Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Nadine Vega was born on July 11, 1959, in Santa Monica, California.{{Citation |last=Huey |first=Steve |title=Suzanne Vega Biography |newspaper=AllMusic |publisher=Rovi Corporation |url={{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p5751/biography |pure_url=yes}} |access-date=April 30, 2010}} Her parents divorced soon after her birth.{{cite news |last=Curtis |first=Kim |title=Softer, earthier Vega releases new album |newspaper=Reading Eagle |publisher=Reading Eagle Company |date=September 28, 2001 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2fghAAAAIBAJ&pg=2114,7530185 |access-date=April 30, 2010}} Her mother, Pat Vega (née Schumacher), is a computer systems analyst of German-Swedish heritage. Her father, Richard Peck, is of English, Irish and Scottish origin.{{Cite web |last=Vega |first=Suzanne |date=2008-09-24 |title=Tom's Essay |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/toms-essay/ |access-date=2024-08-21 |website=Opinionator |language=en}} Her stepfather, Edgardo Vega Yunqué, also known as Ed Vega, was a writer and teacher from Puerto Rico.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.suzannevega.com/about/1987/creem.htm |title=Suzanne And The (Un)Common Folk |first=Mark |last=Jenkins |date=August 1987 |magazine=Creem |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506195730/http://www.suzannevega.com/about/1987/creem.htm |archive-date=May 6, 2006}} When Vega was two and a half, her family moved to New York City. She grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side.{{cite web |url=http://www.suzannevega.com/suzanne/biography/detailed.aspx |title=Suzanne Vega: A Life in Music |publisher=Official Community of Suzanne Vega |access-date=May 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080419032844/http://www.suzannevega.com/suzanne/biography/detailed.aspx |archive-date=April 19, 2008}} She was not aware that Peck was her biological father until she was nine years old. Vega and Peck met for the first time in her late 20s, and they remain in contact.

She attended the High School of Performing Arts{{cite book |title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music |editor=Colin Larkin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |publisher=Virgin Books |date=1997 |edition=Concise |isbn=1-85227-745-9 |page=1215}} (since renamed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School) where she studied modern dance and graduated in 1977.

While majoring in English literature at Barnard College,{{cite web |url=http://www.suzannevega.com/suzanne/biography/brief.aspx |title=Biography |work=Official Community of Suzanne Vega |access-date=May 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080430145005/http://www.suzannevega.com/suzanne/biography/brief.aspx |archive-date=April 30, 2008}} she performed in small venues in Greenwich Village, where she was a regular contributor to Jack Hardy's Monday night songwriters' group at the Cornelia Street Cafe and had some of her first songs published on Fast Folk anthology albums.[https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/suzannevega/albums/album/109285] {{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In 1984, she received a major label recording contract, making her one of the first 'Fast Folk' artists to break out on a major label.

Vega's self-titled debut studio album was released in 1985 and was well received by critics in the U.S.; it reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. Produced by Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo, the songs feature Vega's acoustic guitar in straightforward arrangements. A video was released for the album's song "Marlene on the Wall", which went into MTV and VH1's rotations. During this period Vega also wrote lyrics for two songs ("Lightning" and "Freezing") on Songs from Liquid Days (1986) by composer Philip Glass.{{Cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Holden |date=April 20, 1986 |title=Philip Glass Turns to the Song |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/20/arts/philip-glass-turns-to-the-song.html |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York, NY |access-date=July 12, 2016}}

Vega's song "Left of Center" co-written with Steve Addabbo for the 1986 John Hughes film Pretty in Pink reached No. 32 on the UK Singles Chart in 1986.Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 584. {{ISBN|1-904994-10-5}}.

