SUZI QUATRO - 70S AND 80S SONGS AND ALBUMS
by Mark Nobes, chief editor
The Early Years
Before she was even a teenager, the American-born singer/songwriter, Suzi Quatro, played percussion for her Dad's jazz band. In 1964 Suzi joined her older sister, Patti, in an all female band called The Pleasure Seekers. They released two singles - neither were commercially successful - Never Thought You'd Leave Me and Light Of Love.
During the 70s (1971 to be precise), Suzi moved to England and was signed up by RAK records. Her first single release, Rolling Stone, reached NO.1 in Portugal but failed to chart in the UK or US.
The rock singer went on to achieve eleven Top 40 singles in the UK, but just one top 40 hit in the U.S. with Stumblin' In (with Chris Norman) which peaked at #4 in 1979.
As well as being a vocalist and songwriter, Suzi is also a mean bass player and taught herself to play. She is still releasing material and has so far released fifteen studio albums.
Can The Can was Suzi Quatro's second solo single and spent one week at No.1 in the UK during June 1973. However, in the U.S. the song wasn't released until 1976, where it reached #53 in February of the same year.
Can The Can also topped many charts across the globe and was lifted from Suzi's self-titled debut album. The B-side included the track Ain't Ya Something Honey.
The video clip in the playlist has the best audio quality I could find on Youtube, and although it's far from perfect, it's better than all of the other uploads which were truly terrible!
The single reached #7 in the UK and was lifted from Suzi's second album Quatro. My Mum bought The Wild One on 7" vinyl which I remember listening to quite a lot as a kid, and seeing that RAK label with the tall sailing ship (further down this page) again makes me realise how old I am! The B-side featured a track entitled Shake My Sugar which I also played many times during the seventies.
By the way, does anyone else think that Suzi looks like a sexy version of Linda Hamilton from the Terminator films? okay, so it's just me then!
No less than four saxophonists played on the album and these were Chris Mercer, Mick Eve, Bud Beadle (great name!) and Steve Gregory.
The change in style wasn't to the taste of the British public, though, and when the title track was released as a single it only manged to reach #31 in the UK.
Released in 1976, tracks included cover versions of Elvis's Heartbreak Hotel, Steve Harley's Come Up And See Me and Wake Up Little Suzie which was written by Felice Bryant and became a chart-topping hit for The Everly Brothers in 1957.
American county musician Dallas Frazier also penned one track, The Honky Tonk Downstairs.
If You Knew Suzi became Quatro's most successful album in the states, reaching #37 in the Billboard 200. The album includes the singles The Race Is On and If You Can't Give Me Love. Newer CD releases include three bonus tracks, including a cover of Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run.
Suzi Quatro (1973)
Quatro (1974)
Your Mamma Won't Like Me (1975)
Aggro-Phobia (1976)
If You Knew Suzi (1978)
Suzi...And Other Four Letter Words (1979)
Rock Hard (1980)
Main Attraction (1982)
Annie Get Your Gun - 1986 London Cast (1986)
Oh Suzi Q (1990)
What Goes Around (1996)
Unreleased Emotion (1998)
Free The Butterfly (1998)
Back To The Drive (2006)
In The Spotlight (2011)
