The Roches

The Roches
Origin New Jersey, United States
Genres Folk rock
Folk
Years active 1973–2017
Labels Columbia
Warner Bros.
MCA
429 Records
Website http://www.roches.com
Past members Maggie Roche
Terre Roche
Suzzy Roche

The Roches (Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy Roche) were a vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Park Ridge, New Jersey,[1] known for their "unusual" and "rich" harmonies,[2] quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances.[3]

The Roches were active as performers and recording artists from the mid-1970s through 2017, at various times performing as a trio and in pairs.

Career

In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951[4] – January 21, 2017[5]) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry", born April 10, 1953[4]) quit school to tour as a duo. Maggie wrote most of the songs, with Terre contributing to a few. The sisters got a break when Paul Simon brought them in as backup singers on his 1973 #2 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. They got his assistance (along with an appearance by The Oak Ridge Boys) on their only album as a duo, Seductive Reasoning (1975). Shortly after that, youngest sister Suzzy (rhymes with "fuzzy", born September 29, 1956[4]) joined the group to form The Roches trio.

Around this time, they parlayed bartending jobs at famous Greenwich Village folk venue Gerde's Folk City into stage appearances, an experience they commemorated in their song, "Face Down at Folk City" (from Another World, 1985). It was here that they met many of their future singing and songwriting collaborators. Terre was now writing songs as well, and by the time of their first album as a trio, The Roches (1979), Suzzy had also begun writing. Robert Fripp produced the album. Maggie's "The Married Men" from this album was eventually to become the biggest hit of the songwriting trio — not for them, but for Phoebe Snow. After Snow and Linda Ronstadt performed the song in a duet on Saturday Night Live, the Roches were invited themselves to perform on the show a few months later in 1979 at the behest of Paul Simon. They did two songs, both unreleased at the time, "Bobby's Song" and "The Hallelujah Chorus".

Throughout the 1980s, The Roches continued to release their music to small audiences, little or no air play, and only modest record sales. A 1983 episode of the PBS concert series Soundstage was devoted to an hourlong performance by the trio, and they appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in November 1985, where they performed their song "Mr. Sellack". In 1990, they returned to their Christmas-caroling roots with the release of the 24-track We Three Kings, which included the a cappella "Star of Wonder", written by Terre. After another pop album (A Dove, 1992), they recorded an entire album of children's songs entitled Will You Be My Friend?, featuring a song by brother David and various young backup singers, including Suzzy's daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche.

After a tour interrupted by the death of their father, The Roches released Can We Go Home Now (1995), the last original recording they released as a trio until 2007.

In 1997, the sisters formally put their group on long-term hold. They continued to work on solo projects and often collaborated on albums and performances. Terre teaches guitar workshops and has released a solo album. Suzzy, who has acted on the stage and in several movies, released two of her own albums and two with Maggie, with whom she has toured. All three sisters periodically participated in New York-area events. At the end of 2005, the three Roches (with brother Dave) reunited for a short but highly successful holiday tour. Several more appearances in the U.S. and Canada took place in 2006–07, and in March 2007, after a 12-year hiatus, The Roches released a new studio album, Moonswept.[6] Following the tour for Moonswept, the Roches announced that they would no longer be touring, although they have made isolated appearances individually and as a group, mostly in and around New York City.

On January 21, 2017, Maggie Roche died of cancer at the age of 65.[5][7][8] Her brother David posted: "We have lost an angel from our family..." http://www.davidroche.net/

Family

Maggie had an "unusual" contralto voice – "almost a baritone."[2] Terre provides a soprano that brackets the upper range of the sisters, while Suzzy fills in the middle range. While touring, the sisters accompany themselves with guitars and keyboards, occasionally with additional musicians.

Brother David is also a singer-songwriter with his own solo album, and has often backed up the trio on their recordings.[9][10] [11] Maggie's son, Felix McTeigue, has recorded three albums (one with his group Filo).[12][13] Suzzy's daughter, Lucy, has also contributed vocals on the Roches' and McTeigue's albums,[14][15] and in 2007 she produced an EP of her own, 8 Songs, followed by 8 More in 2008 and tours opening for acts such as Amos Lee and the Indigo Girls.[16][17] Lucy has released two full-length albums, "Lucy" in 2010, and "There's a Last Time for Everything" in 2013. [18] Her father is Loudon Wainwright III, and she is the half-sister of singers Martha and Rufus Wainwright.

The majority of Roches songs are written by the three sisters, whether individually, in every combination, or collaborating with other songwriters. They have also recorded their own arrangements of songs by a variety of New York folk artists, as well as a few covers of famous songs. Their three-part arrangement of the four-part "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah, featured on Keep On Doing (1982), is well regarded in a cappella circles.

Discography

Maggie and Terre Roche

The Roches

Suzzy Roche

Terre Roche

Suzzy and Maggie Roche

Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche

Terre Roche, Sidiki Conde and Marlon Cherry (as Afro-Jersey)

Other appearances

Other musical associations

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Cocks, Jay (May 7, 1979). "Valentines from the Danger Zone". Time (magazine). Retrieved 2007-10-16. She and Terre performed them first in the family living room in Park Ridge, N.J., then later on the back of a flat-bed truck in nearby shopping centers for the benefit of a local politician and the glory of the Democratic Party.
  2. 1 2
  3. ↑
  4. 1 2 3 "folkville-introduction". Myweb.tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  5. 1 2 "The Roches’ Maggie Roche Dead at 65". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  6. ↑ ""The Roches" (home page)". Roches official website. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  7. ↑ Saperstein, Pat (22 January 2017). "Maggie Roche, Singer With Neo-Folk Trio The Roches, Dies at 65". variety.com. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Pareles, Jon (21 January 2017). "Maggie Roche, Who Harmonized With Her Singing Sisters, Dies at 65". nytimes.com. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Dave Roche: Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  10. ↑ "David Roche: Songs". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  11. ↑ "David Roche: Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  12. ↑ "Filo: Hoi Polloi". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  13. ↑ Hartenbach, Brett. "Review: Felix McTeigue". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  14. ↑ "Lucy Roche: Songs". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  15. ↑ "Lucy Roche: Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  16. ↑ "Amos Lee with Lucy Wainwright Roche Highline Ballroom". New York Cool. July 14, 2008.
  17. ↑ Joshua Elioseff (April 16, 2010). "Photo essay: Indigo Girls, Lucy Wainwright Roche @ the Boulder Theater". Reverb.
  18. ↑ "Lucy Wainwright Roche | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-07-14.

References

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