Juice Newton

Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician.

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.

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 in 1977.

The band broke up 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'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 in 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' version of the Newton/Young-penned song "Sweet, Sweet Smile" 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".

During the 1980s, she charted 14 top 10 hits across the Billboard Country, AC, and Hot 100 charts, with many of the recordings achieving crossover success and six of the songs hitting the No. 1 position.

Newton was born in Lakehurst, New Jersey, but graduated from First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

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.

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), "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.

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 and Carly Simon).

Juice sold more than a million copies in the United States and went Triple-Platinum (300,000 copies) in Canada.

"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.

(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 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 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 Gold certification.

In the spring of 1982 Newton released her fourth solo album, Quiet Lies, which sold 900,000 copies in the United States.

The album went platinum in Canada (100,000 copies).

Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well as an ACM Award for Top New Female Artist and two consecutive Billboard 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, Quiet Lies and her first Greatest Hits album.

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.

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.