Her next studio album, Solitude Standing (1987), garnered critical and commercial success, selling over one million copies in the U.S.{{cite web |url=http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database |title=RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – June 23, 2015 |work=Riaa.com |publisher=RIAA}} It includes the international hit single "Luka", which is written about, and from the point of view of, an abused child. (Not until many years later did Vega reveal the song dealt with the abuse she herself had suffered from her stepfather.{{Cite web|url=https://www.njarts.net/suzanne-vega-takes-her-new-york-songs-and-stories-on-the-road/|title=Suzanne Vega takes her 'New York Songs and Stories' on the road|first=Cindy|last=Stagoff|website=Njarts.net|date=August 25, 2021}}) While continuing a focus on Vega's acoustic guitar, the music of her second album is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller arrangements. Following the success of the album, in 1989 Vega became the first female artist to headline the Glastonbury Festival.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/6b208267-d9dd-4bf8-b9b4-9f8573c00455 |title=A brief history of female headliners at Glastonbury - BBC Music |date=March 23, 2016 |website=Bbc.co.uk}} Vega performed her set whilst wearing a bulletproof vest, her band having received death threats from an obsessed fan ahead of the festival.

The acappella "Tom's Diner" from Solitude Standing became a hit in 1990, having been remixed by two British dance producers under the name DNA. The track was originally a bootleg, until Vega allowed DNA to release it through her record company, and it became her biggest hit.

Vega's third studio album, Days of Open Hand (1990), continued in the style of her first two studio albums.

In 1992, she released her fourth studio album {{proper name|99.9F°}}, which mixed folk and pop music with electronic elements.{{cite web | last=Chiu | first=David | title=Suzanne Vega Talks About '99.9F°' Turning 25 and Her New Carson McCullers Play | website=HuffPost | date=September 8, 2017 | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/suzanne-vega-talks-about-999f-turning-25-and-her_b_59b26530e4b0c50640cd6673 | access-date=April 27, 2024}} This record was awarded Gold status by the RIAA in recognition of selling over 500,000 copies in the U.S. The single "Blood Makes Noise" from this album peaked at number-one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. Vega later married the album's producer, Mitchell Froom.

Her fifth studio album, Nine Objects of Desire, was released in 1996. The music varies between a frugal, simple style and the industrial production of {{proper name|99.9F°}}. This album contains "Caramel", featured in the movie The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996), and later the trailer for the movie Closer (2004). A song not included on that album, "Woman on the Tier", was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Dead Man Walking (1996).

In 1997 she took a singing part on the concept album Heaven & Hell, a musical interpretation of the seven deadly sins by her colleague Joe Jackson, with whom she had already collaborated in 1986 on "Left of Center" from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack (with Vega singing and Jackson playing piano).{{Cite news |last=Morse |first=Steve |date=September 5, 1997 |title=Stepping Out: Pop star turned classical composer, Joe Jackson takes on the Seven Deadly Sins |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5870313/santa_cruz_sentinel/ |newspaper=Santa Cruz Sentinel |location=Santa Cruz, CA |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=July 12, 2016}} {{Open access}}

In 1999, Avon Books published Vega's book The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings of Suzanne Vega, a volume of poems, lyrics, essays and journalistic pieces.{{Cite news |last=Gewertz |first=Daniel |date=February 24, 1999 |title=Vega has 'Eye' for passionate poetry |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-57107504.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911025256/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-57107504.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 11, 2016 |newspaper=The Boston Herald |location=Boston, MA |access-date=June 28, 2016}}

File:Suzanne Vega Barcelona 2008.jpgIn September 2001, Vega released a new studio album entitled Songs in Red and Gray. Three songs deal with Vega's divorce from her first husband, Mitchell Froom.

At the memorial concert for her brother Tim Vega in December 2002, Vega began her role as the subject of the direct-cinema documentary, Some Journey, directed by Christopher Seufert of Mooncusser Films. The documentary has not been completed.

Underground hip hop duo Felt named a track "Suzanne Vega" on their studio album Felt: A Tribute to Christina Ricci, released in 2002.{{cite web |url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/16417072 |title=A Tribute To Christina Ricci |website=Listen.tidal.com}}

In 2003, the 21-song greatest hits compilation album Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega was released. (The UK version of Retrospective included an eight-song bonus CD as well as a DVD containing 12 songs). In the same year she was invited by Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist Bill Frisell to play at the Century of Song concerts at the famed Ruhrtriennale in Germany.

