Suzi Quatro

All Music Guide:

It's pretty far-fetched, as some revisionists are now claiming, to view Suzi Quatro as a precursor to the "riot grrrls" of the '90s. Her brand of mid-'70s glam pop was far more innocuous and, in any case, often supplied by professional songwriters. What she did prove was that it was possible for a petite woman to play bass, sing, and wear leather with a reasonable degree of raunch and pride. That, with enough musical hooks to draw in the teen pop crowd, was enough to reel off a series of big British hit singles just before the advent of punk, although she remained virtually unknown in her native U.S.

To the British audience, it seemed as if Quatro emerged out of nowhere in 1973, but in fact she'd been playing professionally for nearly a decade. While still in her early teens, she joined the Pleasure Seekers, a Detroit band also featuring her sisters Arlene and Patti. One of the few all-girl garage bands who played their own instruments, they recorded a fine, gritty single for the local Hideout label, "Never Thought You'd Leave Me"/"What a Way to Die" (both sides were reissued in the 1980s on the What a Way to Die '60s garage compilation). Another single followed for Mercury, and the group even toured Vietnam to entertain troops. In 1968, though, Arlene quit the band to raise her kids (one of whom is actress Sherilyn Fenn), to be replaced by yet another sister, Nancy.

The Pleasure Seekers became Cradle, which placed more emphasis on hard rock and original material. In the early '70s, British producer Mickie Most (the Animals, Lulu, Donovan, Herman's Hermits) happened to see Cradle while he was in Detroit to work on an album with Jeff Beck at Motown's studios. Most let Quatro know he was interested in working with her as a solo act; six months later, Cradle split, and Suzy was on her way to London (Patti joined the all-woman rock band Fanny in Los Angeles).

After her first single flopped, Most hooked her up with songwriters Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, who were also supplying material to the Sweet. The Chapman-Chinn-penned "Can the Can" went to number one in the U.K. in 1973, and over the next few years the same team would write about ten other British chart hits for her, including four Top Ten entries. These fused glitter and bubblegum in much the same way as the Sweet did, though Quatro was perhaps a tad raunchier (without ever getting downright scary). Quatro and her guitarist (and husband) Len Tuckey did write some of her material, though these efforts were usually confined to albums. In the U.S., though, she could barely get into the Top 100, though she did get on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Her American fortunes changed in the late '70s, when she had a short-lived, semi-regular stint on the sitcom Happy Days as the guitar-playing, sassy Leather Tuscadero. In 1979, she made the American Top Five with "Stumblin' In," although this was a duet with Chris Norman. Undoubtedly an influence upon the Runaways and Joan Jett, and thus by extension a mild influence on a subsequent generation of female rockers, she's kept a low profile in the '80s and '90s, although she's done some television and theatrical work in Britain.

Wikipedia:

Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro (born 3 June 1950) is a British-based American singer-songwriter, bass guitar player, and actor. She is the first female bass player to become a major rock star — this success in the 1970s empowered women (at a time when rock was dominated by men).

In the 1970s Quatro scored a string of hit singles that initially found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland. But, following a recurring role as a female bass player on the popular American sitcom Happy Days, her duet "Stumblin' In" with Chris Norman reached number 4 in the USA.

Between 1973 and 1980 Quatro was awarded six Bravo Ottos. In 2010 she was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends online Hall of Fame.

She continues to create new albums, to perform, and to research/present new radio programmes.

Career

Music

Quatro played the bass guitar in the all-female bands The Pleasure Seekers and Cradle with her sisters Patti, Nancy, and Arlene. Also, according to her autobiography, her first bass guitar was a 1957 Fender Precision, given to her by her father.

Quatro moved to England in 1971 after being discovered in Detroit by the record producer Mickie Most, who produced The Animals, Jeff Beck, Lulu, and Donovan. By this time he had started his own label RAK Records, which made stars of Hot Chocolate and Mud.

Quatro's first single "Rolling Stone" did not achieve popularity except in Portugal, where it hit number one on the charts. Most introduced Quatro to the songwriting and production team Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Following a support slot on a UK tour with Thin Lizzy and headliners Slade, her second single "Can the Can" (1973) was a number one hit throughout Europe and in Australia. It was followed up by three further hits: "48 Crash" (1973), "Daytona Demon" (1973), and "Devil Gate Drive" (1974) on RAK Records. "Can the Can", "48 Crash" and "Devil Gate Drive" each sold over one million copies, and were each awarded gold discs.

