The Roches Explained

Background:group_or_band
The Roches
Landscape:yes
Origin:Park Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.
Years Active:–
Past Members:

The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey.[1]

Career

In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951[2] – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry", born April 10, 1953[2]) attended Park Ridge High School,[3] but dropped out of school to tour as a duo. Maggie wrote most of the songs, with Terre contributing to a few. The sisters got a break when Paul Simon brought them in as backup singers on his 1973 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon.[4] They got his assistance (along with an appearance by the Oak Ridge Boys) on their only album as a duo, Seductive Reasoning (1975).[4]

Reviewing Seductive Reasoning in (1981), Robert Christgau said, "Female singing duos must function as mutual support groups; last time a women's sensibility this assured, relaxed, and reflective made it to vinyl was Joy of Cooking. These folkies manque are a little flat here, a little arch there, but in general the shoe fits; no ideological feminism, but plenty of consciousness."[5]

Later in the 1970s youngest sister Suzzy (rhymes with "fuzzy", born September 29, 1956[2]) joined the group to form the Roches trio.[4]

Around this time, they parlayed bartending jobs at the Greenwich Village folk venue Gerde's Folk City into stage appearances, an experience they commemorated in their song "Face Down at Folk City" (from Another World, 1985). There they met many of their future singing and songwriting collaborators. Terre was now writing songs as well, and by the time of their first album as a trio, The Roches (1979), Suzzy had also begun writing.[4] Robert Fripp produced the album.[4] Maggie's "The Married Men" from this album was eventually to become the songwriting trio's biggest hit—not for them, but for Phoebe Snow.[4] After Snow and Linda Ronstadt performed the song in a duet on Saturday Night Live, the Roches were invited to perform on the show a few months later in 1979 at Simon's behest. They did two songs, both unreleased at the time: "Bobby's Song" and "The Hallelujah Chorus".

Throughout the 1980s, the Roches continued to release their music to small audiences, little or no air play, and only modest record sales. In February 1981 the BBC broadcast a 40-minute performance in its series Rock Goes to College. A 1983 episode of the PBS concert series Soundstage was devoted to an hourlong performance by the trio, and they appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in November 1985, performing their song "Mr. Sellack". In 1990, they returned to their Christmas-caroling roots with the release of the 24-track We Three Kings,[4] which included the a cappella "Star of Wonder", written by Terre. After another pop album (A Dove, 1992), they recorded an entire album of children's songs, Will You Be My Friend?, featuring a song by brother David and various young backup singers, including Suzzy's daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche.

After a tour interrupted by the death of their father, the Roches released Can We Go Home Now (1995),[4] the last original recording they released as a trio until 2007.

In 1997, the sisters formally put their group on long-term hold. They continued to work on solo projects and often collaborated on albums and performances. Terre teaches guitar workshops and has released a solo album. Suzzy, who has acted on the stage and in several movies, released two of her own albums and two with Maggie, with whom she toured. All three sisters periodically participated in New York-area events. At the end of 2005, the three Roches (with brother Dave) reunited for a short but successful holiday tour. Several more appearances in the U.S. and Canada took place in 2006–07, and in March 2007, after a 12-year hiatus, the Roches released a new studio album, Moonswept.[6] After the tour for Moonswept, the Roches announced that they would no longer be touring, but they continued to make isolated appearances individually and as a group, mostly in and around New York City.

On January 21, 2017, Maggie Roche died from breast cancer at the age of 65.[7] [8] In a statement on Facebook, Suzzy wrote that Maggie "was a private person, too sensitive and shy for this world, but brimming with life, love, and talent. She was smart, wickedly funny, and authentic — not a false bone in her body — a brilliant songwriter, with a distinct unique perspective, all heart and soul."[9] She was survived by her partner Michael McCarthy and son Edward "Felix" McTeigue.

Family

Maggie Roche had an "unusual" contralto voice—"almost a baritone".[10] Terre provided a soprano that bracketed the upper range of the sisters, while Suzzy filled in the middle range. While touring, the sisters accompanied themselves with guitars and keyboards, occasionally with additional musicians.

