A true pioneer in the genre, Quatro redefined the role of women in rock ‘n’ roll when she broke out in the scene in 1973. She was the first woman to front a rock band, play an instrument, sing lead vocals, write the songs, and have worldwide hits.
As Digital Journal previously reported, this past January, Quatro earned the “Icon Award” at the 2020 She Rocks Awards. “That was good, wasn’t it? Cherie Currie gave me the award and she was in tears, and then she made me cry and all,” she said.
“It was very humbling. I must have given a lot of young girls hope that they didn’t have to be like the other young girls, and at the time, I didn’t even know I was doing that. I was just being who I am,” she said. “When I was 35 years old, I once said, ‘I will retire when I turn my back to the audience and I shake my ass and there is silence’. It hasn’t happened yet.”
On the key to longevity in the music business all of these decades, Quatro attributed that to her authenticity. “I’m real,” she said. “I am not manufactured, I am no bullshit, I am straightforward, I say what I mean, I mean what I say and I am still here, and I will always still be here. I will be here until it’s time for me not to be, and I will feel it when it’s time to stop, and it’s not yet.”
Quatro is thrilled that all of the artists that she influenced are vocal about her deserving her spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Everybody is talking about it nonstop: Linda Perry, Cherie Currie, Kathy Valentine, and everybody else,” she said. “Let’s hope the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame corrects that mistake.”
She opened up that growing up, Link Wray was an influence on her. “Cub Koda, who was the lead singer and guitar player of Brownsville Station, was a huge Link Wray fan. Cub had a big crush on me, he used to send me love letters. He is gone now,” she said.
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she said, “And Now.”
Quatro noted that she believes that she will spend her upcoming 70th birthday on June 3 in lockdown. “My 50th birthday was in Berlin in front of 22,000 people. I turned 60 and 65 in my hometown in Detroit, Michigan, where I flew everybody there. Everything evens out,” she said. “If I am here in England for my 70th birthday, I will get the family to come over and we will sit outside in social distancing and we will drink champagne.”
For young and aspiring musicians and bands, she said, “No. 1, you need to have the talent. It’s a hard road. No. 2, learn to play an instrument properly. No. 3, you need to be ready to give up everything since it’s a full-time job. No. 4, if you are a woman, keep a hold of the femininity because even if you are one of the guys, there is a little place where you need to pull out your female card. Keep it in your back pocket. Keep your balls in your head and your female card in your pocket. No. 5, do every gig that you can do because that’s how you learn. That’s why I am a good performer. I used to play five shows a night.”
The rock and roll queen defined the word success as “being happy with what you have achieved.”
Read More: Digital Journal’s op-ed as to why Suzi Quatro belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Her upcoming documentary will release with the virtual event on July 1, and DVD and VOD release on July 3, and the second part of our interview will be published then.