These recordings met little success in her native United States, despite tours in the mid-1970s supporting Alice Cooper on his 'Welcome to my Nightmare' tour. During this tour, Quatro accidentally broke Cooper's nose as a result of them having a dart gun fight in a hotel lobby before a show.

With the exception of Australia, from 1975 onwards, Quatro's popularity declined. In the interim, she did enjoy some success as a session player. Nonetheless, her singles after 1975 made it no higher than the top 20 in the UK for the next three years.

Quatro's chart success gained a second wind in 1978, when "If You Can't Give Me Love" became a hit in the United Kingdom and Australia. This did nothing to prompt Stateside success, but "Stumblin' In", a duet recorded that same year for RSO Records with Chris Norman of the band Smokie reached a #4 peak in the U.S. Both tracks featured on the If You Knew Suzi... album. A year later, Quatro released Suzi... and Other Four Letter Words, which she called her favourite album. This featured singles such as "She's in Love With You", which made number 11 in Britain, "Mama's Boy" (34), and "I've Never Been in Love" (56).

In 1980, her song "Rock Hard" was featured on the soundtrack of the cult film Times Square, along with some punk and new wave bands like Talking Heads, Ramones, XTC, and The Pretenders. The album and single "Rock Hard" both went platinum in Australia. 1980 also saw the release of Suzi Quatro's Greatest Hits, which peaked at number 4 on the UK charts. This record was promoted with TV and radio promotions from the record label. This was her highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #4 in the UK Albums Chart. This success period proved brief however, and her last UK hit was "Heart of Stone" in late 1982. This made the top 75 and a second single Main Attraction failed to chart, but however was a sizeable airplay hit. She commented in an article in Kerrang! in 1983, after playing a successful slot at Reading Festival on 27 August, that she did not care about being in the charts, but was more interested releasing what she wanted; commenting that she started in 1964, and did not become famous for nine years "I would never accept having my career moulded by other people... I've kept working consistently even though I've not been in the charts." In 1985, Quatro collaborated with Bronski Beat and members of The Kinks, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and Dr. Feelgood on the Mark Cunningham produced version of David Bowie's "Heroes", released the following year as the 1986 BBC "Children In Need" single. The next year (1987) she was part of the Ferry Aid charity single "Let It Be", which returned her to the UK charts at number 1.

In December 2005, a documentary chronicling Quatro's life, Naked Under Leather named after a 1975 bootleg album, recorded in Japan, directed by former member of The Runaways, Victory Tischler Blue, appeared.

In February 2006, Quatro released Back to the Drive, produced by Sweet guitarist Andy Scott. The album's title track was written by her former collaborator Mike Chapman.

In March 2007, Quatro released a version of the Eagles song "Desperado", followed by the publication of her autobiography, Unzipped.

On 11 June 2010, she headlined the 'Girls night out' at the Isle of Wight Festival. That same month, Quatro was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends online Hall of Fame.

On 5 August 2011, Quatro released her fifteenth studio album, In the Spotlight (and its single "Spotlight") in Australia. This album was a mixture of new songs written by her original producer Mike Chapman (or herself) and covers. The album was released in Germany on 22 August 2011. On 29 August 2011 the album was released in the rest of the world (including the USA) and its second single, "Whatever Love Is", was released world-wide.

In September 2011, the BBC stated on their website that Quatro had sold "over 50 million records" and continues to perform live, "doing over 100 shows worldwide a year".

In November 2011, Quatro announced on her official Facebook page that a music video for "Strict Machine" was in production by Victory Tischler-Blue, formerly Vicky Blue of The Runaways. This track is from Quatro's album In the Spotlight. It is a cover of Goldfrapp's "Strict Machine", but Quatro's version contains two lines from her own number one hit "Can the Can" to show the similarity of the tunes for the two songs. The video was released on 16 November 2011 onto the SUZI QUATRO OFFICIAL YouTube channel.

