When Suzi Q. showed up on Happy Days as Pinky Tuscadero’s bass-thumping sister Leather, that’s the first most Americans had heard of her. For those of you keeping track of the nation’s shortcomings, the fact that Suzi never made the Top 40 here before 1979 (the regrettable “Stumblin’ In” with Chris Norman) certainly ought to make the list. Little did Happy Days viewers know that she’d long been reigning supreme on the British charts in the early seventies with insanely great singles like “Can the Can,” “48 Crash,” “Daytona Demon” and “Devil Gate Drive.” But I wonder how many who might have already known this bit of info also knew that she’d played in a blistering Detroit fab fivesome along with her sisters Patti and Arlene in the late sixties? I knew nothing of these early years until my friend Jim recently got me all up to speed and sent me some fine pics of the girls looking like Shangri-La cousins. Best of all, he let me hear their debut 1967 single: the moody “Never Thought You’d Leave Me” backed with what must be the original and ultimate bad girl rock and roll anthem, “What a Way to Die.” Have a listen yourself.

(Suzi’s the one in the group photo above drummer Darline, who’s sitting on the floor.)

The Pleasure Seekers – “Never Thought You’d Leave Me” (1967)

The Pleasure Seekers – “What a Way to Die” (1967)

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 3:19 pm and is filed under Song IDs, Suzi Quatro, TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.