The 1956 song Suzi Quatro wants played at her funeral: “A huge emotional impact”
It is figures like Suzi Quatro that make the increasingly diluted landscape of rock and roll seem so exciting.
Long before conversations about representation became commonplace within the music industry, Quatro was carving out her own space through sheer force of talent and determination. Her success helped demonstrate that rock and roll had room for voices and perspectives that had previously been overlooked.
Her lasting influence as one of the first prominent women in rock had made her something of a legendary figure, and rightly so, even if she didn’t know it herself. “I didn’t know I was unusual. I come from a musical family and I play the bass and I play rock’n’roll. I didn’t realise I was breaking ground for lots of women,” she humbly told Uncut.
However, Quatro should be remembered for so much more than simply breaking the gender norms of the genre. She is undoubtedly responsible for some of the greatest rock tracks of all time. Liberated from expectation, her songs have a visceral freedom. It shouldn’t be a surprise, therefore, that the musician has drawn upon a vast range of influences throughout her career.
That eclectic foundation is one of the reasons her music has endured. Rather than restricting herself to a single style or tradition, Quatro absorbed inspiration from multiple genres and moulded those influences into something distinctly her own.
She was able to pull it all together in a thrilling fashion that pleased the masses, too. As she rather simply put it, “My generation grew up learning our craft on the five-shows-a-night circuit, which was pretty normal.” In the punky world where she performed, it was important to put on a show, and that was something she had wanted to do long before she got onto a stage.
Quatro’s first flirtation with the world of rock and roll came following a televised performance by The Beatles, which inspired the formation of The Pleasure Seekers. A rare all-female group within the garage rock scene, The Pleasure Seekers are among the most infectious groups of that era, and their music has certainly stood the test of time. Inevitably, though, Quatro soon began to yearn for something more abrasive, and in the early 1970s, she found success with her own unique brand of hard rock and glam.
Clearly, then, the music of Suzi Quatro is firmly rooted within the revolutionary sounds of rock ‘n’ roll. However, the musician was raised on a much broader musical diet than simply Elvis Presley and The Beatles. In fact, her first steps into music came with the tones of jazz, learning percussion for her father’s jazz band. Her father, Art Quatro, was clearly very influential in setting Suzi Quatro up for a successful life in music, going as far as to introduce the young musician to her favourite song of all time.
Speaking about the music that has soundtracked her life, Quatro revealed her all-time favourite track to Classic Rock, saying, “‘When I Fall In Love’ by Nat King Cole. My favourite song of all time. It had a huge emotional impact on me,” recalling, “I first heard it back in the fifties when it first came out. My dad used to play it a lot.”
The piece was first popularised by Doris Day in 1952, but the velvet tones of Nat King Cole brought new life to ‘When I Fall In Love’ upon its release in 1956. He brings a hushed reverie that has often been reflected in Quatro’s softer moments.
Over the years, countless other artists have covered the song, ranging in style from Rick Astley to Linda Ronstadt. For the most part, though, nobody has really been able to top the timeless vocals of Nat King Cole. The mellow track might seem at odds with the leather-clad rock and roll of Suzi Quatro, but her utter adoration for the track is a testament to the diversity of her musical talents.
Such is Quatro’s love for Nat King Cole’s recording that she has already selected the song to be played at her funeral. “I’ve actually already had it written into my will that it’ll be played at my funeral,” she shared in 2021. Given the deep emotional weight carried within the tones of Nat King Cole, it is a fairly commendable choice for a funeral, especially given the effect the track has had on Quatro since first hearing it during childhood.
Hopefully, Quatro’s friends and family won’t have to listen to ‘When I Fall In Love’ anytime soon. The songwriter is still going strong, even in her seventh decade on Earth, with the singer explaining that her latest album, Freedom, released in 2026, is about “about identity, legacy, survival”, proving she’s still grappling with music that really matters.
The choice of Nat King Cole’s ‘When I Fall In Love’ as Quatro’s favourite song offers a revealing glimpse into the artist behind the leather-clad rock persona. Beneath the hard-rock exterior lies a musician with a deep appreciation for melody, emotion and timeless songwriting. It is perhaps that combination of toughness and sensitivity that has made her such a singular and enduring figure in popular music.
