Detroit Girls

Album: Starz (1976)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Starz are from New Jersey, but they sure did like those Detroit girls - the "Motor City kitties" they encountered there. The group was fronted by Michael Lee Smith, a chick magnet who took advantage of his rock star status.

    "We wrote this song when we went to Detroit in 1975 to play the Michigan Palace with Mountain and Spirit," Starz guitarist Richie Ranno told Songfacts. "They were two of my all-time favorite bands. Our manager thought it would be a good idea for us to stay in Detroit for a couple of weeks and write songs for our first album without the usual distractions of home life. We were able to rehearse every day at the legendary Michigan Palace. We hung out with lots of crazy people and had a great time. Somehow, that song just came out of nowhere. Once again, Michael Lee wrote brilliant lyrics, as always."
  • "Detroit Girls" is the first song on Starz' self-titled debut album. The group had formidable talent, including a rhythm section that was formerly in The Looking Glass of "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" fame. Their manager was Bill Aucoin, who also managed Kiss, and their producer was Jack Douglas, who was on a hot streak with the Aerosmith albums Get Your Wings and Toys In The Attic. Their second album, Violation, was released in 1977 and included their biggest hit, "Cherry Baby," which went to #33 in the US. They charted four more songs but never reached the level of the bands they opened for: Blue Öyster Cult, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Foghat.

    According to Richie Ranno, their record label, Capitol, hung them out to dry with poor promotion and little support. It got very contentious between the band and the label, and Starz got the worst of it. Capitol pulled funding so they had to record their third album on the cheap without a producer. It flopped and killed their momentum. They released one more album on Capitol before breaking up.

    Years later, Starz earned a certain nostalgia as a great band that never got their due. Members of Bon Jovi, Cinderella, and Mötley Crüe named them as an influence, and when their music was made available for streaming, many old fans rediscovered them.
  • Starz put their guitarists, Brendan Harkin and Richie Ranno, to good use with plenty of dual (duel?) guitar solos like you can hear on this song.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.