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Multi-instrumentalist
and vocalist from Pisa, Italy, who was already well-traveled by the time
she learned out to play the piano at seven years of age. Her father was in the military and thus
she moved around a lot and learned the keys during a stint in Taipei,
Taiwan. She added guitar and
violin to her repertoire while at Fort Devens,
Massachusetts. The family
relocated to The Sunshine State and Soozie
attended the University of South Florida, where she studied music
theory.
Then she moved
to The Big Apple and busked on the streets of New
York. During this time, she
co-founded a trio entitled Trickster with Lisa Lowell and Patti Scialfa.
In 1980, she appeared on the album, Love is a Sacrifice, by Southside Johnny and the Asbury
Jukes. She formed another band,
Soozie and High in the Saddle, and they played
country and western music.
Soozie
switched genres again in the 1980s, becoming a fixture in Buster
Poindexter’s band, appearing on a half dozen of his albums, including
his eponymous debut, which included “Hot-Hot-Hot”
which was a hit-hit-hit. They
also toured quite a bit and worked on a musical entitled Poet’s
Café and continue to enjoy a creative partnership to this day.
In 1988, she
made a brief foray into acting, appearing as Doreen in The Big Blue. It
was not her only contribution to film:
She also sang on the soundtrack of the Michael Keaton comedy, The Dream Team. Soozie has
also dotted the small screen with appearances on The 45th Annual Grammy Awards, Great Performances, Late
Night with Conan O’Brien, and Saturday
Night Live.
In 1992, Bruce
Springsteen tapped her for background vocal duties on Lucky Town, one of his first albums without the E Street
Band. Ever since, Soozie has become a staple on The Boss’s albums,
including Devils & Dust, The Ghost of Tom Joad,
Magic, The Rising, We Shall
Overcome: The Seeger Sessions,
and Working on a Dream.
On 8th
April 2003, she launched her solo career, releasing White Lines on the Treasure label. Soozie
multi-tasks big-time on this album, as guitarist, pianist,
singer-songwriter, and violinist.
She has continued to tour with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street
Band throughout the new millennium.
Other albums
featuring this multi-talented artist include Patty Blee’s
Disguise and Shawn Colvin’s
Steady On.
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soozie_Tyrell
- http://www.soozietyrell.com/biography.html
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0879070/
- http://soozietyrell.com/press.html
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