Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and

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singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well as an

ACM ACM or A.C.M. may refer to: Aviation * AGM-129 ACM, 1990–2012 USAF cruise missile * Air chief marshal * Air combat manoeuvring or dogfighting * Air cycle machine * Arica Airport (Colombia) (IATA: ACM), in Arica, Amazonas, Colombia Computing * ...

Award for Top New Female Artist and two consecutive ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Female Album Artist of the Year awards. Newton's other awards include a People's Choice Award for "Best Female Vocalist" and the Australian Music Media's "Number One International Country Artist". Newton has several Gold and Platinum records to her credit, including ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such ...

'', ''

Quiet Lies ''Quiet Lies'' is a 1982 album by American pop-country star Juice Newton. It reached #20 on the ''Billboard'' 200, her highest position on the chart, and included three major hits, " Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me", "Break It to Me Gently" a ...

'' and her first ''Greatest Hits'' album. During the 1980s, she charted 14 Top-10 hits across the ''Billboard''

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

, AC, and Hot 100 charts, with many of the recordings achieving crossover success and six of the songs hitting the No. 1 position.

Early years

Newton was born in

Lakehurst, New Jersey Lakehurst is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,654,First Colonial High School in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city (United States), independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 United States cen ...

. Her mother encouraged her interest in music, giving Newton a guitar for her 13th birthday. After high school graduation, Newton attended Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, where she also performed folk music in some local coffeehouses. She then formed a folk-rock band with guitarist and songwriter Otha Young, and toured bars in Northern California with her band.

Early music career

In the early 1970s, Newton, Otha Young and Tom Kealey formed a band that would eventually be called Juice Newton & Silver Spur, which was signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. The group released two albums for RCA, in 1975 and 1976, but scored only one charting country single with "Love Is a Word". The band was dropped by RCA, then joined

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in 1977. The band disbanded shortly after releasing just one more album. In late 1977, Newton went solo, continuing to record for Capitol, and until 1982 Silver Spur remained the name of her backing band. Newton also sang backing vocals for three tracks on

Bob Welch Bob Welch may refer to: *Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher *Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist *Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac ** ...

's platinum solo debut album, including his hit " Ebony Eyes". Near the end of 1977, " It's a Heartache" became Newton's first solo record and a major hit in Mexico, where it was eventually certified Gold, and 1978, she released it in the United States. “It’s a Heartache” became the first of what would eventually be her 11 "Hot 100" pop hits. Also in 1978,

The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's contr ...

' version of the Newton/Young-penned song "

Sweet, Sweet Smile "Sweet, Sweet Smile" is a C&W song composed by Otha Young and Juice Newton introduced by the Carpenters on their 1977 album ''Passage''. The track features drummer Ron Tutt who regularly backed Elvis Presley. "Sweet, Sweet Smile" is one of the ...

" reached the Top 10 on both the Country and Adult Contemporary charts, and #44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. In 1978, Newton legally changed her name from "Judy Kay Newton" to "Juice Newton" ("Juice" having long been her nickname). Newton's solo debut album ''Well Kept Secret'' was released later in 1978. Neither ''Well Kept Secret'' nor its sole single "Hey Baby" charted, but Capitol Records did renew Newton's contract. In 1979 Capitol's investment in Newton began to pay off as Newton had her first Top-40 Country hit with "Let's Keep It That Way" (another one-off single). Later that year, the album '' Take Heart'' featured five modestly-charting singles: "Until Tonight", " Any Way That You Want Me", "You Fill My Life", "Lay Back In The Arms of Someone", and "Sunshine". In 1980, "Sunshine" became Newton's second top-40 country chart single, "You Fill My Life" reached No. 41, and "Until Tonight" was No. 42. Both of Newton's initial solo efforts performed with modest success but failed to have lasting impacts on the album charts.

Early 1980s pop music success

In 1981, Newton's third solo album, simply titled ''Juice,'' was released. It spawned three consecutive Top-10 pop hits, namely " Angel of the Morning" (written by

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing " Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing". Early life Taylor was born on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York. He is the brother of a ...

