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Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.
She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.
Quatro began her musical career at the age of fourteen. She 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. Patti Quatro later joined the band Fanny, one of the earliest all-female rock bands to gain national attention. She has a brother, Michael Quatro, who is also a musician.
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. With the exception of Australia, from 1975 onwards, Quatro's popularity declined. In the interim, she did enjoy some success as a session player. None the less, her singles after 1975 made it no higher than the top 20 in the UK for the next three years.
Quatro's big charting success got a second wind 1978, "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.
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.
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.
On 11 June 2010, she headlined the 'Girls night out' at the Isle of Wight Festival. That same month, Suzi 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 August 22, 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.
She is known in the United States for her role as Leather Tuscadero on the TV show Happy Days. Show producer Garry Marshall offered the role without an audition after seeing her on his daughter's bedroom wall. Leather was the younger sister of Fonzie's girlfriend, hot-rod driver Pinky Tuscadero. Leather fronted an all-girl 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 British comedy-drama series Minder called "Dead Men Do Tell Tales", as the singer girlfriend of Terry's (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 15 February – 19 March at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch (Greater London - Essex). Suzi co-wrote the music and adapted the book with Shirlie Roden.
In 1994, she made a cameo appearance in an 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 Grainger 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'.
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.
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