Terre Roche continues to perform publicly in New York City, and since 2016 she has led a "Sunset Singing Circle" at Battery Park in Manhattan under the auspices of the Parks Department.[11]

Brother David is also a singer-songwriter with his own solo album, and often backed up the trio on their recordings.[12] [13] [14] Maggie's son, Felix McTeigue, has recorded three albums (one with his group Filo).[15] [16] Suzzy's daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche, has also contributed vocals on the Roches' and McTeigue's albums,[17] [18] and in 2007 produced an EP of her own, 8 Songs, followed by 8 More in 2008 and tours opening for acts such as Amos Lee and the Indigo Girls.[19] [20] Lucy has released three full-length albums: Lucy (2010), There's a Last Time for Everything (2013), and Little Beast (2018).[21] Her father is Loudon Wainwright III, and she is the half-sister of singers Martha and Rufus Wainwright.

Discography

Maggie and Terre Roche

The Roches

Suzzy Roche

Terre Roche

Suzzy and Maggie Roche

Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche

Terre Roche, Sidiki Conde and Marlon Cherry (as Afro-Jersey)

Other appearances

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Jay . Cocks . Valentines from the Danger Zone . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930102228/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,920324,00.html . dead . September 30, 2007 . . May 7, 1979 . October 16, 2007 . She and Terre performed them first in the family living room in Park Ridge, N.J., then later on the back of a flat-bed truck in nearby shopping centers for the benefit of a local politician and the glory of the Democratic Party..
  2. Web site: folkville-introduction . Myweb.tiscali.co.uk . January 21, 2017.
  3. Karas, Matty. "'Uncool' Roches finally fitting into the music scene", Asbury Park Press, June 20, 1991. Accessed December 9, 2017. "Terre Roche wasn't one of the cool kids at Park Ridge High School in the late 1960s.... She and Maggie sang together from a young age, with Maggie teaching Terre the harmony parts to songs. When they were in high school, their father, who lived in Greenwich Village before they were born and entertained them with stories about those days, drove them into the Village to sing in hootenannies at clubs such as the Gaslight and Kettle of Fish."
  4. Book: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin (writer). Virgin Books. 1997. Concise. 1-85227-745-9. 1023/4.
  5. Book: Christgau, Robert. Robert Christgau. 1981. Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. 089919026X. Consumer Guide '70s: R. https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=R&bk=70. March 12, 2019. Robertchristgau.com.
  6. Web site: "The Roches" (home page). Roches official website. January 21, 2007.
  7. Web site: The Roches' Maggie Roche Dead at 65. Pitchfork.com. January 21, 2017. January 21, 2017.
  8. Web site: Maggie Roche, Singer With Neo-Folk Trio The Roches, Dies at 65. Pat. Saperstein. January 22, 2017. Variety.com. January 22, 2017.
  9. Web site: Maggie Roche, Who Harmonized With Her Singing Sisters, Dies at 65. Jon. Pareles. January 21, 2017. The New York Times. January 22, 2017.
  10. Web site: Sisterly Love. March 28, 2015. December 28, 2023.
  11. Web site: Terre Roche "Sunset Singing Circle" . June 23, 2020.
  12. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p160649|pure_url=yes}} Dave Roche: Credits ]. . March 5, 2008.
  13. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p160650|pure_url=yes}} David Roche: Songs ]. Allmusic . March 5, 2008.
  14. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p160650|pure_url=yes}} David Roche: Credits ]. Allmusic . March 5, 2008.
  15. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r860317|pure_url=yes}} Filo: ''Hoi Polloi'' ]. Allmusic . March 5, 2008.
  16. Web site: Hartenbach . Brett . [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r599901|pure_url=yes}} Review: ''Felix McTeigue'' ]. Allmusic . March 5, 2008.
  17. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p861427|pure_url=yes}} Lucy Roche: Songs ]. Allmusic . March 5, 2008.
  18. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p861427|pure_url=yes}} Lucy Roche: Credits ]. Allmusic . March 5, 2008.
  19. Web site: Amos Lee with Lucy Wainwright Roche Highline Ballroom. New York Cool . July 14, 2008.
  20. Web site: Photo essay: Indigo Girls, Lucy Wainwright Roche @ the Boulder Theater . Joshua Elioseff . Reverb . April 16, 2010.
  21. Web site: Lucy Wainwright Roche Album Discography AllMusic. AllMusic. July 14, 2016.

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