), " Queen of Hearts", and an updated version of " The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" (the original version had appeared on the Silver Spur debut album) earned Newton the first of several No. 1 Country chart singles. A fourth single " Ride 'Em Cowboy" from ''Juice'' was released in 1984 to support Newton's first ''Greatest Hits'' album, reaching the Billboard Country Top 40 chart. In 1981, Newton's video for "Angel of the Morning" was the first country-music video to air on MTV, and the 40th video to air on the channel overall. Newton was the third female solo artist to be featured on MTV's first air date (after videos by

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

and Carly Simon). ''Juice'' sold more than a million copies in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and went Triple-Platinum (300,000 copies) in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. "Angel of the Morning" and " The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" each reached #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, where Newton would chart regularly for the next several years. In 1982, Newton received two Grammy nominations for Best Female Vocalist: one for "Angel of the Morning" in the Pop category, and another for "Queen of Hearts" in Country. These two singles became her biggest sellers in the United States, each earning an

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

Gold certification. (Note: in 1981 and 1982, when these singles were certified, the RIAA standard for Gold singles was "more than 1 million copies sold"; in 1989, RIAA lowered the standard to 500,000 for Gold single certifications.) The songs were also sizable hits in Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries. For example, "Angel of the Morning" peaked at No. 1 in Canada and No. 43 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1981. While "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" did not receive a U.S. certification, the song's popularity propelled album sales from Gold to Platinum, and the recording remained in the Top 40 (of the Hot 100) for 18 weeks. "Shot Full Of Love" was released as a single in the UK, but failed to chart. In the spring of 1982 Newton released her fourth solo album, ''

,'' which sold 900,000 copies in the United States. The album went platinum in Canada (100,000 copies). From ''Quiet Lies'' came the Top 10 Pop and Adult Contemporary hit "

Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me" is a song written by Gary Burr and recorded by the American country-pop singer Juice Newton for her album '' Quiet Lies''. The recording garnered Newton a Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocalist in the Pop ...

" (which garnered her another Pop Female Vocalist Grammy nomination). " Break It to Me Gently" was the second single and hit #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, #2 on the Billboard Country chart, as well as #9 in Cash Box and #11 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The recording, a contemporary remake of a

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

hit from the 1960s, won Newton her first

for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, beating out contemporaries

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

, Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris and Sylvia. The album's third and final single, "Heart of the Night", reached #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart in early 1983 and climbed to #25 on the Hot 100. The album also garnered Newton an award from Australia as the "Top International Country Artist" for the continent. In 1982, Newton toured with country band

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

on the "Salem Spirit" double-headliner tour. (Various acts opened for Newton and Alabama.) The direction for Newton's sixth and final Capitol album, 1983's ''Dirty Looks,'' was decidedly more rock-oriented and experimental than her usual blending of folk, pop and country styles. The album spawned a moderate-sized hit with "Tell Her No" (Hot 100 No. 27/AC No. 14) and the title track, a rock-edged number that charted low in the Hot 100. The single "Stranger at My Door" had a brief run on the country charts. The album was a moderate success, selling more than 300,000 copies in the United States and going Gold in Canada (50,000 copies). (The song "Dirty Looks" was written by Dave Robbins and Van Stephenson, who would later become part of the Country group Blackhawk in the 1990s. The pair also wrote Newton's 1984 country single "Restless Heart".) According to a 1984 front-page article in ''Billboard'' magazine, changes at Capitol led Newton to return to RCA. The 1984 album ''Can't Wait All Night'' continued with a rock-oriented sound. The launch single, "A Little Love", and the title track became Newton's final charting pop singles to date, reaching No. 44 and No. 66, respectively; while "Restless Heart" made No. 57 on the country chart. "A Little Love" became Newton's seventh and final Top-10 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, reaching the No. 7 spot. Newton's final double-header "Salem Spirit" tour with Alabama took place during this time, with Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers as the opening act.

