Biography
Susie Allanson approached country singing with a youthful, softly spoken tone and dramatic phrasing instead of a traditional country delivery. Her stage career opened with the touring company of Hair in 1970, followed a year later by an 18-month run with Jesus Christ Superstar that included vocals on the U.S. cast album and an appearance in the film. In 1975 she relocated to Southern California to audition for Ray Ruff’s bicentennial project; Ruff subsequently became her husband and manager. ABC issued her debut album, which featured the single “Love Is a Satisfied Woman”/“Me & Charlie Brown.” The next single, “Baby Don't Keep Me Hangin' On,” brought a contract with Curb Records, which assumed promotion and guided the track into the Top 30. Her sophomore album, We Belong Together, delivered two hits—the title track and her version of Buddy Holly’s “Maybe Baby”—that reached numbers two and four on the charts. Elektra signed her in 1979 and released Heart to Heart, whose major singles were “Words” and “Two Steps Forward and Three Steps Back.” United Artists/Liberty issued the 1980 album Susie, which produced only minor chart entries and proved to be her final released LP. Two 1981 singles, the Bobby Vinton cover “Run to Her” and “Love Is Knockin' at My Door,” both entered the Top 50, yet the accompanying album Sleepless Nights never appeared. Motherhood occupied most of the 1980s, though she returned briefly in 1987 with the Los Angeles indie TNP singles “Where’s the Fire”/“Can't Say It on the Radio” and “She Don't Love You”/“Girls Get Lonely Too.”
Albums