Suzanne Vega facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Suzanne Vega
Vega performing in 2016
Background information
Birth name	Suzanne Nadine Peck
Born	(1959-07-11) July 11, 1959 (age 65) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Origin	New York City, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock folk rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Cooking Vinyl A&M Blue Note Amanuensis Productions
Associated acts	Joe Jackson Danger Mouse Sparklehorse Jonathan Coulton Duncan Sheik Shawn Colvin

Suzanne Nadine Vega (born July 11, 1959) is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her folk-inspired music. Suzanne Vega has been making music for almost 40 years.

In the 1980s and 1990s, she had four songs that became popular hits in the UK. These songs were "Marlene on the Wall", "Left of Center", "Luka", and "No Cheap Thrill".

Her song "Tom's Diner" was first released without any instruments, just her voice (this is called a cappella). Later, in 1990, it was remixed into a dance song by a British electronic music group called DNA. This new version became a top 10 hit in many countries. The original a cappella version of "Tom's Diner" was also used to test the MP3 music format. Because of this, Suzanne Vega is sometimes called "The Mother of the MP3".

Suzanne Vega has released nine studio albums. Her most recent album, An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, came out in 2020.

Early Life and Education

Suzanne Nadine Vega was born on July 11, 1959, in Santa Monica, California. Her parents separated when she was very young. Her mother, Pat Vega, worked with computer systems. Her stepfather, Ed Vega, was a writer and teacher from Puerto Rico.

When Suzanne was two and a half years old, her family moved to New York City. She grew up in areas like Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side. She did not know her biological father until she was nine. She later met him in her late 20s, and they still keep in touch.

Suzanne Vega went to the High School of Performing Arts in New York, which is now called Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. There, she studied modern dance and finished school in 1977.

Music Career

Starting Out in the 1980s

While studying English at Barnard College, Suzanne Vega started performing in small places in Greenwich Village, New York. She often sang at a songwriters' group at the Cornelia Street Cafe. Some of her first songs were put on Fast Folk albums.

In 1984, she signed a contract with a major record company. This made her one of the first "Fast Folk" artists to become widely known.

Her first album, Suzanne Vega, came out in 1985. Critics liked it, and it sold very well in the United Kingdom. The album featured Suzanne's acoustic guitar and simple music. A music video for her song "Marlene on the Wall" was shown on MTV and VH1. She also wrote lyrics for two songs by composer Philip Glass.

In 1986, her song "Left of Center," which she co-wrote for the movie Pretty in Pink, reached number 32 on the UK music charts.

Big Hits and New Sounds

Her next album, Solitude Standing (1987), was a big success. It sold over a million copies in the U.S. This album included the worldwide hit song "Luka". This song was special because it was written from the point of view of a child who was being abused. This was a very unusual topic for a pop song at the time.

After the success of Solitude Standing, Suzanne Vega became the first female artist to be the main performer at the Glastonbury Festival in 1989. She even wore a bulletproof vest during her performance because of threats she had received.

The a cappella song "Tom's Diner" from Solitude Standing became a huge hit in 1990. This happened after two British dance producers, known as DNA, remixed it. Suzanne Vega allowed them to release the song through her record company, and it became her biggest hit.

Music in the 1990s

Suzanne Vega's third album, Days of Open Hand (1990), continued her folk-inspired style.

In 1992, she released 99.9F°. This album mixed folk music with dance beats and industrial sounds. It sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. The song "Blood Makes Noise" from this album reached number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Her fifth album, Nine Objects of Desire, came out in 1996. It had a mix of simple songs and the more industrial sound of 99.9F°. The song "Caramel" from this album was used in the movie The Truth About Cats & Dogs. Another song, "Woman on the Tier," was on the soundtrack for the movie Dead Man Walking.

In 1999, Suzanne Vega published a book called The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings of Suzanne Vega. It included her poems, song lyrics, and other writings.

Projects in the 2000s

Vega onstage, 2008

In September 2001, Suzanne Vega released Songs in Red and Gray. Three songs on this album were about her divorce from her first husband, Mitchell Froom.

In 2003, a collection of her most popular songs, Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega, was released. That same year, she was invited to perform at the Century of Song concerts in Germany.

