Suede is an American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer. A well known artist in the LGBTQ community, she has an entry in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gay and Lesbian Recordings'' (1992).

Life and career

She was born in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a Village (New York), village primarily located in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, a small western section of the village lies in Clarkst ...

, moved around throughout childhood from NY to the midwest and back, graduating from senior high school in

Severna Park, Maryland Severna Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. Severna Park is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, and is located approximately north of Annapolis, south of Baltimore and east ...

before college at Wartburg College in Iowa. Self-taught since childhood and until college, she started at the approximate age of 4 years old on the piano, began busking music in high school, getting bar gigs before she even graduated. She lived in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

for the majority of the 1980s and became a fixture at many local clubs in the Baltimore, DC, VA, PA circuit and beyond as she began to build her national touring schedule. Suede's popularity steadily increased and she began playing sold-out shows in some of the US's most respected concert halls and jazz clubs (Birdland, Feinsteins, Kennedy Center, Birchmere, etc.), sharing the stage with fellow headliners such as Melissa Etheridge and Sarah McLachlan, and opening for Janis Ian and Joan Rivers, among others. She began her own record/touring label in 1983, Easily Suede Music, and has toured consistently nationally and internationally since. She currently has 4 CDs and 1 DVD released on the Easily Suede label. Her DVD ''Suede, Live at Scullers Jazz Club'' aired on 54 stations nationally as part of the PBS fund-drive. Her recording of Shirley Eikhard's song "Emily Remembers" became the #1 song of the year on WJZW Radio, Washington, DC. Each of her recordings have sold upwards of 10,000 copies with national distribution and airplay. In 1992, Suede released her second album ''Barely Blue''. Writing in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', music critic Mike Joyce stated, "Virtually all the songs are redeemed by Suede's appealing soprano voice and articulate phrasing. There's more than a little Streisand in her thoughtful approach to a lyric." Suede successfully sued

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and

Nude Records Nude Records is an independent record label, established in August 1991 in London. The label was set up and operated by Saul Galpern, who had previously worked with artists such as Simply Red, The Fall, Julian Cope, The Triffids, The Slits ...

in 1993 for trademark violation for introducing and representing the British band

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items. Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...

in the US without doing a required preliminary trademark check with the Library of Congress. The two parties reached a settlement, after two years in legal process, resulting in an agreement that the band's albums would only be promoted and sold in the US under the name "The London Suede". In addition to being a vocalist, Suede plays multiple instruments;

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and is well known for her humor and quick wit in her live shows. She currently lives on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. Suede also toured for 2 years with the Flirtations, seen in the Jonathan Demme film ''Philadelphia'' and was on the group's final album, ''Three''.

References

Sources

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External links

Suede's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suede Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American cabaret singers American lesbian musicians People from Nyack, New York People from Severna Park, Maryland People from Barnstable County, Massachusetts American jazz singers American women jazz singers