Suzanne Vega

Contemporary folk singer/songwriter

Suzanne Vega is one of the more experimental contemporary folksingers, but comparisons can range from Ani Difranco, Erin McKeown, and Michelle Shocked to Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez.

The rock band Soul Coughing named their album Ruby Vroom after Vega's daughter with record producer Mitchell Froom (from whom she divorced in 2001).

Days of Open Hand (A&M, 1990)
Solitude Standing (1987)
99.9 Fahrenheit Degrees (1992)

Suzanne Vega was born in July, 1959, in Santa Monica, California. Soon after, the family moved to New York City, where Vega grew up. She began writing poetry very early on, and composed her first song at the age of 14, while attending the LaGuardia High School of Music, Art & Performing Arts.

In school, Vega studied modern dance and then English at Barnard University, and began performing as a songwriter while still in college. In 1984, she got a record deal and soon released her critically acclaimed, self-titled debut album.

It was her second album, Solitude Standing, however, that garnered Vega considerable success, as it contained the hit single "Luka" and it's follow-up "Tom's Diner." After this album, she began releasing more experimental albums, including the stand-out 99.9 Fahrenheit Degrees. She returned to the studio in the autumn of 2007, after signing with Blue Note Records, to work on a new album due sometime in 2007.

In all, Vega has recorded seven albums. She is a long-time member of Amnesty International, and has participated in fundraisers for the Save Darfur Coalition.