With a career spanning 5 decades with more than 55 million albums sold worldwide, award-winning Rock music legend Suzi Quatro earned the outpouring of admiration she receives. A Detroit, MI native turned international icon, this songwriter, actress, and electrifying singer and bassist set a trailblazing performance standard followed by men and especially women in the genre.
From her groundbreaking self-titled debut album in 1973 to current LP No Control, Quatro has remained consistently stellar. Intimate details about her life and career can be learned in her critically acclaimed documentary Suzi Q. Suzi Quatro took time out her busy schedule to answer our “2020 Twenty Questions” questionnaire! We hope THIS INTERVIEW entertains and inspires you.
On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you to be alive?
11!
As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Entertainer. This started very, very young, around 7. I saw that I could sing a song, do a dance, tell a joke, whatever. And that people smiled and watched.
What was your favorite cartoon?
Rocky and Bullwinkle!
Tell us your favorite song as a kid, as a teenager, and now as an adult.
As a kid, probably “Que Sera Sera”. My mother used to sing this. And me being the loner I am I used to go down the street, by myself, and sing this to myself. Always brought a tear to my eye. I believe the lyrics, though. What will be will be.
And now, “Blowing In the Wind”. This has been top of my list for a long time. The lyrics are some of the most poignant ever written. And again, brings a tear to my eye.
What’s an album that means more to you now than it did when you first heard it?
I heard Nirvana ‘Nevermind’. My daughter played it nonstop in her bedroom and I used to yell to her to turn down that racket. It drove me crazy! I just didn’t get that angry, sad, messed-up-sounding singer. So depressing.
Then fast forward. My granddaughter, age 16, riding in the car putting on their CD and, BANG, I fell in love. I said, “OMG, who is that?! He is fascinatingly morbid! Wow! Great, great, great! I just love it!” Never remembering that I didn’t like [them] before at all. My daughter reminded me. Everything I disliked became fascinating to me, just at an older age.
So, I got them but much later. I think [Kurt Cobain] is magnificent. Shame he joined the 17 club.
What are your 3 favorite movies?
I am a movie buff. Big time. So, here we go. Predictable but true … Gone with the Wind. Next, All About Eve. Next, Damage.
What’s the last film that made you cry or almost cry, and what scene did it?
Embarrassed to say, [but] it was Toy Story 3. When the toys get left by the kid going off to college, I just cried my eyes out … until my 7-year-old grandson said, “Grandma, it’s only a movie.”
What’s your all-time favorite TV show?
The Twilight Zone. Endlessly fascinating.
Which character on that show do you identify with most?
There was no one character, as it was a different episode each week. But Rod Serling was pretty weird.
What makes you laugh out loud or smile uncontrollably every time you see it or hear it?
I am a slapstick comedy lover, so, honestly, whenever there is one of the shows where they film people falling. My favorite is when somebody elderly gets up and relives their youth dancing then end up on their ass! I scream with laughter! You’ve Been Framed is a favorite show.
Who in your family served you the most delicious, unforgettable dish you’ve ever eaten?
My mother. Her Hungarian stuffed cabbage was hard to beat.
Tell us the most nutritious thing you’ve fed your mind.
‘The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich’. Unbelievably interesting and [it] took forever to read.
When did you start to understand your value?
Probably when I started my first band.
Who is the G.O.A.T. of your profession?
If this means somebody who I think is the best, then it’s Elvis.
Do you aspire to be like them or more like someone you have a stronger personal connection to?
I have aspired to be like him since the age of 5 ½ seeing him on TV. We have a lot in common. He was, is the best.
Recall for us the first time you failed. What lesson did you learn from that?
I guess it would be when I miscarried my first child after trying for 2 years to get pregnant and taking a fertility drug to get there.
It taught me that you can’t take anything for granted. And babies just don’t happen because you want them to or when you want them to. Serious lesson.
In what way have you evolved over the last 12 months?
I have become very comfortable in my skin, doing the kind of shows I have always wanted to do – 2-hour solos with intervals in iconic sit-down halls. I am writing and producing myself, and with my son, so I’m in control all the way.
I am writing with loads of other artists and I have released the album of my dreams last March. I have released a wonderful documentary, warts and all, and now a movie about my life is in the making!
I have evolved into the artist I always wanted to be and I feel that I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. But this doesn’t stop me from standing on the side of the stage wondering if the audience will like me.
When was a time that someone you didn’t know did something nice for you? What did they do?
When I was doing my bassline on the Internet during lockdown somebody wrote and said he was deeply depressed. And they lifted him up and I saved his life! OMG, how humbling.
How would you explain to someone the importance of valuing their time?
Time is all you have. Just now [giving] this explanation, this time is gone and I cannot get it back. Value every second, every breath, live your dream, live your life. You don’t get another one.
What’s been the biggest blessing of your life?
I have a loving family, a loving husband, and have been blessed with success … and managed to stay “normal”. |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker and Alex aka Grand Kai]
