Suzi turns 73 today

[Jacki Hopper]

I was first introduced to Suzy on the TV show ” Happy Days” where she played younger sister, ” Leather Tuscadero” of Pinky Toscadero … I like her stuff

[David Herrick]

(Sorry, Jacki, you posted your reply while I was composing this one!)

Many of us in the U.S., myself included, were introduced to Suzi through her guest appearances on the Happy Days sitcom, where she played a reform school girl who had gone straight and formed a rock-and-roll group. Here’s a compilation of some of her performances on that show: a few 1950’s covers, and a couple of her original songs that I really enjoyed even as a kid. (Warning: exit the video at the 9:20 mark. Trust me!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gosawykpqhk

[Jacki Hopper]

Lol…Canadians/USA folks on here, all had pretty much the same intro of Suzi….Thanks in part to her HAPPY DAYS TV show appearances…. and just for a side note of interest…. it was also the first time we met Mork from Ork, Laverne & Shirley too….lol

• This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by  Jacki Hopper.

[David Herrick]

Ever since I found out that Suzi was an actual musician, I’ve wondered how she ended up on Happy Days. I read that Garry Marshall (the show’s creator) first learned about her because his teenage daughter had a poster of her on her bedroom wall, and he immediately cast her without an audition. But did he already have the Leather Tuscadero story arc planned out and thought Suzi had the right look, or did he just see the poster and think, “I must get her on the show somehow”?

[Jacki Hopper]

Yes… Good Q on how it was that Suzi got to be on Happy Days ….. I didn’t realize either at the time she was on HD, that she was an actual musician either ….

[Jung Roe]

David, unfortunately not familiar with Suzi at all, but great Happy Days memory lane, thanks. I must have missed that Happy Days episode. It looks like Richie could tear it up pretty good on the guitar, I wonder if it was actually Ron Howard’s actual playing? That scene with Chachi/Scott Baio on the drums at the end, reminded me of my cousin who had huge crush on him at the time.

[David Herrick]

Hey, Jung.

She actually appeared on several episodes over the course of a couple of years. I’m quite certain that the music (other than Suzi) was supplied by outside people.

I never thought about it when I was a kid, but even though the band on the show played a lot of gigs, there was never an occasion where we saw them practicing, or even talking about playing instruments!

[Tim Arnold]

Hi David and Jung. I was wondering the same thing, if Ron Howard was really playing the guitar. I remember an old Andy Griffith Show episode where Opie (young Ron Howard) put together a band with his High School buddies. He played guitar then also. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did play guitar but I’m sure the music for both shows was supplied by someone else. Andy himself was a very good guitar player and may have taught Ron some things. A lot of actors are very versatile and fairly good musicians. They probably have to be in order to have a long career. I can think of a few. Johnny Depp plays guitar occasionally with Alice Cooper’s Hollywood Vampires. Kevin Bacon and his brothers have a working band. Sheb Wooley played a cattle drover on Rawhide. He was also a singer, musician and songwriter and had a monster hit with his song “Purple People Eater”. This could be a discussion on it’s own.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by  Tim Arnold.

[Jung Roe]

Hi Tim

Good point, many of those actors are multi-talented and we only see their acting part professionally, but I am sure many of them were great musicians too, like Johnny Depp. I always worry a Hollywood producer might see one of Mona and Lisa’s videos and try to snatch them up to be glamorous actresses. Of course I would be there following them on the silver screen with the same passion and enthusiasm as their music. 😁

[Tim Arnold]

Jung, I could definitely picture Mona as a blonde bombshell in one of those classic movies, looking like the bombshell in your picture. Lisa is certainly a beauty too but I could see her in more of a light hearted comedy with her charming sense of humor. I only hope the producers would let them play their own music and not force them to do that

crap they made Elvis do. Lol.

[Jung Roe]

Tim, two bombshells indeed. If I were to draw any parallels to classic glamorous movie stars, Grace Kelly(Mona) and Natalie Wood(Lisa) come to mind.

[Jacki Hopper]

Perhaps but I do know that Anson Williams is a musician , and sang the Theme song for Happy Days ….

(Also, while on topic of celebs who are actually musicians….. Did you know that Marla Gibbs who played Florence on Jeffersons and as Naey on 227 is a singer….. Jon Walmsley and his real life wife at the time ( Jason Walton and his wife on the Waltons show are singers and Jon does play all kinds of instruments and did all the music himself on The Waltons show ) … There’s probably more but these ones stand out most to me, besides Suzy Q ….

[David Herrick]

Hey, Jacki.

Anson Williams sang a lot of songs on Happy Days, but I’m pretty sure the theme song wasn’t one of them. Wikipedia credits the performance to Jerry McClain and Truett Pratt.

Just a couple of years ago I saw Pump Your Blood being used on an aspirin commercial!

[Jacki Hopper]

Lol… No worries, I thought I had seen/read it somewheres he was on of the singers on the Theme song, but you’re right on him singing on the show itself in many episodes … that’s cool about that other song being used in ads ….🤘

[Jung Roe]

Hi David,

I probably did see some episodes with Suzy in it, but I just don’t recall. Happy Days always reminds me of my early high school days. Who could forget Fonzie’s signature “heyyyy” with his two thumbs up. It’s one of the shows like the Brady Bunch where you could see the kids aging and maturing through the seasons, it it kind of felt real at the time as I was going through similar changes, so those shows were kind of special.

[Steve Kirk]

Thank you for this Leif. Suzi is an household name here in the UK through her 1970’s hits and subsequent radio work. It’s hard to believe she’s 73 years old. She’s still very bubbly and full of energy. A trailblazer in women’s rock music and very influential to many women following in her wake. Cheers

[Tim Arnold]

Nice post Leif, for a long time I thought Suzi was a UK artist. I too first heard of her from the appearances on Happy Days. I remember her doing Heartbreak Hotel, quite a good little rocker Miss Quatro. Happy Birthday Suzi Q.

[Chris Weber]

Another Detroit musician.

Unfortunately she had to go abroad to get the attention due her, but her hometown still remembers her.

[Steve Kirk]

Hi Chris

Another one that springs to mind around the same time as Suzi was ‘Sparks’. Most people seemed to think they were British but they come from LA as you probably know. Still going strong. If you like a song with a message that is very funny please check out the video “Nothing is as good as they say it is” from their latest album 😃

[Chris Weber]

Steve,

I do remember Sparks. There’s a creative band. Haven’t heard of them in a long time though.

And there have been other American bands that found some of their best success offshore too.

I’ve lived my whole life in areas on the midwestern blues trail, so I remember Luther Allison who went for 20 or so years to live in Paris after being underappreciated here. He eventually came back and I saw him again before he passed, playing with his son Bernard’s band. I still have a t-shirt from him around here somewhere.

[Daryl Jones]

I’m kind of late to the party (as usual for me) but Suzi was one of my celebrity heart throbs as a younger lad. Just so doggone cute! Saw her perform live a few times, although some of the vision was a tad blurred in those crazy days of rebellious youth. Ahhh, to be 16 again and listen to her music on the Harmon Karden 8-track in my old ’68 Plymouth Fury 2 door…them truly were the days.