Meet the music legend

10 Nov 2015

Country music veteran Suzanne Prentice may be 56 years old with more 40 years in the music industry under her belt, but she shows no sign of slowing down.

Right now, Suzanne is preparing for a tour across Australia and New Zealand, putting finishing touches on her 41st album and even writing two children’s books.

According to Suzanne, the next album will feature some original songs, but most will be well-loved melodies that fans have enjoyed over the years.

“I go from Barbra Streisand to Burt Bacharach and Celine Dion to The Carpenters. They’re songs that people like to hear and immediately recognise that bring back memories. They’re a bit like me – an old classic, really!” she laughs.

Suzanne may have been catapulted into fame when she was discovered as a 12-year-old on a talent show in New Zealand, but she was actually a quiet, shy kid who would have preferred to be a backing vocalist. However, not long after, Suzanne’s debut album went gold in a few weeks. It was the first of many albums that would go gold, platinum and multi-platinum in the years to come.

In 1977, Suzanne’s handprints were immortalised at ‘The Hands of Fame’ in Tamworth, New South Wales and again in New Zealand. She also received an Order of the British Empire for her services to music, toured all over the world, singing for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh and performed with some of country music’s greatest legends.

“Ray Charles was great. He gave me two bits of advice. He was very funny,” recalls Suzanne. “He said: ‘You never want to worry about where your name sits on the billing for a show because if you’re good enough, it’ll be yours that people will remember and take home with them.’ The other piece of advice he gave me was a bit tongue-in-cheek: ‘The more money you charge, the better you’re looked after.’”

One of Suzanne’s favourite memories was when she performed at Wembley Stadium with several country legends, including Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. Unfortunately, when Suzanne turned up for rehearsal, she had no idea she was meant to have brought her own band. Thankfully, Tammy took the young Suzanne under her wing and said, “You can use my boys”.

“We all stayed in a swanky hotel and I was rehearsing in the hallway, with these famous people passing by and doing harmony for me, like Willie Nelson and Tammy,” says Suzanne. “They were the people I’ve looked up to for so many years and they were all there!”

“I feel like I’ve done so much and I’ve worked with so many great people and in some of the most famous theatres in the world. I’ve had a brilliant career. If something happened to me tomorrow, I’d look back and think, ‘How lucky was I?’”