The Roches

Sisters Maggie (b. 26 October 1951, Detroit, Michigan, USA) and Terre Roche (b. 10 April 1953, New York City, New York, USA) began singing a mixture of traditional, doo-wop and barbershop quartet songs in New York clubs in the late '60s. Their first recording was as backing singers on Paul Simon's 1972 album, THERE GOES RHYMIN' SIMON. Through Simon, the duo recorded an album for CBS in 1975 which attracted little attention. The following year, the Roches became a trio with the addition of the distinctive voice of younger sister Suzzy (b. New York City, New York, USA) to Terre's soprano and Maggie's deep alto. With Maggie's compositions, by turns whimsical and waspish, featuring strongly they became firm favourites on New York's folk club scene. A Warner Brothers recording deal followed and Robert Fripp produced the self-titled album, which included compositions by each of the sisters and remains their strongest recording. Among the many lyrical extravaganzas were Maggie's best-known song of infidelity The Married Men (later covered by Phoebe Snow), Terre's poignant and autobiographical Runs In The Family and We, the trio's a cappella opening number at live performances. The highly commercial Hammond Song was arguably the star track (featuring a fine Fripp solo). NURDS another Fripp production featured the extraordinary One Season wherein the trio manage to sing harmony almost a cappella but totally (and deliberately) out of tune. (Harmony vocalists will appreciate that this is extremely difficult). KEEP ON DOING, maintained a high standard including a refreshing burst of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus and Maggie's tragic love song Losing You. If the Roches ever had strong desires on the charts ANOTHER WORLD was potentially the album to do it. Featuring a full rock-based sound this remains an undiscovered gem including the glorious title track and a cover of the Fleetwoods' Come Softly To Me. Throughout the '80s, the Roches continued to perform in New York and appeared occasionally at European folk festivals. They also wrote and performed music for theatre productions and the 1988 film Crossing Delancy. SPEAK went largely unnoticed in 1989. Their next album was a memorable Christmas gift, THREE KINGS. Containing traditional yuletide songs and carols it displayed clearly the Roches' exceptional harmony. A DOVE in 1992 featured the Ing Song a brilliant lyrical exercise with every word ending with ing. They remain a highly original unit with a loyal cult following.