Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. 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. 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. Early years Newton was born in Lakehurst, New Jersey, but graduated from First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 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. Early music career 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 disbanded 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 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