{"id":186229,"date":"2026-06-03T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T12:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=186229"},"modified":"2026-06-03T09:03:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:03:39","slug":"suzi-quatro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=186229","title":{"rendered":"“Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nSuzy Quatro was born on this day. <\/p>\n

In July of 2020 , I reviewed the documentary Suzi Q<\/em><\/a>, about Suzi Quatro. Because it was July 2020, the tour she had planned, alongside the doc, had to be canceled. Or, at least, postponed. July 2020 was some serious shit. I was bummed because I was so turned on by the documentary I would have definitely bought tickets. <\/p>\n

Quatro’s journey is interesting: she knew what she wanted to do when she was very young. She was already touring as a teenage kid. Amazingly, she didn’t get caught up in drugs or men or exploitation: These things were all around her but she wasn’t even tempted. She married young. Had a baby young. Was a rock star (at least in Europe) young. Her fame in Australia almost rivaled the Beatles, and she is – to this day – more famous there than she ever was here in America. When she toured Australia in the 70s, she was greeted by screaming fans at the airport, and transported via motorcade to the venue, throngs of people lining the roadways. She was massive in Europe. #1 hits, all of which – I should mention – were songs she wrote. She is mainly known in America for one shmoopy duet-ballad (the only song of hers that charted in America) as well as her regular appearance on Happy Days<\/em> as Leather Tuscadero. Also, the song was a departure from her normal aggressive sound. 10 years later, Joan Jett came along, and we embraced Joan Jett, not realizing someone else did it all FIRST. <\/p>\n

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\nDebbie Harry, Suzi Quatro, Joan Jett<\/p>\n

Joan Jett modeled herself after Suzi Quatro, which she fully admits in the interview she gives in the documentary. She had a poster of Suzi Quatro on her wall as a teenager. <\/p>\n

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\nJoan Jett in her bedroom, 1977<\/i><\/p>\n

Jett was so inspired by this tiny girl playing a huge bass. Suzi Quatro paved the way for Joan Jett and so many others. Understand the continuum, and respect your elders. Or at the very least KNOW ABOUT your elders, because they got there first, and they made possible the things that came after. Do not erase them. Resist recency bias. It’s important always but even more important now, when the powers that be want to erase memory itself. <\/p>\n

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