Suzi Quatro
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Suzi Quatro (born Susan Kay Quatro on June 3, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan) is a singer, bassist, radio personality and actress.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Her father, Art Quatro, was of Italian descent and her mother, Helen Sanislay, was Hungarian.[1] Quatro was raised Catholic.[2] She is the aunt of actress Sherilyn Fenn, whose mother is Suzi's sister Arlene. Quatro began her musical career in the Pleasure Seekers and Cradle with her sisters Patti, Nancy, and Arlene. She moved to the UK in 1971 after being discovered in Detroit by record producer Mickie Most, who had already earned fame with the band Sweet.
[edit] Career
Quatro's first single "Rolling Stone" was a flop everywhere except Portugal, where it made number one. Mickie Most then introduced Quatro to the songwriting/production team Nicky Chinn/Mike Chapman. Her second single "Can the Can" (1973) was a number one hit throughout Europe and in Australia. It was followed up by three further major hits: "48 Crash" (1973), "Daytona Demon" (1974) and "Devil Gate Drive" (also 1974) on RAK Records. Her first two albums were also huge European and Australian successes.
These recordings, however, met little success in her native USA, despite her tours in the mid-1970s supporting Alice Cooper, and except in Australia, the popularity of Quatro's heavy glam rock style declined rapidly from 1975. In the interim, she did enjoy some success as a session player, most notably providing the bass and backing vocals in Rick Derringer's 1973 album "All American Boy," in particular on the classic hard rock song "Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo." Interestingly, she became something of a muse for Derringer, who tailored his androgynous appearance to resemble an eerie doppelganger of Quatro. This is particularly evident on the liner photographer for the Edgar Winter Group's album "Shock Treatment." Quatro's fortunes did not revive until 1978 when "If You Can't Give Me Love" was a Top Ten hit in the UK and Australia. Though this still failed to break Quatro in the US, when she joined Chris Norman of Smokie in 1979 for "Stumblin' In", she had a #4 hit there with RSO Records. This success was very brief and her last solo hit (and that only in Australia) was "Rock Hard" in early 1981. In 1985, Suzi collaborated with Bronski Beat and members of The Kinks, Eddie & The Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood on the Mark Cunningham-produced version of David Bowie's classic "Heroes", released the following year as the official 1986 BBC Children In Need single.
Quatro married her longtime guitarist Len Tuckey in 1976. Although they had two children together (Laura in 1982 and Richard Leonard in 1984), they eventually divorced in 1992 and she married concert promoter Rainer Haas in 1993.
She is most famous in the United States as Leather Tuscadero in the TV show Happy Days. Show producer Garry Marshall reportedly offered Quatro the role without an audition after seeing her picture on his teenage daughter's bedroom wall. Leather's character was the younger sister of Fonzie's girlfriend, hot-rod driver Pinky Tuscadero. Leather Tuscadero fronted an all-girl rock band that was joined by principal character Joanie Cunningham. The character returned in other cameo roles, including once for a date to a fancy fraternity formal with Ralph Malph. Marshall offered Quatro a Leather Tuscadero spin-off, but she refused saying she did not want to be typecast. Quatro has performed as an actress in roles as varied as Annie Oakley in a 1986 London production of Annie Get Your Gun. She also had a cameo in an episode of the TV show Absolutely Fabulous.
In 2002, Suzi Quatro visited the University of York to see actor Berwick Kaler receive an honorary degree.
In 2006, Quatro performed the voice of Rio in the Bob the Builder film "Built To Be Wild", and appeared in an episode of the second season of Rock School. She also appeared in the episode "The Axeman Cometh" of Midsomer Murders alongside Phil Grainger. February 2006 saw the release of a new Suzi Quatro CD entitled Back To The Drive which was produced by Sweet guitarist Andy Scott. The album's title track was written by Mike Chapman.
She currently lives both in England and in Germany and hosts a weekly Rock and Roll programme on BBC Radio 2. She also continues to tour the world as a musician.
Suzi was a contestant on Trust Me - I'm A Beauty Therapist on Channel 5 in October 2006.
[edit] Singles
- 1973 "Rolling Stone"/"Brain Confusion"
- 1973 "Can The Can"/"Ain't Ya Somethin' Honey"
- 1973 "48 Crash"/"Little Bitch Blue"
- 1973 "Daytona Demon"/"Roman Fingers"
- 1974 "Devil Gate Drive"/"In the Morning"
- 1974 "The Wild One"/"Shake My Sugar"
- 1974 "Too Big"/"I Wanna Be Free"
- 1975 "Your Mama Won't Like Me"/"Peter, Peter"
- 1975 "I Bit Off More Than I Could Chew"/"Red Hot Rosie"
- 1975 "I May Be Too Young"/"Don't Mess Around"
- 1977 "Roxy Roller"/"It'll Grow On You"
- 1977 "Tear Me Apart"/"Close Enough To Rock'n'Roll"
- 1978 "If You Can't Give Me Love"/"Cream Dream"
- 1979 "She's In Love With You"/"Space Cadets"
- 1979 "Stumblin' In"/"A Stranger To Paradise"
- 1980 "Mama's Boy"/"Mind Demons"
- 1980 "I've Never Been In Love"/"Starlight Lady"
- 1980 "Rock Hard"/"State Of Mind"
[edit] Albums
- 1973 Suzi Quatro (Can The Can in Australia)
- 1974 Quatro
- 1975 Your Mama Won't Like Me
- 1977 Aggro Phobia
- 1978 If You Knew Suzi
- 1979 Suzi...And Other Four Letter Words
- 1980 Rock Hard
- 1982 Main Attraction
- 1991 Oh Suzi Q
- 1996 What Goes Around
- 1998 Unreleased Emotion
- 2006 Back To The Drive
