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The Roches

From Alfawiki
The Roches
Company typeMusical group
IndustryMusic
Founded1973
Headquarters
Park Ridge, New Jersey
,
United States
ProductsAlbums, live performances

The Roches were a sister trio from Park Ridge, New Jersey, consisting of Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy Roche, known for their vocal harmonies.

Career

During the late 1960s, the two eldest siblings, Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and Terre (born April 10, 1953), enrolled at Park Ridge High School but left school early to perform as a duo. Maggie was primarily responsible for songwriting, with Terre contributing occasionally. Their initial recognition came when Paul Simon invited them to provide backing vocals on his 1973 record There Goes Rhymin' Simon. Simon also supported their sole duo album, Seductive Reasoning (1975), which featured a guest appearance by the Oak Ridge Boys.

In the latter part of the 1970s, youngest sister Suzzy (born September 29, 1956) joined to complete the trio.[1] They transformed bartending gigs at Greenwich Village’s folk hotspot Gerde's Folk City into performance opportunities, inspiring their track "Face Down at Folk City" from the 1985 album Another World. By the time of their debut trio album, The Roches (1979), produced by Robert Fripp, all three sisters were actively involved in songwriting. Maggie’s composition "The Married Men" gained wider recognition through Phoebe Snow’s rendition. Following a duet cover of the song by Snow and Linda Ronstadt on Saturday Night Live, the Roches appeared on the program in 1979 performing previously unreleased material.

Throughout the 1980s, the Roches released albums that attracted a devoted but limited audience, achieving modest commercial success and minimal radio exposure. Their television appearances included BBC’s Rock Goes to College (1981), PBS’s Soundstage (1983), and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1985). In 1990, they issued a holiday-themed album titled We Three Kings, featuring Terre’s original "Star of Wonder." Later projects encompassed the pop-oriented album A Dove (1992) and a children’s record, Will You Be My Friend?, which included contributions from their brother David and Suzzy’s daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche.

Following a tour disrupted by their father’s passing, they released Can We Go Home Now (1995), marking their final original studio recording as a trio until 2007.

The group entered an indefinite hiatus in 1997 to focus on individual pursuits and collaborations. Terre dedicated herself to guitar instruction and solo projects; Suzzy pursued acting in film and theater alongside releasing solo albums and joint efforts with Maggie. The sisters occasionally reunited for performances in New York City. A holiday tour featuring brother Dave took place in late 2005, followed by additional shows across the U.S. and Canada during 2006–07. After a twelve-year interval, they released Moonswept in March 2007. Subsequent to that tour, regular touring ceased though occasional appearances continued.

Maggie Roche passed away on January 21, 2017, at age 65 due to breast cancer. Suzzy remembered her as a reserved yet dynamic artist—a gifted songwriter with a distinct viewpoint. Maggie is survived by her partner Michael McCarthy and son Edward "Felix" McTeigue.

Family

Maggie Roche possessed an uncommon contralto voice described as nearly baritone in quality; Terre sang in a high soprano range while Suzzy provided harmonies in the middle register. The trio accompanied themselves on guitars and keyboards, sometimes augmented by other musicians.

Terre Roche remains active as a performer in New York City and has led a "Sunset Singing Circle" at Battery Park since 2016 under the auspices of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Their brother David is a singer-songwriter who has released solo material and frequently contributed to the trio’s recordings. Maggie's son, Felix McTeigue, has produced three albums—including one with his band Filo—and worked as a producer on various projects. Suzzy's daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche, lent vocals to both the Roches' and McTeigue's albums and issued EPs titled 8 Songs (2007) and 8 More (2008). She has toured supporting artists such as Amos Lee and the Indigo Girls and released three full-length albums: Lucy (2010), There's a Last Time for Everything (2013), and Little Beast (2018). Lucy is the child of Loudon Wainwright III and half-sibling to singers Martha Wainwright and Rufus Wainwright.

Maggie and Terre Roche

The Roches

Suzzy Roche

Terre Roche

  • The Sound of a Tree Falling (Earth Rock Wreckerds, 1998)
  • Imprint (Earth Rock Wreckerds, 2015)
  • Inner Adult (Terre Roche, 2024)

Suzzy and Maggie Roche

  • Zero Church (Red House, 2002)
  • Why The Long Face (Red House, 2004)

Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche

  • Fairytale and Myth (2013)
  • Mud and Apples (2016)
  • I Can Still Hear You (2020)

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

  • Afro-Jersey (2013)

Other appearances

  • Maggie and Terre contributed vocals to Paul Simon's album There Goes Rhymin' Simon in 1973 on the track "Was a Sunny Day."
  • In 1979, The Roches performed as musical guests on Saturday Night Live.
  • Terre provided vocal contributions to Robert Fripp's album Exposure, released in 1979.
  • The Roches were featured performers on the TV series Soundstage in 1983.
  • They appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the year 1985.
  • Their work is included on Philip Glass's album Songs from Liquid Days, released in 1986.
  • Suzzy acted while the group supplied songs for the film Crossing Delancey in 1988.
  • They participated in the Disney tribute compilation album Stay Awake, also released in 1988.
  • Suzzy lent her voice to characters on Tiny Toon Adventures during 1991.
  • The group performed the theme song for the television series Princesses in the same year.
  • They appeared as themselves in the movie A Weekend in the Country, which came out in 1994.
  • The Roches composed songs for the soundtrack of The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, also released in 1994.
  • During the mid-1990s, they took part in supergroups including Desolation Angels and Carolling Carollers.
  • Suzzy produced and contributed performances to the children's album titled Moms That Cook, released in 1999.
  • Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy provided backing vocals on the Indigo Girls' album Rites of Passage.
  • Suzzy and Maggie appeared on the Bob Dylan tribute compilation called Nod to Bob, released in 2001.
  • Suzzy was involved with Four Bitchin' Babes on their album Some Assembly Required, which came out in 2002.
  • The Roches recorded a rendition of "Acadian Driftwood" for the tribute collection Endless Highway: The Music of The Band, issued in 2007.
  • They performed "No Shoes" for the soundtrack of the film Please Give, released in 2010.
  • Suzzy contributed vocals to Yeasayer's album Amen & Goodbye, which was released in 2016.

See also

Further reading

  • O'Dair, Barbara, editor. Trouble Girls: The Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock (1997). .
  • Woliver, Robbie. Bringing It All Back Home: 25 Years of American Music at Folk City (1986). .
  • Discography liner notes

External links

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Larkin
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