Suzi Quatro’s favourite live songs
As the proto-Joan Jett, Suzi Quatro has a pretty hallowed place in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Despite appearances, glam rock in the early 1970s was a male-dominated place to be. This is because it was the music industry in the early 1970s, what did you expect? However, the one girl that the world of hard rock and glam rock made space for (sort of) was Quatro, who had a string of hits in the UK with her iconic bass guitar slung low.
Let’s be perfectly clear here. Given the chance, there would almost certainly be dozens of female rock ‘n’ roll hitmakers of that time. They were just not given that chance or even half of it. The likes of Fanny, The Runaways and Quatro herself weren’t simply better than the rest. That implies there wasn’t a deeply misogynistic, deeply intentional campaign to keep women as consumers of rock music, rather than creators of it. However, they were all seriously good at their job.
Quatro, in particular, started building up a reputation as one of the best live acts going. Heading out on the road with the likes of Thin Lizzy, Slade and Alice Cooper and regularly giving the headliners a run for their money. Which, considering the company she was keeping, was some seriously impressive going. Many years later, we would get an idea of the kind of artists that inspired her to play live the way she did.
This came from her late-career renaissance in radio, hosting Suzi Quatro—Quatrophonic on BBC Radio 2 and giving the listening public a deep dive into her career, her inspirations and chats with artists she has inspired in turn. One of the episodes was centred on her live performances, where she made a playlist of her favourite live tracks, and its quality speaks for itself.
What did Suzi Quatro name as her favourite live tracks?
Quatro kicks the list off with an absolute banger, with an early live cut from one of the certifiable “best to ever do it” Stevie Wonder. His version of ‘Fingertips (Parts 1 & 2)’ from Chicago’s Regal Theatre in 1962 sets the bar sky high. Yet that number’s earthy funk and raw soul sound set the tone for a style that Quatro would forever be attempting to work into her own music, by her own admission. So while it sets a high bar for the rest of the list, it more than deserves to be there.
There are a number of cuts from her era of glam rock making the list as well. The J Geils Band’s cut ‘First I Look at the Purse’, Cheap Trick’s version of ‘I Want You to Want Me’ from their live album At Budokan, one of the greatest to ever hit the shelves. There’s a cut from a little-known 70s rock singer called Suzi Quatro with a song called ‘Keep A Knockin”, wonder what happened to her. However, the list also shows the breadth of Quatro’s influences.
The Stevie track shows the funk and soul influence, but there’s the blues in Eric Clapton’s ‘Cocaine’. There is a classic 1970s singer-songwriter tune in Carole King and James Taylor’s rapturous duet on ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ at The Troubador. Even a slightly baffling appearance from Jimmy Buffett. Turns out Quatro is a fairly frequent guest of Margaritaville. Who knew?
The list is rounded out by tracks by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Joe Cocker and Peter Frampton. A list worthy of someone who deserves to be hailed as one of the leading lights of 1970s rock music.
