Suzanne Vega

For the album, see Suzanne Vega (album).

Suzanne Vega
Vega singing into a microphone onstage
Vega performing in 2016
Background information
Birth nameSuzanne Nadine Peck
Born (1959-07-11) July 11, 1959 (age 65)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
OriginNew York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1982–present
Labels
Websitesuzannevega.com

Suzanne Nadine Vega (née Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter of folk-inspired music.[1][2] Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s she released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the UK, "Marlene on the Wall", "Left of Center", "Luka" and "No Cheap Thrill".

"Tom's Diner", which was originally released as an a cappella recording on Vega's second studio album, Solitude Standing (1987), was remixed in 1990 as a dance track by English electronic duo DNA with Vega as featured artist, and it became a Top 10 hit in five countries. The original a cappella recording of the song was used as a test during the creation of the MP3 format.[3] The role of her song in the development of the MP3 compression prompted Vega to be given the title of "The Mother of the MP3".[4]

Vega has released nine studio albums, the most recent being 2016’s Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers.

  1. ^ "Suzanne Vega | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "BBC Four - Songwriters' Circle, Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright". BBC.
  3. ^ Sveriges Television, Hitlåtens historia: Tom's Diner – Suzanne Vega. Aired February 6, 2010. "Hitlåtens historia | SVT.se". Archived from the original on February 26, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  4. ^ Vega, Suzanne (September 23, 2008). "Tom's Essay". New York Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2020.