Devils & Blue Dresses: My Wild Ride as a Rock and Roll Legend

named Brian Condlifte, and we slugged away at the road with a sense of doom and sadness. It seemed as if every passing week one or another member of the crew or the band had to be let go.
    Back in Detroit, Susan and I began to look for a more affordable home. She was sticking by me. I don’t know if she was aware of my endless infidelities or not, but she was doing her best to keep our family together. We had to let go of the nanny and Itraded the Cadillac for a small Opal GT sport car. We looked at a number of places, but it was heartbreaking to have to lower our standard of living.
    The public had no idea any such problems were in our lives. They continued to believe I was a homegrown success story. Back in New York a lawsuit I had filed had made it to the New York Supreme Court . . . and I lost. My mistake was suing to be released from the contract as opposed to suing for stolen royalties. Sarah and I parted. I left Fitzpatrick and came home to Detroit.
    I was totally defeated but still had some gigs on the books that had to be honored. The band was now reduced to four pieces: drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards. We did a gig in New Jersey and after the show I sold everything I owned. I took the money on one desperate gamble that I might be able to fly to England and convince Stigwood to help. It was coming up on Christmas and when I arrived I bought a train set for Joel while I waited for the appointment. I was feeling hopeful, but when I arrived at the office early and waited the entire day until they had to close, it was clear that “Stiggy” had washed his hands of me.
    A young couple took pity on me and allowed me to spend the night at their home until my plane left the next morning. As he and his girlfriend lay together, I lay on a makeshift bed on their floor and spent the night jacking off.
    Although it seemed like a flash, that magical run at stardom lasted more than five years. Now I was broke. Completely.
    Some quotes from Bob Crewe: “I always thought that Mitch would become a big movie star because he has such looks and magnetism and I just kept envisioning him on the big screen.”
    “I just loved him . . . he was very special.”
    “Could it be I ingested or snorted up too much cocaine? Mmmm, yeah, probably. Like fourteen million dollars went down the drain.”
    “My brother made me a deal with Motown to save my ass.”
    This last quote was speaking of his sale of publishing rights, which were divided between Motown, and eventually, Morris Levy.
    “I sold my triplex for like $385,000.”
    So, here I was in Detroit without a penny and neither the Wheels nor I had ever received any royalties the entire time we were with Mr. Crewe. At one point I had an accountant estimate that the band and I had been ripped off for over seven and a half million dollars.
    What a great business.

Chapter 16
     
    F EAR RULED THE DAY, AND IN my mind it felt as though the years had been condensed to minutes. My friend Salvador Dali, the acclaimed artist from Spain, stated in an issue of
Circus
magazine, where he graced the cover wearing a jacket I had given him as a present, “Mitch Ryder, big big star and now nothing.”
    That is what it felt like. I looked around our house, which Susan had struggled to make into a real home, and sat for hours thinking about better times. I smiled and remembered the time in our master bedroom where I had fainted at my son Joel’s briss. I was looking at the glass of red wine I was holding for the toast just as the rabbi snipped and the warm red blood of my son began to run. There were countless moments of contentment that had gotten set aside for a later day because I was much too involved in my career to cherish and respect the moments for what they were when they were.
    In 1968 I was at the height of my career with millions of dollars being made from my talent, and yet $29,695.88 was my total personal income. I admit that was a good income for 1968 but hardly a “star” income. My lack of education, guidance, and protection did not exist to the degree required to keep me safe. I began to panic.
    In the filing for 1969, my income decreased by almost half, and there are two different addresses on the filings. These two documents represent my deepest disgrace and cause for regret that is with me even today. In these two years, in my early twenties, I was challenged to stand as a man and I failed. My cowardice prevailed and I ran from everyone and everything looking for a place