If you were just barely a teenager when the Happy Days phenomenon was sweeping America, then you only knew Suzi Quatro’s character Leather Tuscadero’s occasional appearances on the show.
And a couple years later, you were surprised that this punky, leather jumpsuit –cladded, hot chick was on the radio with a schlocky, but undeniably hooky, single called “Stumblin’ In.”
Thanks to the fun and informative doc, ‘Suzi Q,’ I now know realize just how big her career was in Europe and Australia, even though most of us in middle America only had the aforementioned points of reference.
Born in Detroit to a large family of sisters who were all musical, Suzi stood out as the most ambitious, and the one who really wanted to rock. The early part of her career was shaped in many ways by execs and producers and songwriters. One of them suggested the trademark leather jumpsuit – and it worked.
If you Google her name, one of the things you’ll see is this: “Is Suzi Quatro Joan Jett?”
Well, um…no.
But Joan and Cherie Currie from the Runaways both appear in the doc to testify that if there were no Suzi to precede them, their careers might not have happened.
You see, Quatro’s songs were very much pop-punky and hard driving. Picture Jett’s “Bad Reputation” as a similar vibe. Her songs were top ten hits in seemingly random European countries (they loved her in Norway and Portugal) in addition to the UK and Down Under.
But why did she never reach those heights in her home country? It’s a mystery that many people like fellow Detroit native Alice Cooper, ponder in the film. Was it the timing? Was it that power pop hadn’t really taken off to the same degree yet? It’s a puzzle that the film tries to piece together.
Sure, there are plenty of Behind the Music elements involving hurt feelings with family and money disputes, tec. Absent is any whiff of drug trouble or fatal Diva syndrome.
Besides the artists and family who appear ion camera, we get a good dose of the film’s namesake, too. She is clear-eyed, the mom of an adult child, and still doing things creatively-whether there remains a large audience or not.
I always say that I’ll watch virtually any music doc, and I’m rarely disappointed. This one was well worth the time – I streamed it on the cool platform Topic, which is, like, five bucks a month and worth it. You might also find it elsewhere streaming.
Suzi Q | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Streaming on Topic
