Suzi Quatro in Birmingham

About the artist

Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro:2 (born 3 June 1950) is a British-based American singer-songwriter, bass guitar player, and actor. She is the first female bass player to become a major rock star.:1–3 In the 1970s Quatro scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland. But, following a recurring role as a female bass player on the popular American sitcom Happy Days, her duet "Stumblin' In" with Chris Norman reached number 4 in the USA. Between 1973 and 1980 Quatro was awarded six Bravo Ottos. In 2010 she was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends online Hall of Fame. Quatro has sold over 50 million records and continues to perform live, worldwide. Her most recent album was released in 2011 and she also continues to present new radio programmes. Quatro says she was influenced at the age of six by Elvis Presley, whom she saw on television.:26 She also said she had no female role model but was inspired by Billie Holliday and admired - but did not emulate - the dress sense of Mary Weiss. Quatro received formal training in playing classical piano and percussion. She is a self-taught player of the bass and guitar. Her father gave her a 1957 Fender Precision bass guitar in 1964, which she still possessed in 2007. Some sources say that he first gave her a 1952 model and that this was later stolen. She played drums from an early age as part of her father's jazz band, The Art Quatro Trio. Sources vary regarding whether her playing in the band began at the age of seven or eight, and whether the instrument played were bongo or conga drums. Subsequently, she appeared on local television as a go-go dancer in a pop music series.