In 2003, she hosted a radio series called American Mavericks. This show was about American composers from the 20th century and won an award for its quality.

On August 3, 2006, Suzanne Vega became the first major music artist to perform live in the online virtual world called Second Life.

She signed a new record deal in 2006 and released Beauty & Crime in 2007. This album won a Grammy Award for its excellent sound engineering.

Recent Work in the 2010s

Vega at Union Chapel, London, 2015, improvising by using the pulpit

In 2010, a part of her song "Tom's Diner" was used in the British movie 4.3.2.1. The lyrics were changed to fit the movie's story.

Suzanne Vega also worked with other artists. She wrote and sang "The Man Who Played God" for the album Dark Night of the Soul. This song was inspired by the life of the artist Pablo Picasso. She also sang on the song "Now I Am an Arsonist" for Jonathan Coulton's 2011 album, Artificial Heart.

Suzanne Vega has re-recorded many of her older songs for a series called Close-up. She did this to have more control over her music. Four volumes of the Close-up series were released between 2010 and 2012. These albums include 60 re-recorded songs and five new ones.

Her album Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles was released in 2014. It was her first album of new songs in seven years and reached the UK Top 40 charts.

Her next album, Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, came out in 2016.

2020s

In early 2020, Suzanne Vega acted in an off-Broadway musical based on the 1969 movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. She played the role of "Band Leader."

She was scheduled to tour the UK in February and March 2023.

Songwriting Process

Suzanne Vega started writing poetry when she was nine years old. Her stepfather encouraged her. It took her three years to write her first song, "Brother Mine," when she was 14. This song was later released on her album Close-Up Vol. 4, Songs of Family in 2012.

Suzanne Vega does not read musical notes. She thinks of melodies as shapes and chords as colors. She focuses on the words and main tune of her songs. For more complex parts, she works with other musicians.

She usually finishes about 80% of the songs she starts writing. She got the idea for the melody of "Tom's Diner" while walking in New York City. She was thinking about French New Wave films.

Important artists who have influenced her music include Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen. She also finds inspiration from Paul Simon and Laura Nyro.

Guitars

Suzanne Vega currently plays Furch guitars, which are made in the Czech Republic. In the mid-1980s, she played Guild guitars. In the 1990s, she used Yamaha and Taylor guitars at different times.

Theater Work

Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik wrote a play called Carson McCullers Talks About Love. It was about the life of the writer Carson McCullers. Suzanne Vega performed in the play, singing songs and giving monologues. They were nominated for an award for the play's music.

The album Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers (2016) is based on this play.

Amanuensis Productions

Suzanne Vega started her own record label called "Amanuensis Productions" after the 2008 economic crisis. She wanted to re-record her older songs with new arrangements and have more control over her music.

The name "Amanuensis Productions" was a joke. An "amanuensis" is someone who writes down what another person says. Suzanne Vega liked the idea of a "servant" (amanuensis) owning the "masters" (the original recordings). It was also a play on words with her old record company, A&M Records.

Running her own label was harder than she expected, but new licenses for "Tom's Diner" helped.

Personal Life

On March 17, 1995, Suzanne Vega married Mitchell Froom, who is a musician and record producer. They have a daughter named Ruby Froom, born in 1994. The band Soul Coughing named their first album Ruby Vroom after her daughter. Suzanne Vega and Mitchell Froom divorced in 1998.

On February 11, 2006, Suzanne Vega married Paul Mills, a lawyer and poet. He had first proposed to her 22 years earlier.

Since 2010, her daughter Ruby has sometimes performed with her mother on tour.

Suzanne Vega practices Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of a worldwide Buddhist group called Soka Gakkai International.

Awards and Nominations

Discography

Studio albums

• Suzanne Vega (1985)
• Solitude Standing (1987)
• Days of Open Hand (1990)
• 99.9F° (1992)
• Nine Objects of Desire (1996)
• Songs in Red and Gray (2001)
• Beauty & Crime (2007)
• Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles (2014)
• Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers (2016)
• An Evening of New York Songs and Stories (2020)

Books

• The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writing of Suzanne Vega (1999) ISBN: 9780380973538.

Images for kids

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  Suzanne Vega's signature

See also

In Spanish: Suzanne Vega para niños