In 2003, she hosted the American Public Media radio series American Mavericks, about 20th century American composers, which received the Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.{{Cite news |date=April 2, 2004 |title=Nuclear weapons, affirmative action works awarded |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5870588/the_gettysburg_times/ |newspaper=The Gettysburg Times |location=Gettysburg, PA |agency=AP |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=July 12, 2016}} {{Open access}}{{cite web |url=http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/ |title=American Mavericks |date=2016 |publisher=American Public Media |website=Publicradio.org |access-date=July 12, 2016}}

On August 3, 2006, Vega became the first major recording artist to perform live in the Internet-based virtual world, Second Life. The event was hosted by John Hockenberry of public radio's The Infinite Mind.

On September 17, 2006, she performed in Central Park, as part of a benefit concert for the Save Darfur Coalition.{{cite web |url=http://www.ajws.org/who_we_are/news/archives/features/thousands_rally_for_darfur_.html |title=American Jewish World Service |publisher=Ajws.org |access-date=October 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005173149/http://ajws.org/who_we_are/news/archives/features/thousands_rally_for_darfur_.html |archive-date=October 5, 2011}} During the concert she highlighted her support for Amnesty International, of which she has been a member since 1988.[https://archive.today/20061111154549/http://www.suzannevega.com/bySuzanne/childhoodStolen.htm The Official Suzanne Vega Website .::. By Suzanne: Articles, Poetry and Essays]. Web.archive.org (November 11, 2006). Retrieved on May 7, 2011.

In early October 2006, Vega participated in the Academia Film Olomouc (AFO) in Olomouc, the Czech Republic, the oldest festival of documentary films in Europe, in which she appeared as a main guest. She was invited there as the subject of the documentary film by director Christopher Seufert, that had a test screening at the festival. At the end of the festival she performed her classic songs and added one brand new piece called "New York Is a Woman".

Vega is also interviewed in the book Everything Is Just a Bet which was published in Czech in October 2006. The book contains 12 interview transcriptions from the talk show called Stage Talks that regularly runs in the Švandovo divadlo (Švandovo Theatre) in Prague. Vega introduced the book to the audience of the Švandovo divadlo (Švandovo Theatre), and together with some other Czech celebrities gave a signing session.

She signed a new recording contract with Blue Note Records in the spring of 2006, and released Beauty & Crime on July 17, 2007. The album, produced by Jimmy Hogarth, won a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Her contract was not renewed and she was released in June 2008.[http://www.suzannevega.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?4160/5619] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

In 2007, Vega followed the lead of numerous other mainstream artists and released her track "Pornographer's Dream" as podsafe. The song spent two weeks at number-one during 2007 and finished as the No. 11{{cite web |last=Doelle |first=Chris |url=http://www.podmusiccountdown.com/archives/2008/01/pmc_top10_01040.html |title=PMC Top10–010408 – Top Hits of 2007!!! |publisher=PMC Top10 |date=January 5, 2008 |access-date=April 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325200052/http://www.podmusiccountdown.com/archives/2008/01/pmc_top10_01040.html |archive-date=March 25, 2008}} hit of the year on the PMC Top10's annual countdown. In 2015, Vega joined The 14th Annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.{{cite web |url=http://www.independentmusicawards.com/judges |title=Independent Music Awards |publisher=Independent Music Awards |access-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-date=May 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530072703/http://www.independentmusicawards.com/judges |url-status=dead}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.hotelscombined.com/TrafficInspection/e88896b0-e382-11e9-8769-6b68405947ab?requestUrl=%2F%3Fa_aid%3D219239&PxVid=&PxAction=c&PxMobile=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509003804/http://miccontrolblog.com/2009/05/27/the-independent-music-awards-announces-judges-for-9th-annual-imas/ |url-status=dead |title=Compare & Save on Cheap Hotel Deals |archive-date=May 9, 2015 |website=HotelsCombined.com}}

