Suzi put out her first solo album at the age of 23, after having played bass with her sisters in a girl garage band for many years. When she went solo, she was bad ass. Dressed in black leather, with shaggy seventies hair, playing a bass guitar about the same size as her, and growling along with the best of the guys... Suzi was who inspired Joan Jett and many other of the riot girls who came along a decade or so after her.
Unfortunately, Suzi didn't write most of her own hits, the guys who were writing for the Sweet took care of that. Hence her macho bubblegum power rock, which she delivered with as much bravado as any guy. She was also fond of doing covers and not switching the pronouns to fit her sex, only increasing the speculation about her own sexuality. (By the way, her husband was in the band, but this fact was overlooked at the time.) She was a glam alley cat armed with a bass, attitude and tough rocker delivery. She ruled.
And then she went on "Happy Days" and played Leather Tuscadero, bringing the tough chick act to the airwaves. Love it. She still does stuff today, but I like to remember her in skin tight leather pants, rockin' her bass and growling "Your mama won't like me!" into a mike the same size as her head. You go, girl.
