Suzi Quatro is an American singer/songwriter/bassist who made her mark on the music scene with a string of hits in the mid-1970's. Although not as well known in her native America since most of her albums were recorded over in England and most of her touring took place in Australia and Europe, she has been quoted as an inspiration to many of those who came after, including such influential musicians as Joan Jett. Dressed head to toe in leather and wielding a bass guitar that all but dwarfed her, Suzi went onto become the first female rock musican with a string of number one hits throughout the 1970's and early 80's, showing the world that women can do rock 'n' roll just as well as men.

On June 3, 1950, Suzi Kay Quatro was born to parents Helen and jazz band musician Art Quatro. The second youngest in a family of three sisters and one brother, she grew up in Grosse Pointe, a suburb of Detroit. Her musical talents evident from an early age, Suzi made her musical debut at the age of eight in her dad's band, Art Quatro Trio. Suzi was trained on classical piano, but then turned towards rock'n'roll at the age of 14, and in her late teens she teamed up with her sisters to form her first band, The Pleasure Seekers. The Pleasure Seekers remained together for five years, during which time they released several singles; in 1967, the group even toured Vietnam to entertain the American troops stationed there.

Suzi then went on the play in the band Cradle in the early 1970's (right; Suzi is the third one from the left in the photo). In 1971, the group was seen playing at a Detroit nightclub by British record producer Mickie Most, who promptly signed Suzi to his new RAK label and asked her to come to England. She spent the next two years writing songs and recording in the UK, during which time she released her first single, Rolling Stone. Sadly, it did not make any great impression on the charts except in Portugal, where it surprisingly reached number one in 1972. That same year, Suzi also opened for Slade throughout their tour of England.

Suzi's second single and first big hit was the aggressively feminist Can The Can, written together with fellow RAK label mates Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn in 1973; this tune raced up the British, Japanese, European and Australian charts to number one and remained in the top 30 for more than three months. The heavy rocking 48 Crash followed shortly thereafter and reached number three, and Devil Gate Drive came out the following year. Also in 1974, Suzi embarked on a tour of Australia - the first of many more to come.

Suzi's first appearance on Top Of The Pops in England was memorable: a tiny, 5 foot blonde, all decked out in black leather, swinging a bass guitar nearly bigger than her, belting out a raucous version of her earlier hit Can The Can. In addition to her her tough and street-wise stance, Suzi frequently chose to cover songs from male artists without changing the lyrics around, giving an interesting twist to the performance and adding to her already outrageous stage persona - remember, this was some 25 years ago. This list included All Shook Up, I Wanna Be Your Man and Wake Up Little Susie. Her musical range covered a wide gamit, from the heavy rocking tunes for which she is perhaps the most known (e.g. I've Never Been In Love Before, Daytona Demon), to songs with a strong feminist message (Much Wiser than You), to power ballads such as The Race Is On and The Main Attraction.

Her success continued in the UK throughout the 1970's with an almost constant stream of hits. In 1977, after she graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine (right; the article was titled: Suzi Quatro flexes her leather), she was offered her first major acting role as Leather Tuscadero on the American comedy hit series, Happy Days (being asked to interrupt a tour of Japan to come to the States for an audition). Suzi got the part, and went on to do seven episodes. There was an offer of a spin-off series, but Suzi declined, not wishing to be being type cast. In 1978, Suzi and her long time lead guitarist, Len Tuckey, were married in England, and later repeated the ceremony in Japan.

In 1982, Suzi recorded her album Main Attraction while pregnant, although by the early 1980's, she was no longer with RAK. Her daughter Laura was born September 23, 1982. In 1983, Suzi completed a tour of both the UK and Australia, including Laura in her television interview appearances. In October 1984, Suzi gave birth to her second child, Richard Leonard; a six week, world-wide tour including Australia followed shortly thereafter, where Suzi brought along her entire family.

After the parting of ways with RAK, Suzi continued to work with Mike Chapman on his own record label Dreamland, but as the hits grew fewer and more farther between throughout the 1980's, she started working on other projects. She appeared in the British television series Minder and Dempsey and Makepiece; in 1986, on the recommendation of Andrew Lloyd Webber, she played Annie Oakley in the British stage musical Annie Get Your Gun.

Suzi's recording career nearly disappeared in the late 1980's, although she still managed to tour occasionally and release the odd single. She also completed a tour of the pre-perestroika Soviet Union in 1989, which seems to have marked a renewal of her rock and roll career: during the early 1990's, Suzi embarked on tours of Europe, Japan and Australia. As well, at this time many of Suzi's albums were re-released on CD. After signing on to a new record label (the Dutch Bolland and Bolland), Suzi released her first original album in 9 years: Oh Suzi-Q.

1992 was not a good year for Suzi: she and her long-time husband divorced, and later that same year, both her mother and mother-in-law passed away. However, 1993 saw things improve once again, starting off with yet another tour of Australia, where Suzi brought along her recently-widowed father for the first time. A guest television appearance in the UK smash comedy hit Absolutely Fabulous (with Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders) followed. Later that year, she started working on an original musical called Tallulah Who, about the 1930's actress Tallulah Bankhead. And then in October, Suzi married her second husband, German tour promoter Rainer Haas, at a small ceremony in Las Vegas.

1994 marked Suzi's 20th year of touring Australia. What Goes Around, an album of older hits and some new songs, was released in late 1995. In 1997, Suzi embarked on her 14th tour of Australia promoting this album, which came out a year later Down Under.

Over the last five years, Suzi has continued to tour and also work with Mike Chapman in New York. In 1999, she completed one of her most extensive tours to date, including England, Germany, Australia, Malaysia and Finland; this was followed by another tour of Europe in 2000. Her latest album should be out in February 2001 through BMG records; an extensive tour is expected to take place later this year which will hopefully reach North America.

Last update: Jan. 14, 2001