{{cite web |url=http://top40-charts.com/news/Charts-Awards/She-&-Him-The-Black-Keys-Mark-Hoppus-Aimee-Mann-And-Bettye-LaVette-Join-Judging-Panel-For-The-9th-Annual-Independent-Music-Awards/48785.html |title=Top40-Charts.com |publisher=Top40-Charts.com |access-date=October 18, 2011}} She was also a judge for the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Independent Music Awards.{{cite web |url=http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp |title=Independent Music Awards – Past Judges |publisher=Independentmusicawards.com |access-date=October 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713024722/http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp |archive-date=July 13, 2011}}

In 2008, fire at a Universal Music Group vault in Los Angeles County resulted in the loss or damage of some Vega recordings.{{cite magazine |last1=Blistein |first1=Jon |title=UMG Acknowledges Elton John, Nirvana, Beck Recordings Were Lost or Damaged in Vault Fire |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/elton-john-nirvana-beck-recordings-universal-vault-fire-lost-952850/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=February 14, 2020 |date=February 14, 2020}}

File:Suzanne Vega at Union Chapel, London 2015.jpg, London, 2015, improvising by using the pulpit]]A partial cover version of her song "Tom's Diner" was used to introduce the 2010 British movie 4.3.2.1., with its lyrics largely rewritten to echo the plot. This musical hybrid was released as "Keep Moving". Vega participated in the Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse studio album Dark Night of the Soul (2010). She wrote both melody and lyrics for her song, which is titled "Man Who Played God", inspired by a biography of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. Vega sang lead vocals on the song "Now I Am an Arsonist" with singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton on his studio album, Artificial Heart (2011).

Vega has re-recorded her back-catalogue,[http://www.suzannevega.com/suzanne/brief-bio-2007/ Suzanne Vega | Brief Bio 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108135728/http://www.suzannevega.com/suzanne/brief-bio-2007/ |date=January 8, 2011 }}. Suzannevega.com. Retrieved on May 7, 2011. both for artistic and commercial (and control) reasons,{{cite web |url=http://mbbarton.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/suzanne-vegas-close-up-series-more-than-meets-the-eye/ |title=Suzanne Vega's Close-Up series more than meets the eye |date=March 17, 2010 |publisher=Mbbarton.wordpress.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720075436/http://mbbarton.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/suzanne-vegas-close-up-series-more-than-meets-the-eye/ |archive-date=July 20, 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.spinner.com/2011/11/04/suzanne-vega-close-up-vol-3/ |title=Suzanne Vega Proudly Embraces Her Role as 'The Mother of the MP3' |author=Theo Spielberg |date=November 4, 2011 |publisher=spinner.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104182701/http://www.spinner.com/2011/11/04/suzanne-vega-close-up-vol-3/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2011}} in the Close-up series. Vol. 1 (Love Songs) and Vol. 2 (People & Places) appeared in 2010 while Vol. 3 (States of Being) was released in July 2011[https://twitter.com/suzyv/status/69980135352315904 Twitter / Suzanne Vega: Vol 3 of Close-Up coming out in July of this year – States of Being]. Twitter.com. Retrieved on May 24, 2011. followed by Vol. 4 (Songs of Family) in September 2012. Volumes 2, 3 and 4 of the Close-Up albums included previously unrecorded material; Volumes 2 and 3 each included one new collaboratively written song, while Volume 4 included three songs that Vega had written years earlier, but had not previously gotten around to recording. In all, Vega's Close-Up series features 60 re-recorded songs and five new compositions, representing about three-quarters of her lifetime songwriting output.

While performing live, Vega and long-term collaborator Gerry Leonard began to introduce a number of new songs into the setlist, including the live favorite "I Never Wear White". Over the course of a year, the songs were completed and recorded in a live-studio setting with the help of a number of guests. Produced by Leonard, Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles was released in February 2014.[http://www.ishtarmusic.com/detail.aspx?id=960 "Ishtar Press-release] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306174838/http://www.ishtarmusic.com/detail.aspx?id=960 |date=March 6, 2014 }} Announcement headliner for the Festival Antigel in Geneva, February 15, 2014 It was her first album of new material in seven years and became Vega's first studio album to reach the UK Top 40 since 1992, peaking at No. 37.

