alt=Samuel BensonFor the first time, Sen. Mitt Romney and singer/songwriter Ritt Momney were seen in the same room — proving, in fact, that they are not the same person.
Jack Rutter, a Utah-based musician who uses the spoonerism “Ritt Momney” as his stage name, was in Washington for a concert and visited Sen. Romney’s office Wednesday.
Romney greeted Rutter and his band, and Romney staffers offered the musicians a tour of the U.S. Capitol.
“They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery,” Romney tweeted. “Enjoyed meeting @RittMomney and his band today. I wish them all the best!”
Rutter, an East High School graduate, chose his stage name in high school along with his bandmates. He later launched a solo career and kept the same moniker.
“There’s no reason, man,” Rutter told me last year when I asked why they chose the name. “We were high school kids. It was sort of a subversion — a ‘stick-it-to-the-man’ sort of thing,” he said. “At this point, it’s whatever.”
Rutter said he respects Romney, though the two don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on policy. “The way I see it, it’s, like, cool of him to stand up to (former president Donald) Trump,” Rutter said. “But if that’s the standard, I don’t think we’re doing super well.”
Rutter’s music career caught steam in 2020, when his remix of Corinne Bailey Rae’s 2006 pop hit “Put Your Records On” went viral on TikTok. It peaked at No. 30 on Billboard’s U.S. Hot 100 list, and within three days, Rutter signed with Columbia Records. A few months later, Billboard gave him the top spot on its Emerging Artists chart.
His second solo album, “Sunny Boy,” was released in October of last year.