Ratsy (real name Patty Kemp; born in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

) is a folk singer-songwriter who was part of the Boston folk scene. She is known for her quirky and humorous lyrics.

Biography

After attending

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and graduating from beauty school with a cosmetology license, she moved to Boston and sang in the subway. She performed in local

coffeehouses A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

and at colleges. In 1999, she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

while continuing her musical career. She took up with the lindy hop community, and took lessons in

swing dancing Swing dance is a group of social dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s–1940s, with the origins of each dance predating the popular " swing era". Hundreds of styles of swing dancing were developed; those that ha ...

. She appeared in a 2002 episode of '' Gilmore Girls'', as a featured dancer during an episode focusing on a

dance marathon Dance marathons (or marathon dances) are events in which people dance or walk to music for an extended period of time. They started as dance contests in the 1920s and developed into entertainment events during the Great Depression in the 1930s. ...

. She has since relocated to

Oberlin Oberlin may refer to: ; Places in the United States * Oberlin Township, Decatur County, Kansas ** Oberlin, Kansas, a city in the township * Oberlin, Louisiana, a town * Oberlin, Ohio, a city * Oberlin, Licking County, Ohio, a ghost town * Oberlin, ...

, Ohio, where she runs a vintage antique shop, Ratsy's Store.https://www.facebook.com/Ratsys-Store-165194360188289/

Discography

* ''The Subway Songstress Years'' (1992) * ''Squished Under a Train'' (1995) * ''Flowery Swimsuit: The Live Album'' (2000)

References

External links

Official website
Songwriters from Michigan American street performers American folk musicians Living people Michigan State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) People from Jackson, Michigan People from Oberlin, Ohio American women songwriters Songwriters from Ohio Singers from Michigan 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women singers {{US-singer-songwriter-stub