Vega's ninth studio album, Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, was released on October 14, 2016.{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2016/07/06/suzanne-vegas-we-of-me-carson-mccullers/ |title=Hear Suzanne Vega's New Song 'We of Me' From Her Upcoming Album Inspired by Writer Carson McCullers (Exclusive) |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 6, 2016 |access-date=July 30, 2016 |author=Ayers, Mike}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nimbitmusic.com/suzannevega.1/#loverbeloved |title=Suzanne Vega Lover, Beloved: Songs From An Evening With Carson McCullers |publisher=Nimbit |access-date=October 14, 2016 |archive-date=October 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001003835/http://www.nimbitmusic.com/suzannevega.1#loverbeloved |url-status=dead}}

In February and March 2023, Vega was to tour the UK.{{cite web | url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/suzanne-vega-announces-2023-winter-uk-tour-get-tickets-here-3252715 | title=Suzanne Vega announces 2023 winter UK tour | website=NME | date=June 21, 2022 }}

On May 2, 2025, Vega released the album "Flying With Angels".{{cite web | url=https://www.discogs.com/release/33891507-Suzanne-Vega-Flying-With-Angels |title=Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels }}

At the age of nine she began to write poetry. She was encouraged to do so by her stepfather. It took her three years to write her first song, "Brother Mine", which was finished at the age of 14.{{cite interview |url=http://americansongwriter.com/2012/10/suzanne-vega/ |title=Suzanne Vega |date=October 1, 2012 |access-date=October 18, 2016 |last=Vega |first=Suzanne |interviewer=Schlansky, Evan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019074932/http://americansongwriter.com/2012/10/suzanne-vega/ |archive-date=October 19, 2016 |url-status=dead}} It was first published on Close-Up Vol. 4, Songs of Family (2012), along with her other early song, "The Silver Lady".{{cite web |url=http://www.sodajerker.com/episode-49-suzanne-vega/ |title=Episode 49 – Suzanne Vega |publisher=Sodajerker |date=November 27, 2013 |access-date=October 18, 2016 |last1=Barber |first1=Simon |last2=O'Connor |first2=Brian}}

Vega has not learned to read musical notation; she sees the melody as a shape and chords as colors. She focuses on lyrics and melodic ideas; for advanced features – like intros or bridges – she relies on other artists with whom she works. Most of her albums, except the first one, were made in such cooperation.{{cite web |url=http://www.slugmag.com/music-features/a-melody-a-chord-a-lyric-a-conversation-with-suzanne-vega/ |title=A Melody – A Chord – A Lyric: A Conversation with Suzanne Vega |publisher=SLUG Magazine |date=March 17, 2015 |access-date=August 2, 2016 |author=O Hillis, Dean}}

Vega finishes 80% of the songs she starts writing. She got the melody of "Tom's Diner" while walking down Broadway in New York. She was thinking of French New Wave films.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D99PhzEIWuA | title=Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner | Het verhaal achter het nummer | website=YouTube | date=July 23, 2020 }}

The most important artistic influences on her work come from Lou Reed, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Some other important artists for her are Paul Simon and Laura Nyro.

Suzanne Vega currently plays Furch guitars, a brand made in the Czech Republic{{cite web |last1=Dickson |first1=James |title=Suzanne Vega: "I love the acoustic guitar – I always have. I love the sound of it. I love playing it. I love the look of it. I love everything about it" |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/suzanne-vega-an-evening-of-new-york-songs-and-stories |website=Guitarist / GuitarWorld |date=November 18, 2022 |publisher=Future Publishing |access-date=20 May 2023}} and was the focus of a win-a-guitar competition run by Furch in 2021.{{cite web |title=Get to jamming on Suzanne Vega! |url=https://furchguitars.com/en/jamwithsuzanne/ |website=Furch Guitars |access-date=20 May 2023}} In the mid-1980s she played Guild guitars,Liner notes, Solitude Standing, 1987 and in the 1990s she played Yamaha and Taylor guitars at different times.

