Happy Birthday Suzi Quatro

Her name is Suzi Quatro, and in 1979 she made it to #4 on the Billboard charts in a duet with Chris Norman titled ‘Stumblin In, ‘ yet, to me, she will forever be remembered as Leather Tuscadero, the leather-clad rocker from Happy Days.

I was ten years old, maybe even eleven when Leather and I were first introduced. She made several cameo appearances on Happy Days, being hired without audition when producer Garry Marshall saw her poster hanging on his daughters wall. Naturally there were other crushes of my youth… Susan Dey from The Partridge Family and Debbie Harry from Blondie being two of the other rocker girls that caught my fancy, along with tomboys Tatum O’Neal, Kristy McNichol and Jodi Foster, and the ever angelic Farrah Fawcett-Majors.

But there was just something special about Leather… something tough yet sexy at the same time, at an age when I couldn’t have comprehended the term ‘sexy’ Suzi Quatro captivated my imagination and my heart. She was cool, she was hip, and she was Rock & Roll.

Suzi was born on June 3, 1950, marking today as her 59th birthday… Happy Birthday Miss Tuscadero, and thank you from the ten year old boy inside of me, to whom you will always remain ageless and unforgettable.

-Craig

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