Suzi Quatro discusses some of her favourite musicians: “When he sings, you believe”
It might be easy to understand why a prodigy like Suzi Quattro would be able to name all of her favourite musicians off the top of her head, no questions asked. Quattro’s legacy paralleled some of the most exciting artists in music history, meaning she not only knows talent when she sees it but also has an intimate experience with most of those she idolises.
Quatro’s immersion in the industry may not initially strike as overwhelming, but its profundity deepens when you realise she has over five decades worth of material herself. When asked to pick her favourites, it seems fitting, therefore, that she explained that “they’re all your babies”. Even if it is possible, it would demand a considerable amount of time and a willingness to delve deeply into her past experiences.
The early days that resulted in Suzi…and Other Four Letter Words centred around the singer’s grapple with Hollywood fame and whether that path was particularly worth it as her heart continued to yearn for a more musical direction. Realising her true calling, she diverted from the movie world and put her personal experiences into the art of song, focusing on one channel of creativity and disregarding the others.
Considering Quatro’s more straightforward rock leanings, it might be safe to say that many of her favourites are also stars who occupy the rock ‘n’ roll realm. However, one legendary troubadour who particularly caught her eye is one who knows the art of good songwriting. “All roads lead to Bob Dylan,” Martha Wainwright once said, and it would seem her theory rings true.
In Quatro’s case, discovering Dylan marked an early stage in her career before she had established herself as an artist in her own right. Discussing the singer’s 1966 release Blonde on Blonde, she explained: “I was 14 years old, newly in my first band, The Pleasure Seekers, working the clubs and perfecting my bass and singing. And my mind was like a sponge.”
Recounting the moment she first digested Blonde on Blonde, she told Louder: “After seeing the Blue Magoo’s at the Chessmate in Detroit, my home town, we ended up hanging at their hotel. I heard, for the first time, this album.” She added: “I knew the artist of course, and was a fan, but after this, well I was hooked for life.”
Although Dylan is someone who helped her throughout her life, when it comes to tone of voice, Quatro enjoys Nat King Cole’s “smokiness” that goes “straight to the heart”. In her eyes, “What he sings, you believe.” In fact, her “favourite song of all time” and one that “had a huge emotional impact on me” was King Cole’s ‘When I Fall In Love’.
On a similar note, she enjoys Carole King’s vocals and her prowess as a songwriter, along with Doris Day, whose song ‘What Will Be, Will Be’, which incidentally was the first song she remembers hearing on the radio. However, it seems no one can touch Dylan’s artistry in Quatro’s eyes, whose song-writing talent did more than resonate; it “clarified my love of writing lyrics”.