On July 11, 1959, a tiny girl was born in Santa Monica, California, a few months ahead of schedule. Suzanne Vega weighed a little over 1 kg.
The parents decided to name the child Suzanne Nadine Vega. She needed to spend the first weeks of her life in a life-sustaining pressure chamber.
Childhood and youth Suzanne Nadine Vega
The infant years of a girl cannot be called simple. Susanne's mother, who has German-Swedish roots, worked as a programmer. In 1960, the woman divorced her husband when the baby was not yet 1 year old. And again she married a writer, a teacher from Puerto Rico, Ed Vega.
The young family moved to New York. Here the girl grew up in the Spanish quarter. She was raised by three half-sisters and brothers. She was fluent in both English and Spanish. Until the age of 9, she was not privy to anything that was not Ed's own daughter.
When he told her about this, Susanne was embarrassed to learn that her real father was white. She was proud of her Hispanic heritage. And after such a stunning news, I felt like a white crow.
Suzanne Vega's love for music
In the house of Susan's family, music of various genres was constantly played - folk, jazz, soul, etc. By the age of 11, the girl herself took up the guitar and was already composing songs. Her main inspirations in this hobby were: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Judith Collins, Joan Baez.
While studying at school, she developed hobbies, such as literature or dancing. But in the end, Vega focused her attention on folk music.
The first serious concert that the girl attended at the age of 19 was the performance of Lou Reed. It was the work of this musician that seriously influenced Suzanne's decision to engage in folk music.
The beginning and development of the career of Suzanne Vega
While studying at Barnard College (at Columbia University) in the direction of "English Literature", Vega had his first performances on church and club stages. Later, festivals and concerts began on the stages of Greenwich Village clubs.
College studies ended in 1982, and the girl continued to perform. And on one of them she met with showmen Ronald Firestein and Steve Eddabbo.
They were the producers and managers of her debut demos. Unfortunately, these cassettes were not liked by the labels to which they were sent. Including A&M Records, which regretted the decision.
Susanna Vega's first album and immediate success
A year later, Vega created her own label. And in 1985 with Patti Smith, Lenny Kay recorded her first album Suzanne Vega, which included the song Marlene on the Wall. Now the critics did not condemn the nascent star for his commitment to folk music, but, on the contrary, complimented him.
Initially, A&M Records talked about the estimated sales level of the 26-year-old girl's first album at 30 copies. But sales have reached incredible numbers - about 1 million copies worldwide. The debut album became one of the best albums of the 1980s.
In 1986, the girl composed several songs for the Philip Glass album Songs From Liquid Days. The second album of the singer Solitude Standing reached sales of 3 million copies worldwide. It included the song Luka, which became one of the most popular. The single from the Tom's Diner album became Vega's calling card.
The girl skillfully used her ability to intrigue the audience with her compositions. Often her sources of inspiration were scientific and medical encyclopedias, which testified to Suzanne's out-of-the-box thinking.
No one has been able to fully understand her personality - a person wandering in her own fantasy world. This is evidenced by the Days of Open Hand album, which did not receive unequivocal support from fans.
Suzanne Vega's personal life
Suzanne in 1992, together with producer Mitchell Froom, recorded the album 99.9F °, which eventually became the best rock album of the year. In her compositions, Vega experimented with sound, getting carried away with working with a synthesizer and a drum machine.
Soon Susan and Mitchell got married, and then their daughter Rabi was born. Vega was able to record her next album only four years after the birth of her child.
The new album was called Nine Objects of Desire, it was a bit like the previous one, but it was distinguished by a significant calmness.
In 1998, Susan divorced her husband. And at the same time, Tried & True: The Best of Suzanne Vega was released - a compilation album of the singer's best songs.
Susan's life at present
In the piggy bank of the singer at the moment there are 8 studio albums. Now she is touring the country and the world. Her concert program is not limited to one popular song Tom's Diner, which listeners meet with warmth. In the popular single Luka, which contains a call against child abuse and abuse.
