Suzi Quatro

Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro at AIS Arena in Canberra, Australia on 26 September 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Susan Kay Quatrocchio
Born	June 3 1950 (1950-06-03) (age 57)
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genre(s)	Glam Rock, Pop Music
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Actress, Radio Personality
Years active	1960–present (singer)
Label(s)	EMI Int'l EMI Bgo - Beat Goes on Disky Records Razor & Tie
Associated acts	Chris Norman,
Website	Official Website

Suzi Quatro (born Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American singer, bassist, radio personality, and actress.

Biography

Early life

Born into a Catholic^[1] musical family, Quatro's father, Art Quatro (whose full family surname is Quatrocchio), was a part time jazz musician of Italian descent,^[2] while her mother, Helen Sanislay, was Hungarian.^[3] She is the aunt of actress Sherilyn Fenn, whose mother is Quatro's sister Arlene.^[4] Quatro began her musical career in the all-female band Pleasure Seekers and Cradle with her sisters Patti, Nancy, and Arlene. Patti Quatro later joined the band Fanny, one of the earliest all-female rock bands to gain national attention.^[5] She has a brother, Michael Quatro, who is also a musician.^[6] Quatro moved to the UK in 1971 after being discovered in Detroit by record producer Mickie Most, famous for producing many artists such as The Animals, Jeff Beck, Lulu and Donovan.^[7] By this time he had started his own label RAK Records, which made stars of many artists including Hot Chocolate and Mud.^[8]

Career

Music

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.^[9] 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 U.S., 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. Interestingly, she became something of a muse for Rick Derringer, who tailored his androgynous appearance to resemble an eerie doppelganger of Quatro. This is particularly evident on the liner photograph 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 States, 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, Quatro 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.^[10] In February 2006, Quatro released Back To the Drive, which was produced by Sweet guitarist Andy Scott. The album's title track was written by Mike Chapman.^[11]Later that year, a documentary chronicling Quatro's life and career, Naked Under Leather was released.^[12] In March 2007, she released her version of The Eagles' "Desperado", followed by the release of her autobiography entitled Unzipped.^[13]

Acting and radio hosting

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. Other acting roles include a 1980 episode of British comedy-drama series Minder called "Dead Men Do Tell Tales", as the singer girlfriend of Terry's (Dennis Waterman). In 1986, Quatro appeared as Annie Oakley in a 1986 London production of Annie Get Your Gun.^[10] In 1994, she made a cameo appearance in an episode of the comedy Absolutely Fabulous.^[14] In 2006, Quatro performed the voice of Rio in the Bob the Builder film Built To Be Wild,^[15] 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.^[14] In October 2006, Quatro was a contestant on the British reality television show Trust Me - I'm A Beauty Therapist'.^[16] The following year, she appeared on Irish television show The Podge and Rodge Show, in March 2007. Later that year, Quatro released her version of The Eagles' "Desperado", and her autobiography entitled Unzipped.^[17] In addition to touring, Quatro currently hosts a weekly Rock and Roll programme on BBC Radio 2, Rockin' with Suzi Q.^[18]

Personal life

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.^[19]

Discography

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

Singles

Filmography

Television

• Disco (1 episode, 1974)
• Happy Days (7 episodes, 1977-1979)
• Minder (1 episode, 1982)
• Rod and Emu's Saturday Special (1 episode, 1983)
• The Krankies Klub (1 episode, 1983)
• Dempsey & Makepeace (1 episode, 1985)
• Absolutely Fabulous (1 episode, 1994)
• Gene Simmons' Rock School (1 episode on series two, 2006)
• Midsomer Murders (1 episode, 2007)

See also

• Pleasure Seekers

References

External links

• Official Suzi Quatro website
• Suzi Quatro at the Internet Movie Database
• Suzi Quatro at TV.com
• Suzi Quatro interview at BassGirls.Com
• Detailed Suzi Quatro Discography
• Suzi Quatro Discography
• The Pleasure Seekers band info
• Detroit area rock 'n' roll bands: The Pleasure Seekers
• SUZI QUATRO – UNZIPPED! - Suzi Quatro reads from her autobiography on BBC Radio 2 - streaming audio