Vega and Duncan Sheik wrote a play Carson McCullers Talks About Love, about the life of the writer Carson McCullers. In the play directed by Kay Matschullat, which premiered in 2011, Vega alternates between monologue and songs.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/theater/suzanne-vegas-carson-mccullers-talks-about-love.html?_r=2 |title=Suzanne Vega's 'Carson McCullers Talks About Love' |author=Alan Light |date=April 27, 2011 |newspaper=NYTimes.com |access-date=May 26, 2011}}{{cite news |url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/theater/reviews/suzanne-vegas-carson-mccullers-talks-about-love-review.html |title=The Alienated Souls Whisperer |author=Charles Isherwood |date=May 5, 2011 |newspaper=NYTimes.com |access-date=May 27, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/news/05-2011/carson-mccullers-talks-about-love_36840.html |title=Carson McCullers Talks About Love |author=Dan Bacalzo |date=May 6, 2011 |publisher=TheaterMania.com |access-date=May 27, 2011}} Vega and Sheik were nominated for Outstanding Music in a Play for the 57th annual Drama Desk awards.{{cite web |url=http://www.dramadeskawards.com/2012-nominees.html |title=2012 Nominees – 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards |publisher=Dramadeskawards.com |access-date=September 7, 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816020115/http://www.dramadeskawards.com/2012-nominees.html |archive-date=August 16, 2012}}

The album Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, based on this play, was released in 2016. Vega considers it to be a third version, because it's rewritten, and she made the first version in college.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/09/suzanne-vega-interview-carson-mccullers-lover-beloved |title=Suzanne Vega: 'It's taken me a while to say, You are what you are, it's fine' |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=October 18, 2016 |author=Anthony, Andrew}}

In early 2020, Vega played the role of "Band Leader" in an off-Broadway musical based on the 1969 movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, directed by Scott Elliott and produced at The New Group in New York City. She replaced Sheik, who wrote the show's music and co-wrote the lyrics with Amanda Green.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2020/01/suzanne-vega-off-broadway-bob-carol-ted-alice-duncan-sheik-1202825026/ |title=Suzanne Vega Adds Name To Off Broadway's 'Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice' Cast |author=Greg Evans |date=January 8, 2020 |newspaper=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=June 28, 2020}} In his review for The New York Times, critic Ben Brantley called the "brandy-voiced" Vega "a delightful, smoothly sardonic presence."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/theater/bob-carol-ted-alice-review.html |title='Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice' Review: Four on a Mattress, With Songs |author=Ben Brantley |date=February 4, 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 28, 2020}}

Vega established her own recording label after the 2008 financial crisis. From that point, she stopped working for Blue Note Records and started thinking about re-recording her back catalog with new arrangements and gaining control over her works (which she eventually did with the 2014 Close-Up Series).

The name "Amanuensis Productions" was meant as a private joke about "servant" (amanuensis) owning the "masters" (recording masters), also a pun at A&M still legally owning her previous master tapes.

Running the label proved to be harder than she expected. In 2015, it barely "broke even", but new licenses were coming for "Tom's Diner".{{cite web |url=http://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/interview-suzanne-vega/23717 |title=Interview: Suzanne Vega |publisher=Songwriting |date=May 14, 2015 |access-date=August 2, 2016 |author=Deeks, Russell}}

On March 17, 1995, Vega married Mitchell Froom, a musician and a record producer (who played on and produced {{proper name|99.9F°}} and Nine Objects of Desire). They have a daughter, Ruby Froom (born July 8, 1994). The alternative rock band Soul Coughing's debut studio album Ruby Vroom (1994) was named for her, with Vega's approval.{{cite web |url=http://www.suzannevega.com/suzanne/funfacts/music.aspx |title=Fun Facts Music |publisher=Official Community of Suzanne Vega |access-date=August 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080515164214/http://www.suzannevega.com/suzanne/funfacts/music.aspx |archive-date=May 15, 2008}} Vega and Froom separated and divorced in 1998.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

