
BIRTHPLACE: Aledo, Illinois
BIRTHDATE: December 30
PARENTS: Dad, Charles, (deceased) was a machinist for International Harvester. Her mother, B.J., (retired) was a secretary who taught Suzy at an early age to read vocal music.
SIBLINGS: 2 brothers, 1 sister; all older
MARITAL STATUS/CHILDREN: Married to songwriter Doug Crider. The couple have one child, Benton Charles, (Ben.)
EARLY MUSICAL INFLUENCES: Suzy joined the church choir at age fi ve and began to play the piano at the urging of her musical mother. When her older siblings began playing the drums, Suzy followed suit and continued this musical course through high school. As a teenager, she added the guitar to her repertoire and bought her fi rst 12-string with the money she earned from baby-sitting. Though she sang in musicals and other school groups, it never occurred to her that her future was on stage.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Illinois State University in 1980 with a Bachelor’s degree in Art with a concentration in metalsmithery.
FIRST PAID PERFORMANCE: During the downtime from her college studies, she began to fraternize at the local coffeehouses on campus, and soon landed a job singing at The Gallery. Her fi rst paycheck was $7. It didn’t take long, however, for Suzy to secure out of town gigs and she began to earn up to $325 per week playing and singing.
POST GRADUATE: For the next fi ve years, she toured the country in a camper truck. She enjoyed the busker’s life of pulling into town and offering a tavern owner a deal he couldn’t refuse. She would play for donations at the main square and advertise his place at the same time with posters she would create, if she could play his place that night. Wherever there was an acoustic music scene ... Chicago, Minneapolis, Greenwich Village, Cambridge ... Bogguss was there.
THE MOVE TO NASHVILLE: With dreams of making a record, she moved to Nashville in 1985. She paid the bills by singing demos by day and performing three nights a week at a local rib joint.
FIRST RECORDING CONTRACT: Bogguss was “discovered” by talent scouts from Capitol Nashville while singing at Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s theme park in East Tennessee’s Smokey Mountains. A tape of her music that she sold at the park got into the hands of a label executive and three weeks later she was signed.
SONGWRITING: Suzy has collaborated with some of Nashville’s most infl uential songwriters -- Chet Atkins, Steve Dorff, Matraca Berg, Pat Bunch ... however, it should come as no surprise that her favorite co-writer is husband, Doug Crider. In ‘93, the two penned her top-fi ve single “Just Like the Weather.”
SPECIAL ALBUM PROJECTS: Suzy performed and produced the cut “Take It To the Limit” on the CMA Award winning Album of the Year, Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles and the swing tune “Old Fashioned Love” on Asleep At The Wheel’s Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. Additionally, Suzy has performed on the GRAMMY nominated “All My Loving” on Come Together: America Salutes the Beatles, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” from Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly), a collaboration with Dave Edmunds and “Teach Your Children” for Red, Hot and Country, which also garnered a GRAMMY nomination. Suzy finally received her GRAMMY for her contribution to “Beautiful Dreamer: the Songs of Stephen Foster.”
COMMERCIAL ENDORSEMENTS: Suzy’s vocals can be heard on national radio commercials for Coca-Cola.
PARTIAL LIST OF TELEVISION CREDITS:
Academy of Country Music Awards Austin City Limits Billboard Awards CBS This Morning CMA Awards Country Music Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Celebration Crook and Chase Good Morning America GRAMMY Awards In Performance At the White House (PBS) Live With Regis & Kathie Lee Prime Time Country Queens The Road The Tonight Show with Jay Leno TNN/Music City News Awards (1993 co-host) Weekend Today Women of Country (CBS)
INTERNATIONAL APPEARANCES: Canada, England, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, Japan, The Philippines, Mexico, Brazil.
COMMAND PERFORMANCES: President and Mrs. Bill Clinton.
HOBBIES: Suzy designs much of her own stagewear and jewelry. She designed a leather apparel collection in ‘93, which was carried in Nordstrom department stores throughout the western U.S.
