The Roches
|
|
The Roches are a female vocal group made up of three songwriting sisters, Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy Roche, from New York. The group is known for its unusual harmonies, quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances. Their musical career spans more than four decades, taking them from neighborhood carolling and a touring duo to working the Greenwich Village folk scene as a trio, getting record contracts, doing more touring, occasionally appearing on television and in movies, and collaborating with other musicians on a variety of projects. Although they never had major commercial success, they developed an enthusiastic audience for their unique "family music". Now on hiatus as a trio, they still perform in various combinations and venues.
- We are Maggie and Terre and Suzzy
- Maggie and Terre and Suzzy Roche
- We don't give out our ages
- And we don't give out our phone numbers
- (Give out our phone numbers)
- Sometimes our voices give out
- But not our ages and our phone numbers
- — from "We", The Roches (1979)
| Contents |
Career
In the late '60s, eldest sister Margaret and middle sister Terre (pronounced just like "Terry") quit school to tour as a duo. Maggie wrote most of the songs, with Terre contributing to a few. The sisters got a break when Paul Simon brought them in as backup singers on his album There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973). They returned the favor, so to speak, by getting his assistance (along with an appearance by The Oak Ridge Boys) on their first (and only) album as a duo, Seductive Reasoning (1975). Shortly after that, youngest sister Suzzy (rhymes with "fuzzy") chimed in to form The Roches trio.
Around this time, they parlayed bartending jobs at famous Greenwich Village folk venue Folk City into stage appearances, an experience they commemorated in their song, "Face Down at Folk City" (from Another World, 1985). It was here that they met many of their future singing and songwriting collaborators. Terre was now writing songs as well, and by the time of their first album as a trio, The Roches (1979), Suzzy also caught the writing bug. Robert Fripp produced the elegantly sparse album that allowed the sisters' complex and playful harmonies to shine through. Maggie's "The Married Men" from this album was eventually to become the biggest hit of the songwriting trio — not for them, but for Phoebe Snow, as often happens to singer-songwriters.
Throughout the 1980s, The Roches continued to release their intriguing combination of quirky, fun, and sad music to small but appreciative audiences, little or no air play, and only modest record sales. In 1990, they returned to their Christmas carolling roots with the release of the 24-track We Three Kings, which included the haunting a cappella "Star of Wonder", written by Terre. After another pop album (A Dove, 1992), they recorded an entire album of children's songs entitled Will You Be My Friend?, featuring a song by brother David and a gaggle of young backup singers, including Suzzy's daughter Lucy.
After a tour that was interrupted by the death of their father, The Roches crafted a more somber and thoughtful album, Can We Go Home Now (1995), the last original recording they released as a trio. In 1997, the three sisters formally put The Roches group on indefinite hold. They continue to work on solo projects and often collaborate on albums and performances. Terre teaches guitar workshops and has released a solo album. Suzzy, who has acted on the stage and in several movies, released two of her own albums and two with Maggie, with whom she is currently touring. All three sisters can be found periodically participating in New York-area events.
A musical family
Maggie has a dramatic contralto voice that provides an unusual bass element for all-female harmonies. Terre provides a soprano that brackets the upper range of the sisters. Suzzy playfully fills in the middle range to complete the trio. While touring as a trio, all three sisters accompany themselves on guitar and keyboard, frequently without additional musicians.
Musical talent runs further in the family. Brother David is also a singer-songwriter with his own solo album, and has often backed up the trio on their recordings. Maggie's son, Felix McTeigue, has recorded two albums (one with his group Filo). Suzzy's daughter Lucy Roche has also contributed vocals on the Roches' and McTeigue's albums.
The majority of Roches songs are written by the three sisters, alone, in every combination, and occasionally collaborating with other songwriters. They have also recorded their own arrangements of songs from a variety of New York folk artists, as well as a few covers of famous songs. (Their three-part arrangement of the normally four-part "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's "Messiah", featured on Keep on Doing [1982], is legendary in a cappella circles.)
Discography
Maggie & Terre Roche
- Seductive Reasoning (Columbia, 1975).
The Roches
- The Roches (Warner, 1979).
- Nurds (Warner, 1980).
- Keep On Doing (Warner, 1982).
- Another World (Warner, 1985).
- No Trespassing (Real Live Records, 1986).
- Speak (MCA, 1989).
- We Three Kings (MCA, 1990).
- A Dove (MCA, 1992).
- Will You Be My Friend? (Baby Boom, 1994).
- Can We Go Home Now (Rykodisc, 1995).
- Collected Works of the Roches (Rhino/Warner, 2003).
Suzzy Roche
- Holy Smokes (Red House, 1997).
- Songs From An Unmarried Housewife And Mother, Greenwich Village, USA (Red House, 2000).
Terre Roche
- The Sound of a Tree Falling (Earth Rock Wreckerds, 1998).
Suzzy & Maggie Roche
- Zero Church (Red House, 2002).
- Why The Long Face (Red House Records, 2004).
Other appearances
- Soundstage (1983). The Roches were the featured group in one episode of this televised music series.
- Crossing Delancey (1988), starring Amy Irving. Suzzy played Marilyn, a friend of Isabelle (Irving). The Roches provided several songs for the soundtrack.
- Tiny Toons Adventures, episode "New Character Day" (20 Feb 1991). The Roches appropriately played a trio of singing roaches.
- A Family Concert (K-Tel VHS, 1995). Includes performances by The Roches and The Music Workshop For Kids.
- Anthem (Intersound, 1996), by the Desolation Angels, an über-group consisting of The Roches, Karla DeVito, Kit Hain, Deborah Berg, the Blister Sisters, and Jane Kelly Williams.
- Christmas Songs (One Voice/Satellites Records, 1996), by the Carolling Carollers, another über-group consisting of The Roches, Ilana Iguana, Margaret Dorn, Libby Mclaren, and Bonnie Mann.
- Tracey Takes On..., episode "Music" (30 Apr 1997).
- Moms That Cook (Baby Boom, 1999), by The Music Workshop For Kids. Suzzy produced as well as performed on this album by various artists.
- Some Assembly Required (Shanachie, 2002), by the Four Bitchin' Babes. Suzzy was one of the latter-day Babes in this rotating-membership pop-folk group founded by Christine Lavin.
Other musical associations
- Laurie Anderson
- Robert Fripp
- Philip Glass
- Jack Hardy
- The Indigo Girls
- Mark Johnson
- Edd Kalehoff
- Christine Lavin
- David Massengill
- Kate & Anna McGarrigle
- Felix McTeigue
- Paul Simon
- Loudon Wainwright III
External links
- "The Roches" website (http://www.roches.com/)
- IMDb: Suzzy Roche (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0733984/)