The Roches

The three Roche sisters—Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy—stood out among contemporary folk performers thanks to their rich vocal blends, eccentric compositions, and broad musical versatility. During their childhood in New York in the closing years of the 1950s and the opening of the 1960s, the sisters formed a singing group and performed Christmas carols on city streets for seasonal crowds. Towards the close of the 1960s, the two elder sisters, Maggie and Terre, abandoned their studies to launch a professional touring career as a pair. They crossed paths with Paul Simon in 1970, resulting in an invitation to provide backing vocals for his album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. Simon further assisted in securing a Columbia Records deal, leading to the release of their first album, Seductive Reasoning, in 1975, which attracted little attention. The sisters briefly contemplated exiting the industry altogether and relocated from New York to Louisiana for a period; upon returning to the north, Suzzy discontinued her college education to become a permanent member. Reunited as a three-piece, the Roches established themselves as regulars in the Greenwich Village folk scene and earned praise from area reviewers. Warner Bros. signed them in 1979 for a self-titled album under Robert Fripp's guidance, which drew praise for the group's precise harmonies blending Terre's light high tones, Maggie's deep near-baritone, and Suzzy's flexible middle range. Although Phoebe Snow achieved success covering "The Married Men," the album The Roches failed to chart significantly. Shifting their approach on the 1980 release Nurds, the sisters incorporated a rock rhythm section that included ex-Television bassist Fred Smith and Jay Dee Daugherty, formerly of the Patti Smith Group. Robert Fripp came back to helm the mostly acoustic Keep on Doing in 1982, which included guest appearances by King Crimson musicians. Neither this record nor the subsequent 1985 album Another World achieved commercial viability, prompting the group to depart Warner and resume live performances. They reemerged in 1989 with Speak on MCA, receiving familiar critical approval but limited commercial results. We Three Kings, released in 1990, served as a Christmas record that evoked the family's early holiday singing traditions. Following A Dove in 1992, they exited MCA to produce the children's record Will You Be My Friend?, which appeared on Baby Boom in 1994. In the same year, they continued appealing to children by creating the score for the animated film The Land Before Time II. Rykodisc became their label for Can We Go Home Now in 1995, with their brother David contributing additional vocals. The Roches declared a temporary split in early 1997. Maggie stayed out of the spotlight, while Terre launched Terre Roche & Her Moodswings, and Suzzy put out her debut solo album Holy Smokes later that year. Rhino/Warner Bros. put out the compilation Collected Works of the Roches in 2003, which encouraged the sisters to reunite following an 11-year break and create the well-received Moonswept in 2007. Afterward, their performances occurred infrequently, until Maggie Roche passed away from cancer in January 2017, ten years later.