From pop to country

Newton had always been moderately popular in country music; she responded to her waning popularity in the pop market by targeting her next album, 1985's ''Old Flame'', solely to country audiences. The strategic move was a success; the album revitalized her career, reached No. 12 on the Billboard album chart and featured six Top-10 country hits, including the No. 1s " You Make Me Want to Make You Mine", " Hurt", and "

Both to Each Other "Friends and Lovers" is a song written by Jay Gruska and Paul Gordon. The song was first recorded as a duet by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson in 1985 for the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', produced by Doug Lenier. That recording remained ...

(Friends and Lovers)" (with Eddie Rabbitt), none of which (unlike her previous efforts) appeared at all on the pop charts. The duet was released to the public before the pop version "Friends and Lovers" by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson; the pop version was released to radio and stores two weeks after Newton and Rabbitt's version first appeared, even though it was recorded first. Newton's version was originally available only on a special edition of the ''Old Flame'' album and on the Eddie Rabbitt album ''Rabbitt Traxx''. The "Old Flame" album produced hit singles for more than sixteen months, with the final release being "What Can I Do with My Heart" (written by Otha Young), which reached the Top 10 in early 1987. Newton returned to the Top 10 in 1988 with "Tell Me True" from her 1987 album ''Emotion''. The album's lead single, the progressive-country tune "First Time Caller", stalled at No. 24. Her final album of the decade, ''Ain't Gonna Cry'' (1989), was not promoted by the label and did not chart. But it did spawn her final Top-40 country hit to date, "When Love Comes Around the Bend", which RCA refused to release as a single because Newton's contract had not been renewed. After being dropped by RCA Records in 1989 (along with several other country artists, including

and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

, as country music as a whole was about to undergo momentous change), Newton took time to focus on her family life. Newton took a hiatus from recording albums, touring sporadically until returning to the music scene in late 1990s when she released the albums '' The Trouble with Angels'' (1998) and '' American Girl'' (1999).

1990s to present

In 1994, Newton contributed the track "Lovers of One Day" to an Édith Piaf tribute album which also included songs by

and

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular m ...

. In 1995, Newton recorded a double-album of pop duets (which was slated to be sold via infomercial), but the project was riddled with legal issues, resulting in a low-impact, "accidental" release of the "Platinum & Gold" series of duets in the early 2000s (the CD set was released without Newton's permission). Subsequently, bootleg CDs including most of the duets turned up on U.S. store shelves as ''Gold & Platinum, Volumes 7 and 8''. Those CDs also contain 1995 solo versions of three of Newton's pop hits "Angel of the Morning", "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me" and "Queen of Hearts". Newton's duet partners included

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

, Melissa Manchester,

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blu ...

and Frankie Valli. In 1998, Newton released "The Trouble with Angels", a collection of seven re-recorded hits and three new songs, including the single "When I Get Over You". The 1998 effort was quickly followed by ''American Girl'' in 1999, which was Newton's first album of all-new material since 1989 and featured the single "They Never Made It to Memphis". The collection featured tracks written by Otha Young,

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in th ...

, Nanci Griffith,

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the late ...

and Newton herself. ''

Every Road Leads Back to You ''Every Road Leads Back to You'' is a live album and concert video by country pop singer Juice Newton. It was released as both a DVD and two-disc CD by Image Entertainment in 2002. The concert consists of Newton and her band performing many of h ...

'' (which consists of live material and a bonus EP of four studio recordings of original songs) was released in 2002 with an accompanying DVD. ''American Girl Vol. II'', which was originally sold exclusively at cdbaby.com and at Newton's live shows, was released in 2003 and reissued in 2006 and again in 2011 by Brookside Records. In 2005, Newton appeared on the TV show '' Hit Me Baby, One More Time'' on which she performed a folk-rock rendition of Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces Of Me" and a truncated version of "Queen of Hearts"; online voters selected Newton's performance as their favorite of the five acts that appeared on the episode. In the mid-2000s, Newton also contributed tracks to the albums ''An All-Star Tribute To

