
At what point did you realize that music was going to be your path in life?

JUICE NEWTON:
Oh, by the time I was 13, I was already playing music in public, for money. [Laughs]. So I thought, ‘Oh, this is good! I like this. And it feels right.’ So it just seemed to continue on that way.

PCC:
Where did the nickname ‘Juice’ come from [Her real name is Judy]?

JUICE NEWTON:
That came from my extended family. I probably would have made up something more exotic. [Laughs]

PCC:
‘Sweet, Sweet Smile,’ that you wrote with Otha Young, how significant was it for you, when The Carpenters recorded that?

JUICE NEWTON:
It was really huge. One of the reasons was that, very rarely did Karen Carpenter choose the material. And I mean, very rarely. Almost never. Her brother [Richard] pretty much did everything like that. So I was actually quite flattered, when she chose that. And I recently recorded that song. I’d never recorded it. And then I put it on this greatest hits package that I did last year with Fuel Records. It’s very different. They were very, very pop, The Carpenters. And that wasn’t really the way I wrote the tune. But it didn’t matter. I was flattered that they did it... bought my first new car.

PCC:
As far as your own recording success, you’d been recording for a while, before the ‘Juice’ album broke through in such a big way. Did you ever have doubts that it was going to happen for you?

JUICE NEWTON:
You know, at that point, when you are so busy, your focus is, frankly, on playing live. What you really depend on are the live gigs, the live performance. And you’re so centered on that, being quote ‘a success,’ or having hits, isn’t always at the forefront. It’s paying your rent, that’s at the forefront. It’s true. And, so you look forward to that. But I’m a journeyman musician. I work year-round. I’ve worked year-round since I was 13. So I like that I’m not dependent on just a piece of product. I really like working.

PCC:
When ‘Angel of the Morning’ came up, did that just seem like a perfect fit for you?

JUICE NEWTON:
I heard the tune and I thought, ‘Oh, this is interesting.’ I had heard the tune, of course, because it was a huge hit in the ‘60s. And then when the label brought it to my producer, Richard Landis, and myself, we both thought, ‘This is cool.’ And it was pop. So we recorded it and I think we did a really excellent version of that great tune.

PCC:
And having a hit with ‘The Sweetest Thing,’ how did that one come about?

JUICE NEWTON:
Well, that’s a great love song. I’m actually shocked that it had never been covered, because it’s a very powerful song, in my opinion. Otha wrote the tune. We started doing it in live performance. And it just started to evolve and it got better and better. When Richard heard it, he liked it, but he wasn’t floored by it. And I said, ‘I really think we should pursue this tune,’ because I could just tell he would just click into it, once he heard it in the studio with a string section and the whole bit. And then he fell in love with it. Because it’s a big, power ballad. It’s actually like ‘Angel’ in that sense. It’s a big, power pop ballad. And like I said, I’m just shocked someone else hasn’t covered it. It could be a male or female song, it’s not specific like that.

PCC:
‘Queen of Hearts,’ a very different kind of record, did you have an inkling that might become a signature tune for you?

JUICE NEWTON:
I knew that song was going to be a hit. Again, that came to me unsolicited. It was mailed to me, literally, in a plain, brown wrapper, from the publisher, came directly to my house. And we were sort of in-between. Richard Landis had just come on board. We were actually talking, whether we would hook up as a producer and artist. And I started doing that song in live performance. And I knew immediately, because that’s a real testing point. It just grabbed the audience, because it has those great eighth-notes, which is very infectious. It’s like what we call ‘four-on-the-floor’ with your bass drum. There’s something very rhythmic about that. And so I did it a lot in live performance. And it was a cold tune, absolutely unknown to people. And they really liked it. So I introduced it to Richard. And he was not sure. He did not believe, necessarily, that it was going to be a hit. But he said, ‘Okay, we’ll do it. We’ll put it on the album.’ And it was a hit. A very big hit. It’s a cool tune.

PCC:
Once all these hits were happening, back to back, were you able to just enjoy that? Or was it a whirlwind?

JUICE NEWTON:
I was just working. It was work, 24/7. We were out on the road, from four to seven months at a time. So the manager is saying, ‘You’ve got a true, bona fide hit.’ Then ‘You’ve got another one.’ And you’re going, ‘Yeah, but I’ve really got to go. I’ve got to get on stage.’ [Laughs]

PCC:
So you didn’t feel pressured to come up with the next hit?

JUICE NEWTON:
No, I didn’t, because I think the artist/performer, where you get your thrill is on that live stage. That’s what’s happening.

PCC:
But the Grammy win, was that an important validation for you?

JUICE NEWTON:
Oh, I was very honored by that. Any award I’ve won, whether it’s the Grammy or other Grammy nominations or the NARM [National Association of Recording Merchandisers] stuff I’ve been awarded, I really like those. And I appreciate them. I think it’s cool. I love all those little statuettes. I think it’s wonderful. I’ve got a BAMMY from up there in the Bay Area. I’m very happy for all of those.

PCC:
Given your passion for performing, was it an easy decision to take time off to raise a family? Or did you agonize over that?

JUICE NEWTON:
A little, yeah. Because I knew it was going to be a huge risk. And there was a really big possibility that it would never return to that level. And it did not. But that was a personal choice. My manager decided he needed something that was more hot and heavy. And that’s okay. That’s the way it goes. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.

PCC:
And how old are the kids now?

JUICE NEWTON:
Oh, mine are in their early 20s.

PCC:
Did you miss it badly, when you were away from performing?

JUICE NEWTON:
I did. But I was pretty busy. So it wasn’t as though I had nothing to do.

PCC:
And then, returning to performing, was that something that came easily to you again?

JUICE NEWTON:
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was no worries.

PCC:
Over the course of the career, what have been the biggest challenges and the biggest rewards?

JUICE NEWTON:
I would say, just getting started to begin with, that was a very big challenge, to not give up and yet be able to enjoy whatever was going on. And then, the next thing was taking that time off and then deciding to come back, no matter where it was going to peak. It didn’t matter if there would be new CDs on the charts. I continued to write and make CDs that I liked. And I got to work in live performance. But it was challenging. It’s like rebooting. There are always challenges.

PCC:
And the reward?

JUICE NEWTON:
I like it. That’s the reward. I like it. And, where I am physically, I just take care of my voice, make sure my voice holds up. It’s a lot of traveling. So it’s a challenge. But I think it’s okay to have a challenge.

PCC:
Goals you’re striving towards?

JUICE NEWTON:
I’m in the process of collecting new material. I’ve got a few things that I really like. I would like to do another CD. With the advent of the internet, where you have your own home page, there’s a lot of ways to get your music out there. It’s not as restrictive and/or controlled as it once was.

PCC:
You’re still writing?

JUICE NEWTON:
Yeah. I wrote some tunes for the Christmas CD we put out a while back. And that was really meaningful, because it was the last writing I got to do with my longtime partner, who’s now deceased, Otha Young, who wrote ‘The Sweetest Thing.’ So I’m really glad that I pushed that project through, because it was right when he started to get really ill again. So it was a very cool thing to be able to do.

And I have another swing tune that I’m about halfway finished with now. Because I really like all kinds of music. I don’t just do one thing.

PCC:
Looking back over the career, any regrets?

JUICE NEWTON:
No. There’s a couple of tunes that I turned down that went on to be hits and I think, ‘Gosh, I wish I had done that, maybe.’ But, no. I’m good where I am. I’m good.

For the latest news, and tour dates, visit juicenewton.net.