The Leather Baby Wild One: Suzi Quatro

When doing my previous post on gals who rocked in the 70s it became incredibly obvious that Suzi Quatro was going to need her own post. Is there a vast music world conspiracy keeping all her amazing music hidden from the world? Teenagers, self possessed gals, and anyone who enjoys a serious and fun rocking out session are being done a great dis-service by the absence of Suzi Quatro in our lives.



In The Runaways movie that came out this year (if you didn't see it you are a loser, get your crap together) they did, in my opinion, give well deserved mention to Suzi. In an early scene Joan Jett is seen huffing fumes, making out with her friend, and playing Suzi Quatro's The Wild One on her quitar. Later in the movie when Cherie Currie is given an audition for The Runaways, manager Kim Fowley insists that she learn a Suzi Quatro song in preparation.

So I'm embarrassed by this but I really didn't know much about Suzi Quatro and now from thoroughly surfing the world wide web I'm pissed at the world for not exposing me earlier.

Okay example one: When Suzi was 15 she was in a band with her sisters and some other gals and they were called The Pleasure Seekers. They had an amazing song in 1964 called "What A Way To Die". The lyrics are as follows:

Well I love you baby
I’m telling you right here
But please don’t make me decide baby
Between you and a bottle of beer.
chorus:
Baby come on over,
come on over to my side
well I may not live past twenty-one
but WOO!
what a way to die!

Your lovin' fluctuates baby
and everybody knows
but the temperature always stays the same
on an ice cold bottle of Stroh's

When I start my drinking
my baby throws a fit
So I just blitz him outta my mind
with seventeen bottles of Schlitz

You’ve got the kind of body
that makes me come alive
But I’d rather have my hands around
A bottle of Colt 45

There isn't a video for that song but her is a video of them covering I'll Be There. Suzi's dancing makes me want to go out and party.

Pleasure Seekers 1967-Northwest tour

Patti, Nancy, Suzi, Arlene Quatro | MySpace Music Videos


Okay so now on to the solo career. This is Suzi Quatro doing 48 Crash in 1973. Keep in mind thats 2 years before The Runaways even formed.

I'm frustrated because in this next video the vocals and video don't line up very well. But Wild One is a great example of what an influence Suzi was on girl rockers who came after her. Also the lyrics are pretty epic.

"All my life I've wanted to be somebody, and here I am.
I know what I've got, and there ain't nobody gonna take it away from me.
So let me tell ya what I am!"

I'm a red-hot fox. I can take the knocks
I'm a hammer from hell. Honey, can't you tell?
I'm the wild one. Yes, I'm the wild one
I'm a touched-up freak on a winning streak
I'm gonna own this town. You can't hold me down
I'm the wild one. Yes, I'm the wild one

Well it ain't no use. Turn me loose
More...more...I can't keep score

I've got my head screwed on, and the days are gone
When you kept me down, and you pushed me 'round
I'm the wild one. Yes, I'm the wild one

I'm a blue-eyed bitch and I wanna get rich
Get out of my way 'cause I'm here to stay
I'm the wild one. Yes, I'm the wild one
Well it ain't no use. Turn me loose
More...more...I can't keep score...YEAH!
Well it ain't no use. Turn me loose
More...more...I can't keep score

I'm a red-hot fox. I can take the knocks
I'm a hammer from hell. Honey, can't you tell?
I'm the wild one. Yes, I'm the wild one
I'm a touched-up freak on a winning streak
I'm gonna own this town. You can't hold me down
I'm the wild one. Yes, I'm the wild one

Here are a few more videos

This next song I May Be Too Young is pretty epic also. Its so rock and roll with talk of her keeping company with "those long haired blue eyed southern gents". And such an epic teenagery line "I may be too young to fall in love, but I'm still hangin round".


Suzi was in her early to mid twenties when these videos were shot. She toured and did interviews and all around busted her ass for a few years but mostly did well in Europe and Australia without hitting too high in the US charts. Then she had another resurgence in the late 70s and charted pretty well in the US. My favorite from that later time, which actually didn't do that well here in the states was If You Can't Give Me Love, which actually is more soft rock but pretty awesome.


These days Suzi Quatro, originally from Detroit, is living in Germany according to imdb and England according to wikipedia. Either way she continues to rock hard, look good in leather, and inspire generations of even more rockers. You can read more about her here.

Da Cherry Bomb

Finally! The trailer is out for The Runaways.


Although my expectations for the movie are just sort of lukewarm- I'm sure they're going to water it down a bit- I am excited to see a movie with some teen girls who rock - and also staring some teen girls who can act. I've really liked Kristen Stewart since Panic Room and I think its awesome that Dakota Fanning is coming into her more adult self with an awesome role like Cherie Currie. Also up and comers Alia Shawkat and Scout Taylor Compton have been pretty awesome so far so I'm glad they're getting some good parts.

The Runaways were sort of like the girl punk/pop version of the Modern Lovers in the way that almost everyone went on to have a killer career after the band.

There was Lita Ford the lead guitarist.

Then Lita went on to become the Godmother Of Metal. My favorite Goth Metal bar Lucky 13 has tons of Lita photos on the wall.

Kiss Me Deadly Color Correction
Uploaded by helgaharley. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Of course there was also Cherie Currie, The Runaway's lead singer at 15!





Cherie went on to have a pretty cool acting career in Foxes, Parasite, Twilight Zone the movie, and This Is Spinal Tap. She also put out a solo album and an album with her twin sister.
These days she enjoys making wood sculptures with her chainsaw.


The Runaways also had a rotating bassist position that was filled with all sorts of gals, such as Mickie Steele who went on to be in The Bangles and Jackie Fox who went on to Harvard to become a lawyer.


But honestly, my heart has always belonged to Joan Jett



When I was a depressed teenager I hit a point where I'd completely given up on feeling good. Life involved the saddest of indie music and trying to sleep as much as possible so I wouldn't think about my shitty boyfriend and why he'd dumped me. Then I discovered Joan Jett and AC/DC and it was like having a total breakthrough. I believe Oprah refers to this as "your ah-ha moment". Anyhow, I realized that I didn't have to listen to sad music, and I didn't have to save the lost cause of a boyfriend. I'd always known about Joan Jett but hadn't ever considered it a thing to listen to on your own. I'd put on the Joan Jett and try on tight black jeans and practice what my "look" was going to be for college. It's totally embarrassing to think about that phase now, but having some bad-ass music and college to look forward to was the only thing that got me through those last few months of living at home. That summer I used to tape over old audio tapes by putting tape over this little indent on the top - so I could listen to them in my car. Anyhow, I ended up taping over my mom's autographed Livingston Taylor tape with the best of Joan Jett. This consequently got my cd player and all my music taken away until I could find her a new version. In a roundabout way it lead to her finding out that I'd been smoking pot and drunk driving so the car was taken away. I was working at a music store that summer and found her a copy of The Best of Livingston Taylor, the best I could do. However when I think back on that crappy summer, I think about the video to I Love Rock and Roll. Joan is singing about a 17 year old boy standing by the record machine and how she knows she's gonna make him hers. It felt really cool to have a song about a girl checking out a 17 year old guy. It felt like there was going to be some place for me that had cute guys my age who were into good music - but more importantly it felt like I could just do Joan's swagger and call the shots all on my own.



Joan Jett continues to rock even today.


Did you guys know she produced this Bikini Kill song Rebel Girl. You can totally tell. More proof that Joan Jett will continue to influence generations of future musicians.


I hope The Runaways movie is cool. Cause when you watch this video below you can just tell how bad girls probably wanted to be just like them. I don't think I'll ever stop wanting to be like them.