On February 11, 2006, Vega married Paul Mills, a lawyer and poet, "22 years after he first proposed to her."{{cite web |title=The Official Suzanne Vega website |publisher=Suzanne Vega |date=May 6, 2006 |url=http://www.suzannevega.com/ |access-date=December 22, 2010 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20120130173000/http://www.suzannevega.com/ |archive-date=January 30, 2012}}

Beginning in 2010, Ruby has occasionally performed with her mother on tour.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdaRH_fyYA0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/zdaRH_fyYA0 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live |title=Suzanne Vega and Ruby Froom at the City Winery 06-May-2010 |date=May 30, 2010 |publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU3Kd57XnF4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/rU3Kd57XnF4 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live |title=Mother & Daughter Vega |date=May 7, 2010 |publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/suzyv/statuses/23906685160521728 |title=Ruby singing with me tonight |website=Twitter |date=January 8, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.suzannevega.com/latest-suzanne-vega-newsletter-november-17-2014 |title=Suzanne Vega and Ruby Froom at Joe's Pub in NYC on November 14, 2014 |website=Suzannevega.com |access-date=November 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227093337/http://www.suzannevega.com/latest-suzanne-vega-newsletter-november-17-2014/ |archive-date=February 27, 2015 |url-status=dead}}

Vega practices Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of the American branch of the worldwide Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International.{{cite web |title=SGI-USA Members in New York Celebrate Spring |publisher=Soka Gakkai International |date=February 2008 |url=http://www.sgi.org/news/events/events2008/events080405.html |access-date=October 19, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020141406/http://www.sgi.org/news/events/events2008/events080405.html |archive-date=October 20, 2013}}

{| class=wikitable

|-

! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result

|-

| 1985

| rowspan=8| Billboard Music Awards

| rowspan=5| Herself

| rowspan=2| Top Billboard 200 Artist - Female{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT101 |title=Billboard|date=December 28, 1985 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |access-date=April 27, 2020 |via=Google Books}}{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA21 |title=Billboard |date=December 26, 1987 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |access-date=April 27, 2020 |via=Google Books}}

| {{nom}}

|-

| rowspan=8| 1987

| {{nom}}

|-

| Top Billboard 200 Artist

| {{nom}}

|-

| Top Hot 100 Artist

| {{nom}}

|-

| Top Hot 100 Artist - Female

| {{nom}}

|-

| rowspan=2| Solitude Standing

| Top Billboard 200 Album

| {{nom}}

|-

| Top Pop Compact Disk

| {{nom}}

|-

| "Luka"

| Top Hot 100 Song

| {{nom}}

|-

| NME Awards

| rowspan="2" | Herself

| Best Female Singer

| {{won}}

|-

| rowspan="8" | 1988

| Pollstar Concert Industry Awards

| Small Hall Tour of the Year

| {{nom}}

|-

| ASCAP Pop Music Awards

| rowspan="7" | "Luka"

| Most Performed Song{{cite web |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1988/BB-1988-06-04.pdf#page=5 |format=PDF |title=Billboard |date=June 4, 1988 |website=Worldradiohistory.com |access-date=March 3, 2022}}

| {{won}}

|-

| rowspan="3" | MTV Video Music Awards

| Best Female Video

| {{won}}

|-

| Breakthrough Video

| {{nom}}

|-

| Best Cinematography

| {{nom}}

|-

| rowspan="5" | Grammy Awards

| Song of the Year

| {{nom}}

|-

| Record of the Year

| {{nom}}

|-

| Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

| {{nom}}

|-

| rowspan="2" | 1990

| rowspan="2" | Days of Open Hand

| Best Contemporary Folk Recording

| {{nom}}

|-

| Best Album Package

| {{won}}

|-

| rowspan=1|1992

| Billboard Music Video Awards

| "Blood Makes Noise"