WEB SITES: www.suzybogguss.com www.myspace.com/suzyboggussmusic
ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY: 1989 Somewhere Between (Capitol) 1990 Moment of Truth (Capitol) 1991 Aces (Capitol) Platinum 1992 Voices In The Wind (Capitol) Gold 1993 Something Up My Sleeve (Capitol) Gold 1994 Simpatico (with Chet Atkins) (Capitol) 1994 Greatest Hits (Capitol) Gold 1996 Give Me Some Wheels (Capitol) 1998 Nobody Love, Nobody Gets Hurt (Capitol) 1999 Suzy Bogguss (Platinum Records) 2003 Swing (Compadre Records) 2003 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Compadre Records)
SINGLE DISCOGRAPHY: 1989 “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart, “Cross My Broken Heart”, “My Sweet Love Ain’t Around” 1991 “Someday Soon”, “Outbound Plane”, “Aces” 1992 “Letting Go”, “Drive South”, “Heartache” 1993 “Just Like The Weather”, “Hey Cinderella”, “You Wouldn’t Say That To A Stranger”, “Souvenirs” 1994 “One More For The Road” (with Chet Atkins), “Take It To The Limit” (from Common Thread: Songsof the Eagles) 1996 “Give Me Some Wheels”, “No Way Out”, “She Said, He Heard” 1998 “Somebody To Love”, “Nobody Love Nobody Gets Hurt”, “From Where I Stand” 1999 “Goodnight”, “Love Is Blind” 2003 “Cupid Shot Us Both With One Arrow”
AWARDS: Academy of Country Music, 1989 – Top New Female Vocalist Country Music Association, 1992 – Horizon Award Country Music Television/Europe, 1993 – Top Ten Video of the Year – “Drive South” Country Music People International, 1993 – Rising Star Award Country Music Association, 1994 – Album of the Year – Common Thread Country Music Television/Europe, 1994 – Top Ten Video of the Year – “Hey Cinderella” GRAMMY, 2005 – Traditional Folk Album – “Beautiful Dreamer, The Songs Of Stephen Foster”
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 1985 With two homemade tapes under her belt and fi ve years of roadwork as a traveling folk troubadour, Suzy arrives in Nashville 1986 Headlines shows at Dollywood, marries songwriter Doug Crider 1988 Debut single, the Patsy Montana classic “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart” 1989 Debut album, Somewhere Between (produced by Wendy Waldman) Academy of Country Music, Top New Female Vocalist 1990 GRAMMY nomination for “Hopelessly Yours” (with Lee Greenwood) Album Moment of Truth (produced by Bogguss and Jimmy Bowen) 1991 Album Aces (produced by Bogguss and Bowen) 1992 Album Voices In The Wind (produced by Bogguss and Bowen) Country Music Association Horizon Award TNN/Music City News Award nomination as Star of Tomorrow 1993 Album Something Up My Sleeve (produced by Bogguss and Bowen) Country Music People Rising Star Award TNN/Music City News Award nomination as Female Vocalist of the Year Shepler’s catalog and Nordstrom’s department store feature fashions designed by Suzy 1994 Album Greatest Hits Album Simpatico (with Chet Atkins) (produced by Bogguss) CMA Album of the Year Award Common Thread: Songs of the Eagles “Take It To The Limit”, (artist and producer.) ASCAP Awards “Just Like The Weather”, (Pop and Country) and “Hey Cinderella” 1995 Baby Benton “Ben” Crider born GRAMMY Award nomination “Teach Your Children” with Kathy Mattea and Alison Krauss. Performance for President and Mrs. Clinton at The White House recorded for PBS Special. 1996 Album Give Me Some Wheels (produced by Trey Bruce and Scott Hendricks) TV’s Oprah Winfrey Show features “Letting Go” and All My Children features “You Never Will.” US Department of Transportation PSA campaign “Protect the One You Love” GRAMMY Award nomination “All My Lovin’” (with Chet Atkins) 1997 ABC-TV features “Fire and Ice” as a theme for the US Figure Skating Championships 1998 Album Nobody Love, Nobody Gets Hurt (produced by Bogguss and Crider) 1999 TV’s Home Improvement uses “Saying Goodbye To A Friend” to promote fi nal episode. 2000 Album Suzy Bogguss on new record label, Platinum Records 2003 Album SWING! on Compadre Records (produced by Bogguss and Ray Benson) 2003 Album Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas on Compadre Records 2005 GRAMMY award for contribution to “Beautiful Dreamer, The Songs Of Stephen Foster |