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

'' ("Reason to Believe") and ''An All-Star Tribute to

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

'' ("Come On Over"). On November 15, 2007, Newton released ''The Gift of Christmas'', her first Christmas album. The 12-song album includes a new version of Newton's "Christmas Needs Love to Be Christmas" and " Mary's Boy Child", as well as a special Christmas version of "For Believers", an Otha Young-penned song first recorded in 1983 for the ''Dirty Looks'' album. On August 6, 2009, Newton's longtime musical partner Otha Young died of cancer. The pair worked together for 37 years. On October 26, 2010, Newton's ''Duets: Friends & Memories'' album was released by Fuel 2000. The album contained duets performed with

, Melissa Manchester, Frankie Valli and others. One single ("Funny How Time Slips Away") has been released. In addition to the domestic album, an import edition was released on November 30, 2010. On July 26, 2011, Fuel 2000 released ''Juice Newton: The Ultimate Hits Collection'', which included her own version of the Carpenters' 1978 hit "Sweet Sweet Smile", which Newton and Otha Young wrote in the '70s. On May 7, 2012, BGO Records issued a two-CD set containing Newton's three 1970s Capitol albums: ''Come To Me'', ''Well Kept Secret'' and ''Take Heart''. This marks the first time these albums have been available in the CD format. With the release of this set, all Newton's 17 studio albums have been issued on CD. In the 2016 film ''

Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in '' New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, De ...

'', Juice Newton's version of "Angel of the Morning" was used for the opening credits montage. As a result, the track re-charted on the Billboard Country chart, reaching #43, and also hit #3 on Spotify's World Music chart. In 2021, Juice Newton's version of "Angel of the Morning" was featured in the critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning film '' Promising Young Woman''. Newton's recording is played for longer than four minutes during the film's climactic scene.

Personal life

Newton bought a thoroughbred gelding named Puppy in 1983 and stabled him at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The center's manager was polo star and coach Tom Goodspeed. Newton married Goodspeed in 1985, and the couple had two children: Jessica and Tyler. Now divorced, Newton lives in San Diego, California. Besides continuing in the music business, Newton works as a horse trader. She deals mostly in European horses.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Juice Newton & Silver Spur'' (1975) *''

After the Dust Settles ''After the Dust Settles'' is the second studio album by Juice Newton & Silver Spur was released by RCA Records in 1976. "If I Ever" was the album's debut and only single. Track listing Personnel *Juice Newton – vocals, acoustic guitar *Ot ...

'' (1976) *'' Come to Me'' (1977) *'' Well Kept Secret'' (1978) *'' Take Heart'' (1979) *''

'' (1981) *''

'' (1982) *'' Dirty Looks'' (1983) *''

Can't Wait All Night ''Can't Wait All Night'' is the sixth solo studio album by American pop and country singer Juice Newton, released by RCA Records in 1984. The album was produced by Richard Landis and is Newton's last studio album to chart on the ''Billboard'' 20 ...

'' (1984) *'' Old Flame'' (1985) *''

Emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

'' (1987) *''

Ain't Gonna Cry ''Ain't Gonna Cry'' is the ninth solo studio album by American country pop singer Juice Newton. It was released by RCA Records in 1989 and was Newton's final album for the label as well as her last album for several years. Though no singles were r ...

'' (1989) *'' The Trouble with Angels'' (1998) *'' American Girl'' (1999) *''American Girl Volume 2'' (2003) *'' The Gift of Christmas'' (2007) *'' Duets: Friends & Memories'' (2010)

References

External links

Official website
* * *
Austria Chart HistorySwitzerland Chart History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Juice 1952 births Living people 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers American country singer-songwriters American women country singers American women singer-songwriters American women pop singers Grammy Award winners Country musicians from Virginia Country musicians from New Jersey Country pop musicians People from Lakehurst, New Jersey Guitarists from Virginia Guitarists from New Jersey Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Singer-songwriters from Virginia Foothill College alumni RCA Records artists Capitol Records artists