Acting and radio hosting

Quatro is known in the United States for her role as female bass player Leather Tuscadero on the television show Happy Days. Show producer Garry Marshall offered the role without an audition after seeing a picture of her on his daughter's bedroom wall. Leather was the younger sister of Fonzie's girlfriend, hot-rod driver Pinky Tuscadero. Leather fronted a rock band joined by principal character Joanie Cunningham. The character returned in other cameo roles, including once for a date to a fraternity formal with Ralph Malph. Marshall offered Quatro a Leather Tuscadero spin-off, but she refused, saying she did not want to be typecast.

Other acting roles include a 1982 episode of the British comedy-drama series Minder (called "Dead Men Do Tell Tales") as Nancy, the singer girlfriend of Terry (Dennis Waterman). In 1985, she starred as a mentally disturbed ex-MI5 operative in Dempsey and Makepeace - "Love you to Death".

In 1986, Quatro appeared as Annie Oakley in a London production of Annie Get Your Gun.

In 1991, Quatro wrote and performed in a musical about the life of actor Tallulah Bankhead. Entitled Tallulah Who? it was adapted from a book by Willie Rushton and ran from 14 February to 9 March at The Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch (Greater London - Essex). Quatro co-wrote the music and adapted the book with Shirlie Roden. She played the title role. According to The Queen's Theatre "You’ll be amazed how Tallulah did it, and to whom  –— and how often!" The show received favourable reviews.

In 1994, she made a cameo appearance as a nurse in the "Hospital" episode of the comedy Absolutely Fabulous. She also was filmed in the 1990 Clive Barker horror film Nightbreed, but the studio cut out her character.

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, in Lowestoft. She also appeared in the episode "The Axeman Cometh" of Midsomer Murders alongside Phil Davis in the role of Mimi Clifton.

In October 2006, Quatro was a contestant on the British reality television show Trust Me – I'm a Beauty Therapist. She states that this is the one thing in her career that she regrets doing, stating they sold it to her as a documentary, but realised once she signed the contract and began the filming that it was nothing more than a reality show. Quatro complained to the producer, stating she never would have agreed to appear if she had known the truth. As a result she did not get a lot of screen time when the programme was aired.

In addition to touring, Quatro has hosted weekly rock and roll programmes on BBC Radio 2. The first one was Rockin' with Suzi Q. Her second programme called "Wake Up Little Suzi". It aired on Thursdays.

Personal life

Quatro was born into a Catholic musical family in Detroit, Michigan. Her father Art, a part-time jazz musician, was of Italian descent while her mother, Helen Sanislay, was Hungarian. Quatro stated in her autobiography that her paternal grandfather shortened the family name from "Quattrocchi" before she was born. She is the aunt of actor Sherilyn Fenn, whose mother is Quatro's sister Arlene. Her sister Patti joined the band Fanny, one of the earliest all-female rock bands to gain national attention. Quatro has a brother, Michael Quatro, who is also a musician.

Quatro married her longtime guitarist Len Tuckey in 1976. They had two children together (Laura in 1982 and Richard Leonard in 1984) and divorced in 1992. Before 1993, Quatro lived with her two children and grandchild in a manor house in Essex that she and Tuckey bought in 1980. She married German concert promoter Rainer Haas in 1993. Toward the end of 2008, Quatro's children moved out of the house and she temporarily put it up for sale, stating that she had empty nest syndrome. Quatro continues to live in Essex, England.

On 31 March 2012, Quatro broke her right knee and left wrist whilst boarding an aircraft in Kiev, where she had performed the night before. She had to cancel her appearance at the Detroit Music Awards, where she was to be inducted into the Detroit hall of fame along with her sisters, scheduled for 27 April. This would have been her first performance in America for over 30 years. Quatro also had to re-schedule other concert dates, whilst some were cancelled altogether.

Influences

Before Quatro's success, rock was dominated by men. In his paper I Wanna Be Your Man: Suzi Quatro's musical androgyny, Philip Auslander points out that the many women in rock by the late 1960s mostly performed only as singers, "a traditionally feminine position in popular music". For example, since Janis Joplin did not play guitar on stage, even she "cannot be seen as a powerful figure in the context of the rock culture of her time". Though some women (like Quatro herself) played instruments in American all-female garage rock bands, none of these bands achieved more than regional success. So they "did not provide viable templates for women's on-going participation in rock". When Quatro emerged in 1973, "no other prominent female musician worked in rock simultaneously as a singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader".

