Skip to main content

Suzi Quatro - Can The Can

Suzi Quatro was the first female bass player/vocalist to experience major success as a rocker. Originally from Detroit, she moved to Britain in 1971 at the urging of producer, Mickie Most. She put together a band of motley rockers, resembling the Stooges or MC5. On the road with Slade and Thin Lizzy, Quatro's group developed a rough and tumble, adrenalized rock and roll style that laid the groundwork for later female, rebel-rocker acts. The Runaways, Girlschool and eventually The Donnas were all touched by Quatro's persona and sound. Throughout the early 70s, Quatro was huge in the U.K. and Australia. Unfortunately, fame eluded her in the States. It wasn't until she landed a repeated cameo as the tough-talking Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days in 1977 that she became a household name.

"Can The Can" is the second single, from her 1973 debut, Suzi Quatro. This song is so rock & roll, it's ridiculous. The Brady Bunch clones around the stage are like, We better clap and stomp or she's gonna beat us up!


What does the song's title mean? Songwriter Nicky Chinn explained that "can the can" is "... something that is pretty impossible, you can't get one can inside another if they are the same size, so we're saying you can't put your man in the can if he is out there and not willing to commit."

Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Tracks

Genesis - Supper's Ready

Clocking in at nearly 23 minutes, Supper's Ready was the first extended composition that Genesis attempted in the studio. It appeared on 1972's Foxtrot . With Steve Hackett's ornate and chiming guitars, Tony Banks classical sounding keys, Phil Collins' athletic drumming (hitting 9/8 in section VI) and, of course, Peter Gabriel's dramatic voice -- lifting from an ethereal hush to a fantastic shriek throughout, it's a prog-rock masterpiece. This was Genesis firing on all cylinders. They were in their formative stage as a band and in love with composing together. Ultimately, the tune would provide a perfect opportunity for Gabriel to develop costumes and portray a host of fanciful characters, including a giant daisy (pictured here). Lyrically, the song is expansive, dealing with themes of good and evil, particularly allusions to the Book of Revelations. Gabriel based the lyrics for the first section, Lover's Leap, on two otherworldly experiences. On one occ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sweet - Love Is Like Oxygen

I've always loved glam rock -- Bowie , The New York Dolls , Mott The Hoople ,  Queen , T. Rex . The flamboyant and gender-bending style. The attitude, sparkly and swagger. The first time I heard Sweet was Fox On The Run . It was my favorite song on the Dazed and Confused Soundtrack. I think it was the swirling, bubbling synthesizer that drew me in. At the time I had no idea that Sweet was a part of the 1970s glam world. Later, I found out that they sang Ballroom Blitz . That's the same band? Then, in college, I bought Action and fell in love with tunes like Lady Starlight and the title track . As I pieced together their discography (in a pre-Internet age), I noticed that the band's sound inexplicably wavered between hard rock, glam and bubble-gum pop. I could never put my finger on what Sweet was all about. I just loved a lot of their songs. This week, I picked up a copy of their 1977 album, Level Headed . The album is anything but steady (as the title would have yo...
Post a Comment
Read more