Suzi Quatro

Early life

Quatro was born and raised in Detroit. Her father, Art, was a semiprofessional musician and worked at General Motors. Her paternal grandfather was an Italian immigrant to the U.S. and her mother, Helen, was Hungarian; she died in 1992.

The family name 'Quattrocchi' ('four eyes') was shortened to Quatro. She has three sisters, a brother (Michael Quatro), and one older half-sister. Her parents fostered several other children while she was growing up. At age six, seeing Elvis Presley perform on television influenced her.

She received formal training in classical piano and percussion—her first instrument was bongos. She taught herself how to play the bass after her sister asked her to learn it for her first band, the Pleasure Seekers. Her father gave her a 1957 Fender Precision Bass guitar in 1964, which she still uses in the studio.

Career

Quatro played drums or percussion from an early age as part of her father's jazz band, the Art Quatro Trio. She later appeared on local television as a go-go dancer. In 1964, her older sister Patti formed an all-female garage rock band called the Pleasure Seekers; Quatro joined, singing and playing bass under the stage name Suzi Soul. The Pleasure Seekers recorded three singles and released two: 'Never Thought You'd Leave Me' / 'What a Way to Die' (1966) and 'Light of Love' / 'Good Kind of Hurt' (1968) on Mercury Records.

The band changed its name to Cradle in late 1969. Her brother Michael persuaded record producer Mickie Most to see Cradle. Looking for a female rock singer after Janis Joplin's death, Most was drawn by 'her comeliness and skills as bass guitarist, singer, and chief show-off in Cradle.' Quatro sang background vocals on Donovan's 'Barabajagal' in 1969.

Most took her to England and she spent a year living in a hotel, where he nurtured her skills. Her first single 'Rolling Stone' reached number one only in Portugal. In 1972, she toured the UK as a support act with Thin Lizzy and Slade. Her second single 'Can the Can' (1973) was a number-one hit in parts of Europe and Australia.

It was followed by '48 Crash' (1973), 'Daytona Demon' (1973), and 'Devil Gate Drive' (1974), each selling over one million copies and awarded gold discs. In 1973, she played on the Cozy Powell hit 'Dance With the Devil'. Her duet 'Stumblin' In' with Smokie's Chris Norman reached number four in the US, her only song to chart in the top 40 in her homeland.

Awards and honors

Between 1973 and 1980, Quatro was awarded six Bravo Ottos, an award given to musicians as voted in the German teen magazine Bravo. In 2010, she was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends online Hall of Fame.