Auslander analyzes Quatro's live performances of "Can the Can" plus "Breakdown" and concludes that she performed as a female cock-rocker. He writes that

"she has appeared on occasion just as a bass player, not a singer, and [also] demonstrates her instrumental prowess with an extended bass guitar solo during her own concerts. By foregrounding her status as a rock player, not just a singer, Quatro declares ownership of the symbolic rock cock."

Auslander adds that in 2000 Quatro saw herself as "kicking down the male door in rock and roll and proving that a female musician ... and this is a point I am extremely concerned about ... could play as well if not better than the boys".

Pat Benatar

Rock/hard rock singer Pat Benatar started her musical career in the 1970s (in New York City, USA). She won four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance from 1981 to 1984. According to Greg Prato and Stephen Thomas Erlew of AllMusic, Benatar was influenced by Quatro.

Blondie

The band Blondie formed in 1974 (in New York City, USA), broke up in 1982, and reunited in 1998. It is the most commercially successful New Wave/punk band and also branched out into other musical genres. In 2006, Blondie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According to William Ruhlmann of AllMusic, Blondie was influenced by Quatro.

Tina Weymouth

Tina Weymouth is a founding member and bassist of the New Wave group Talking Heads (formed in 1975 in New York City, USA) and its side project Tom Tom Club. Talking Heads was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. When Chris Frantz was unable to find a bass player interested in joining the group, he encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Quatro albums.

The 5.6.7.8's

The 5.6.7.8's are all-female Japanese rock trio/quartet. They formed in 1986 (in Tokyo, Japan) and are the longest-enduring Japanese garage rock female band. In the West, they are best known for their appearance in the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill Volume 1. According to Alexey Eremenko of Allmusic, The 5.6.7.8's were influenced by Quatro.

Tuscadero

The American indie rock band Tuscadero, formed in 1993, was named after Quatro's character Leather Tuscadero on the TV show Happy Days.

The Glycerine Queens

The Glycerine Queens is an American all-female rock band, formed in 2010, who "want to bring rock back into a pop-dominated world". According to the band's CD Baby web pages, their music is "reminiscent of classic rock from the 60's and 70's, mixed with their own modern touch!". The band is named after Quatro's song "Glycerine Queen", which is in her debut Suzi Quatro album and on the B-side of her "All Shook Up" single. Among The Glycerine Queens' influences are The Runaways, Quatro, L7, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Others

Quatro had a direct influence on The Runaways and Joan Jett. She also inspired Chrissie Hynde, the singer for rock band The Pretenders, and The White Stripes.

Satire

A Spanish rock band called Suzy & los Quattro released two albums on No Tomorrow in 2006 and 2008; in the tradition of Ramones and the Donnas, all of the bandmembers except for Suzy Chain list their last name as Quattro.

A Danish band called Suzi & Quadratrødderne released two CDs: Glimrende (Excellent) and Absolut Nødvendigt..! (Absolutely Necessary ..!). Suzi was played by Ricky Rocket. Unlike Quatro and her band, Suzi & Quadratrødderne dressed in glam rock style.

Filmography

Television

Honours and awards

Bravo Otto

Bravo is the largest magazine for female teenagers in German-speaking Europe. Each year, the readers of this magazine select the Bravo Otto award winners.

Quatro has won the following Bravo Otto awards:

Queens of British Pop

In April 2009, BBC TV selected Quatro as one of twelve Queens of British Pop. Mark Cooper, the Executive Producer of "Queens of British Pop", said that female stars were selected because their songs, experiences, and impact best wrote the story of the last fifty years.

Radio DJ David Jensen said that Quatro took rock music by the scruff of the neck and empowered women by becoming a major rock star. She would appear live on a bill full of males and very much hold her own. Playing a long-necked bass guitar and stomping the floor, her attitude was that (if she were taken on) she would take no prisoners. As a personality, she still endures. Her recorded music is memorable and will continue to endure.