When I tell people about the musical group The Roches, a lot of people hear “The Roaches” and imagine, perhaps, some particularly grungy punk rockers.
So there was a little murmur of surprise on Christmas day when a couple people unwrapped The Roches’ Christmas CD, We Three Kings. What must that sound like?
Actually, The Roches are three sisters, Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche. Here they are, doing an a cappella version of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.
If you like that, there’s plenty more on their site. Only a little bit of it is Christmas music.
kurt nishimura | 27-Dec-06 at 8:34 pm | Permalink
THE ROCHES SIGN WITH 429 RECORDS
New Recording “Moonswept†Released March 20, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—Santa Monica, CA: 429 Records, a unit of the Savoy Label Group, is proud to announce the signing of legendary vocal trio, The Roches. Maggie Roche, Terre Roche and Suzzy Roche have reunited and recorded all new songs for their March 20th release, “MOONSWEPT.†28 years after their debut album, “The Roches†introduced listeners to a wonderful sound of swirling harmonies, quirky songwriting and sublime melodies, The Roches prove with “MOONSWEPT†why they remain one of contemporary folk music’s most endearing artists. In addition to the new project, The Roches will embark on a national tour in March ’07 and have recorded “Acadian Driftwood†for the 429 Records’ release “Endless Highway: The Music of The Band.â€
Renowned for their off-kilter folk-pop songs delivered with their signature blend of sublime singing and poetic charm, The Roches started performing together while growing up in New York during the 1950s, taking to the streets each holiday season to regale passersby. Each of the songwriting sisters has her own distinct musical talents, but together they blend their voices to create a single instrument of harmonic beauty, whether singing Handel a cappella or a song of their own creation. In the late 1960s, Maggie (the oldest) with a contralto voice and Terre (the middle sister) with a soprano range quit school to begin touring professionally. After meeting Paul Simon in 1970, the sisters were later tapped to sing backup on his hit album, “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon†(1973), which reached number two on the Billboard Pop Album chart. Suzzy, who fills in the middle range to complete the trio, joined the group full-time in the mid-1970s and The Roches quickly became a staple of the Greenwich Village folk circuit. Since their acclaimed 1979 self-titled debut was named “Record of the Year†by The New York Times, The Roches have spawned scores of imitators with their eclectic approach to music, fusing every possible genre from a cappella barbershop harmonies and church choir to traditional Irish folk and American pop, rock and country.
MOONSWEPT was produced by Stewart Lerman and The Roches. All vocal arrangements and singing on MOONSWEPT by The Roches with a special appearance by Lucy Roche on vocals on “Long Before.â€
Track listing for MOONSWEPT:
1) Huh
2) Only You Know How
3) No Shoes
4) Moonswept
5) Family of Bones
6) The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane
7) Long Before
8) Piggy Mask
9) Us Little Kids
10) Stop Performing
11) Gung Ho
12) Instead I Chose
13) September 11th At The Shambala Center
14) Jesus Shaves
429 Records is a unit of the Savoy Label Group (SLG). SLG is the North American unit of Columbia Music Entertainment (formerly Nippon Columbia), the oldest music company in Japan. Headed by Chairman Strauss Zelnick, Columbia Music Entertainment has re-emerged as a significant creative force with a stable of newly signed platinum-selling artists. SLG is one of the most successful marketers of adult music in the U.S. and focuses on classical, jazz, new age, world and adult alternative genres.
Contact:
Kurt Nishimura
SILVERLAKE MEDIA
213/321-5033
kurtnishimura@earthlink.net