Discography
 Sweet Danger (2007) |
 Swing (2003) |
 Suzy Bogguss – 20 Greatest Hits (2002) |
 Suzy Bogguss (1999) |
 Nobody Love, Nobody Gets Hurt (1998) |
 Simpatico (1994) |
 Suzy Bogguss – Greatest Hits (1994) |
 Voices in the Wind (1992) |
 Aces (1991) |
 Somewhere Between (1991) |
Suzy Bogguss
Suzy Bogguss
- Sweet Danger
“You can’t deal me the aces and think I wouldn’t play,” says Suzy Bogguss with
a twinkle in her eye as she discusses her latest studio album Sweet Danger. It’s a
line from one of her signature songs, but it’s also the philosophy with which the
Illinois-born singer manages her career, and the stepping-off point for a collection
of her strongest songwriting and most evocative vocals to date.
“I’ve been so fortunate to meet all these great people in all genres of music,” she
says. “To learn from them and grow is amazing. How could I not make music
with the friends I’ve made over the years?”
One of those friends is legendary jazz producer and keyboardist Jason Miles with whom Bogguss co-produced
Sweet Danger. Miles has worked with the biggest names in jazz and popular music including Miles Davis, Luther
Vandross, Chakka Kahn and Sting. He became friends with Bogguss over a decade ago when he was producing
a children’s album of Elvis Presley covers and asked her to contribute a track. The two shared a love of music
that wasn’t defi ned by boundaries or classifi cation. They became fast friends and stayed in touch over the years.
A chance conversation after a show in New York led to their collaboration on the new album.
“I love the sweetness of making a snap decision and the danger of living with the consequences,” Suzy says.
“When I went to New York that fi rst time and we started to record, I called home because I was freaking out. I
thought ‘oh my God, what is this music?’ I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know how to control it. As soon as
I hung up and went back into the studio, I just let go, enjoyed the process and followed the music wherever we
needed to go. Then I was elated. I came home with these tracks that were new and different and that was so
exciting. I couldn’t wait to get started writing the rest of the album.”
But she still doesn’t know what it is. Certainly the songs, seven of which Suzy wrote, stand alongside the best
she’s ever recorded. They could easily have been included on one of the hit-maker’s seminal recordings from
the early nineties. But the production, while unquestionably current, hearkens back even further to albums by the
likes of James Taylor, Paul Simon or Joni Mitchell.
The new record is just the latest collaboration in a career that has always been adventuresome. Bogguss teamed
with the late, great Chet Atkins on Simpatico, an album which received near universal praise. She also teamed
with Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel on Swing, an album full of swing tunes soaked in jazz.
“Maybe the Swing album gave me the inspiration, but I feel like I’m still learning about my voice and what
makes it appealing. I like to swoop and swell and even soar, but I just don’t want to yell anymore. That’s not my
gift. I never wanted to be a vocal acrobat, I sing songs.”
Like most explorers, she offers no apologies for chasing her muse wherever it
leads her. She’s always listened to her head and her heart when picking music
for her albums. She’s guided by a desire to be true to herself while communicating
with her audience.
She says, “What I’m really trying to do is make music that people like. That’s
why I started playing in bars in the fi rst place. That’s why I listened to people
when they told me I should sing another person’s songs. I believed them. We
were talking to each other. We were communicating. That’s what’s so great
about the Internet now. It’s what we used to do with artist co-ops and mailing lists
only now you can reach millions of music fans instead of hundreds.”
Suzy Bogguss
- Biography
For hi-resolution images, listening tracks, as well as more supporting documents, please
visit www.lotosnile.com and click MEDIA and ARTISTS
kissyblack@lotosnile.com P: 615.298.1144
For Management:
Doug Crider
Suzy Bogguss Concerts, Inc.
Lazy Kato Music
PMB 186 8161 Hwy 100
Nashville, TN 37221
dugkat@comcast.net
For Digital Distribution:
Leslie Wallace
Digital Music Promotion
leslie@dmpromotion.com
www.digitalmusicpromo.com
For Booking:
Fleming Artists167 Little Lake
DriveAnn Arbor, MI 48103
734-995-9066 Phone
734-662-6502 Fax
For general inquiries:
contact@fl emingartists.com
Connecting with her audience has been a fundamental part of her career since she graduated from
Illinois State University with an art degree and began touring the coffeehouse and club circuit.
After fi ve years crisscrossing the country in a camper truck, Bogguss landed in Nashville and immersed
herself in the creative community. She found like-minded writers who believed in songs with
style and substance. Her big break came when a talent scout from Capitol Records saw her perform
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.
Her strong, supple voice and straightforward style were a clarion call for country fans looking for
music with meaning. Songs like “Aces,” “Drive South,” “Someday Soon,” “Outbound Plane” and
“Letting Go” soon took her to the top of the country music charts. Along the way she won raves from
critics and her peers in all genres. She won the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award in 1992
and album of the Year Award in 1994, ASCAP country and pop awards for her songwriting, and in
2005 a Grammy for her contribution to the Best Folk Album, Beautiful Dreamer, the Songs of Stephen
Foster.
The only way to describe her career arc would be as an evolution. One project inevitably led to the
next. That’s one of the reasons she’s so excited about Sweet Danger.
“The whole process was so natural,” she says. “From my friendship with Jason through the whole writing
and recording process. It was challenging at fi rst because this was new territory for me, but when
I let go and surrendered to the experience it happened so easily. I left New York sort of mesmerized
with the whole process. Everybody just wanted to make something—to create.”
The joy and creative freedom she felt imbues every note of Sweet Danger. Always a sublime, controlled
singer, she hits a new milestone with this collection. By stretching, testing and challenging her
limits, she’s captured the best vocals of her career.
Like all of her previous work, the new record is fi lled with songs of emotional integrity. She covers
Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now” and creates a totally new vibe by
stripping the song down to its emotional core and rebuilding it with a
tight acoustic ensemble. Verlon Thompson’s “No Good Way To Go” is
an inner dialog on how to end a relationship, half sung and half spoken
with smoldering sexuality. She turns to husband/songwriter Doug
Crider for “In Heaven,” the emotional centerpiece of the album. The
song, which deals with love, loss, letting go and moving on, is especially
poignant because it was written about close friends of Bogguss
and Crider. It also has an incredible, instantly, memorable melody.
She remains consistent in her unwillingness to be defi ned by the expectations
of others. She’s always been the type of artist to boldly listen to
her instinct and chase that wily muse where it leads her. Suzy Bogguss
has always, and will always take the road less traveled…and that has
made all the difference.
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