| Best Pop/Rock Female Video

| {{nom}}

|-

| rowspan=2|1993

| New York Music Awards

| {{proper name|99.9F°}}

| Best Rock Album

| {{won}}

|-

| Hit Awards (Hong Kong)

| rowspan=4|Herself

| Top Female Artist{{Cite web | archive-url=https://archive.today/20230321042512/https://www.scmp.com/article/42080/pop-war-hotting | url=https://www.scmp.com/article/42080/pop-war-hotting | archive-date=2023-03-21 | title=Pop 'war' hotting up | access-date=2024-08-16 | website=www.scmp.com| date=August 28, 1993 }}

| {{nom}}

|-

| 1996

| Žebřík Music Awards

| Best International Female{{cite web |url=https://www.anketazebrik.cz/historie/1996-1992/ |title=1996-1992 – Anketa Žebřík |website=Anketazebrik.cz}}

| {{nom}}

|-

| 2003

| Glamour Awards

| Woman of the Year

| {{won}}

|-

| 2004

| Peabody Awards

| Entertainment

| {{won}}

|-

| 2008

| Grammy Awards

| Beauty & Crime

| Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

| {{won}}

|-

| 2010

| New York Music Awards

| Close-Up Vol. 1, Love Songs

| Best Pop/Rock Compilation

| {{won}}

|-

| 2012

| Drama Desk Awards

| Carson McCullers Talks About Love

| Outstanding Music in a Play

| {{nom}}

{{end}}

{{Main|Suzanne Vega discography}}

Studio albums

• Suzanne Vega (1985)
• Solitude Standing (1987)
• Days of Open Hand (1990)
• {{proper name|99.9F°}} (1992)
• Nine Objects of Desire (1996)
• Songs in Red and Gray (2001)
• Beauty & Crime (2007)
• Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles (2014)
• Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers (2016)
• Flying with Angels (2025)

Live albums

• Live in London 1986 (1986)
• Sessions at West 54th (1997)
• Solitude Standing: Live at the Barbican (2013)
• Live at the Speakeasy (2014)
• An Evening of New York Songs and Stories (2020)

• The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writing of Suzanne Vega (1999) {{ISBN|9780380973538}}.

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• {{Official website|www.suzannevega.com}}
• {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000754251}}
• [https://suzannevega.bandcamp.com/ Suzanne Vega] at Bandcamp
• {{discogs artist}}
• {{IMDb name|id=0891916}}
• [https://themoth.org/storytellers/suzanne-vega Stories told by Suzanne Vega] at The Moth
• [http://pioneersforacure.org/artist/suzanne-vega/ Suzanne Vega recording of 'Streets of Laredo'] for Pioneers for a Cure

{{Suzanne Vega}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Suzanne}}

Category:1959 births

Category:A&M Records artists

Category:American women rock singers

Category:American women singer-songwriters

Category:American folk rock musicians

Category:American folk singers

Category:American people of German descent

Category:American people of Swedish descent

Category:American people of Irish descent

Category:American people of English descent

Category:American people of Scottish descent

Category:American rock guitarists

Category:Barnard College alumni

Category:Blue Note Records artists

Category:Fast Folk artists

Category:American feminist musicians

Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni

Category:Folk musicians from New York (state)

Category:Grammy Award winners

Category:Living people

Category:Members of Sōka Gakkai

Category:American Nichiren Buddhists

Category:Musicians from Santa Monica, California

Category:Singer-songwriters from California

Category:Singers from New York City

Category:American rock songwriters

Category:20th-century American women guitarists

Category:20th-century American guitarists

Category:21st-century American women guitarists

Category:21st-century American guitarists

Category:Guitarists from California

Category:Guitarists from New York City

Category:20th-century American women singers

Category:21st-century American women singers

Category:Musicians from Manhattan

Category:People from the Upper West Side

Category:People from East Harlem

Category:Cooking Vinyl artists

Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters

Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters

Category:Singer-songwriters from New York (state)

Category:21st-century American Buddhists