A miscarriage of justice always has severe consequences for all involved. Lives are destroyed, and the wrongly convicted are marked for life; even if everything seems fine in the end, the damage is done. Such a true story is addressed in “Crying In The Summer Rain,” the new single by veteran rocker and entertainer Ritchie Newton. Based on actual events, Ritchie Newton tells a story of despair, vicious cycles, but also of glimmers of hope in this song.
This second preview from his upcoming studio album “Higher Power” will be released on December 13, 2024, in audio and visual form via NRT-Records.
After already causing a stir with the title track of his upcoming album “Higher Power,” gaining thousands of listeners on local streaming services and over 40,000 views on YouTube in a very short time, Ritchie Newton now presents “Crying In The Summer Rain,” a moving story between hard rock and classic heavy metal.
Created in collaboration with guitarist Armin Sabol ( Peter Schilling, Die Fantastischen Vier), bassist Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent), and Jimmy Katone (Hit The Ground Runnin’, Katone), who also appear in the accompanying music video, Ritchie Newton combines classic hard rock with heavy metal and lyrical depth, based on a true story.
In doing so, he opens another chapter from his upcoming album “Higher Power,” which will be released in the first quarter of 2025 as limited vinyl, CD, and digital formats by NRT-Records.
Ritchie Newton, known among other things as a rock musician, Elvis tribute artist, author, and initiator of the Metalheads Forever Rockcast Show, can look back on an eventful life. Born on December 7, 1964, in Straubing, Lower Bavaria, he discovered his love for music early on, inspired by his grandfather, a professional musician. Despite a diverse professional career as a cook, BMW assembly line worker, and scaffolder, music always remained his constant companion.
He took his first musical steps in 1974 as a drummer in the Oberalteich marching band. Two years later, he performed as a singer with the Elvis Presley song “His Latest Flame” in front of his school class.
In 1980, he began his professional music career in the German rock band Rozzloeffel. In 1983, he founded the heavy metal band Lucifer and released his first single “Pleasure of Life / Woman in Doubt” in 1986 under the name Ritchie V.
In 1987, he joined the hard rock band MASS and founded the speed metal band Pussy Lover in 1988, with which he toured throughout Europe.
In addition to his music, he founded his catering service Ritchie’s Catering in 1992 and cooked for music greats like Fats Domino and Suzi Quatro. In the 1990s, he expanded his musical spectrum and founded the biker band Georgia Molly Gang in 1994, with which he performed at many major festivals.
In 1996, Ritchie released the Bavarian rock album “Süchtig” (Addicted) under the name Rocka Ritch, produced by Willie Duncan of the Spider Murphy Gang. To promote the album, he toured through Bavaria together with Hannes Ringlstetter, also known as Schinderhannes.
In 1997, his life took a drastic turn when he emigrated to Thailand. From 1999, Newton was successfully active as an Elvis tribute artist and toured through Thailand and Europe. In the following years, he appeared repeatedly on the German VOX reality show “Goodbye Deutschland” (Goodbye Germany).
As a true creative mind, Ritchie Newton is not only a musician but also an author. His books include “Rocksau 1” (Rock Pig 1) (2013), “Das Land der Liebeskasper” (The Land of the Love Fools) (2019), and “Rocksau II” (Rock Pig II) (2019). His most emotional work, “Die Angst, ihn zu verlieren” (The Fear of Losing Him) (2018), told the personal story of his son Rino and his painful journey.
The book provided a deep insight into family challenges and a father’s love. His album “Higher Power” is dedicated to Rino and is intended to musically convey the strength and hope he found during this difficult time.
In 2020, Ritchie took a creative break from the stage to devote himself to new projects, including the founding of the successful Rockcast show “Metalheads Forever.” In 2023, he signed a contract with the German label NRT-Records, which re-released his EP “Moments” and other works remastered.
His album “Higher Power,” whose title single and music video premiered on September 27, 2024, was accompanied by musicians like Iwan May, Dandy, Dodi, and Reyfan Lapaehe.
Renowned musicians like Armin Sabol (Die Fantastischen Vier, Peter Schilling), Frank Pané and Hans Ziller (Bonfire), Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake), Markus Pfeffer (Lazarus Dream), Dave Slaat (Crowheart), and Tobias Dorner (Jester’s Tears) additionally enriched the album. The music videos for “Higher Power” and the brand-new second single release “Crying In The Summer Rain” were produced by Ritchie Newton’s own production company Newton ArtworXX.
The accompanying album “Higher Power” is set to be released in the first quarter of 2025 via NRT-Records.
