The voice on the other end of the phone sounds meek and mild and mellow. Singer Juice Newton, who performs tomorrow night at the USS Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor, is in her mom mode. Music still joyful
for Juice NewtonBy Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.com"No, honey, you're not going anywhere until you wash your hands," she says, laughing. "Not you, I mean not you, the reporter, but her, my daughter."
Newton is in the airy kitchen of her home in Del Mar, Calif., a short horse ride from Del Mar Race Track and the polo field where her husband, Tom Goodspeed, is general manager of the San Diego Polo Club.
"Honey, you can't go out without your jacket," she says to her son Tyler, 11. "I meant honey my son. I don't know you well enough to call you, the reporter, honey."
And so it goes with the Virginia-born Newton, 50, who's been singing professionally since 13, touring at least seven months a year. She's still loving every minute of it.
"I love meeting new audiences; I love different gigs every night because each one is a challenge and all the faces are fresh," she says before sharing a secret about her longevity. "We're never late, never piss and moan, always make it work out, and we're pliable.
"We can do a short show or a long show, acoustic show, rock show, pop show, country show, new songs and old hits."
Newton started her career where she grew up in Virginia Beach, sneaking out of her window as a teenager to work in the clubs playing the guitar her mother had given her at 13. She began singing in area coffeehouses, then moved to Northern Californa for college and formed a folk-rock trio with Otha Young.
The trio, known as Silver Spur, developed a large following and signed to RCA Records, then Capitol records where Newton broke through with the hits "Angel of the Morning," "Queen of Hearts" and her first country hit, "The Sweetest Thing."
Through the mid-'80s she followed with "Break It to Me Gently," which won her a Grammy, "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me" and "A Little Love."
A second signing with RCA produced a string of Top 10 country hits such as "You Want to Make You Mine," "Hurt," "Old Flame," "Cheap Love," "Tell Me True" and "What Can I Do With My Heart?"
"I have so many records, I could tour constantly and be changing my show all the time," she says. "But seven months is plenty long."
Another key to remaining viable in an always-evolving business has been to ensure her "sound" has kept up with current technology because "everyone's home equipment is so good now.
"You also gotta know your strengths and weaknesses," Newton said. "I know I can't sing rap, but then I don't think rappers, white or black, could sing 'I'm So Hurt' or 'Angel.'
"I have more of a classic pop understanding on how to approach a song than a lot of artists, and I play several musical instruments, so I understand music."
Newton also listens to the radio constantly for new sounds and trends and asks her 13-year-old daughter Jessica why the child may like or dislike a song.
"Some performers make a terrible mistake turning their mind off to current music," she said. "If you tap your foot to a piece of music, you'd better admit to liking it."
Newton is an accomplished equestrian, competing in polo matches and jumping. She often competes in celebrity polo games and assists her husband, a nationally ranked professional on the polo circuit.
Her most recent album, "American Girl," straddles the fence between the changing definitions of pop and country. It's produced by longtime musical partner and songwriter Otha Young.
The first single, "They Never Made It to Memphis," is a feel-good country-rocker about a couple's quest to see Elvis. There are heartbreak ballads such as "I've Been Mistreated"; a previously unreleased Tom Petty tune, " Keepin' Me Alive"; a tip of the hat to traditional country with Buck Owens' "There Goes My Love"; and the Queen tune "Crazy Little Thing."
Newton says there's a resurgence in the appreciation of the importance of record producers.
"Making music is a collaborative effort, and once an artist believes he or she can do it all is when they're ready for a major fall," Newton said. "Sure, the singer may have to start with a keen, viable idea, an excellent hook, lead line or chorus, but a good producer will only make it all better."
Newton knows it sounds cliché but says she got into music for "the immense sense of personal joy I received from putting a thought or emotion across to people. It's how I communicate best and most comfortably.
"It's the reason I can fly or drive to a new town every night, get onstage and do what I do," she said.
Even when she's not on the road, "I'm on the road" driving her kids to school, soccer, piano, drum and horse-riding lessons.
"My daughter is in 4H, and this year she entered pigs, and every day we had to be at the Del Mar Fair at 7 a.m. to take care of them and don't get home till, like, 10 p.m." she said. "But heck, she made $800!"
When not tending pigs or horses, Newton is at work on a new album due next month, and is also excited about the pending release of a live-performance DVD.
"Can you imagine at my age doing a DVD performance?" Newton says with glee.
"You know, I never ever really know if I'll hit that note. ... I just go out and do my best."
When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow Juice Newton
Where: USS Missouri Memorial, Pearl Harbor
Tickets: $25 at all Ticket Plus outlets, Blaisdell box office, Pearl Harbor Bloch Arena, Oahu Sizzler restaurants, USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park and Battleship Missouri Memorial
Call for tickets: 526-4400
Notes: Self-guided tours on the ship 5:30 to 7 p.m.; war-time happy hour 7 to 7:30 p.m. featuring 10-cent beer. Dancing starts at 7 p.m.
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