Suzi Quatro (born
Susan Kay Quatro,
[Unzipped (Autobiography)] June 3, 1950, in
Detroit,
Michigan) is an American
singer-songwriter,
musician, and
actress.
She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom
Happy Days.
Biography
Early life
Quatro was born into a
Catholic musical family. Her father, Art, a part time jazz musician, was of
Italian descent,
[Quatro Crashes Back] while her mother, Helen Sanislay, was
Hungarian.
She is the aunt of actress
Sherilyn Fenn, whose mother is Quatro's sister Arlene.
[Filmreference.com: Sherilyn Fenn] Many sources have claimed that Quatro's birth name was
Quatrocchio, but according to her autobiography, her paternal grandfather (whose last name
was Quatrocchio) actually shortened the family name to "Quatro" before Suzi was even born. Quatro began her musical career at the age of fourteen.
[Uncredited, liner notes to The Best Of... (1984)] She played the
bass guitar in the all-female band
Pleasure Seekers and Cradle with her sisters Patti, Nancy, and Arlene. Her first bass guitar was a 1957 Fender Precision, given to her by her father. Patti Quatro later joined the band
Fanny, one of the earliest all-female rock bands to gain national attention.
She has a brother,
Michael Quatro, who is also a musician.
[Quatrophonic.com]
