The Roches


The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey.
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Career

In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie and middle sister Terre attended Park Ridge High School, but dropped out of school to tour as a duo. Maggie wrote most of the songs, with Terre contributing to a few. The sisters got a break when Paul Simon brought them in as backup singers on his 1973 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. They got his assistance on their only album as a duo, Seductive Reasoning.
Reviewing Seductive Reasoning in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies, Robert Christgau said, "Female singing duos must function as mutual support groups; last time a women's sensibility this assured, relaxed, and reflective made it to vinyl was Joy of Cooking. These folkies manque are a little flat here, a little arch there, but in general the shoe fits; no ideological feminism, but plenty of consciousness."
Later in the 1970s youngest sister Suzzy joined the group to form the Roches trio.
Around this time, they parlayed bartending jobs at the Greenwich Village folk venue Gerde's Folk City into stage appearances, an experience they commemorated in their song "Face Down at Folk City". There they met many of their future singing and songwriting collaborators. Terre was now writing songs as well, and by the time of their first album as a trio, The Roches, Suzzy had also begun writing. Robert Fripp produced the album. Maggie's "The Married Men" from this album was eventually to become the songwriting trio's biggest hit—not for them, but for Phoebe Snow. After Snow and Linda Ronstadt performed the song in a duet on Saturday Night Live, the Roches were invited to perform on the show a few months later in 1979 at Simon's behest. They did two songs, both unreleased at the time: "Bobby's Song" and "The Hallelujah Chorus".
Throughout the 1980s, the Roches continued to release their music to small audiences, little or no air play, and only modest record sales. In February 1981 the BBC broadcast a 40-minute performance in its series Rock Goes to College. A 1983 episode of the PBS concert series Soundstage was devoted to an hourlong performance by the trio, and they appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in November 1985, performing their song "Mr. Sellack". In 1990, they returned to their Christmas-caroling roots with the release of the 24-track We Three Kings, which included the a cappella "Star of Wonder", written by Terre. After another pop album, they recorded an entire album of children's songs, Will You Be My Friend?, featuring a song by brother David and various young backup singers, including Suzzy's daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche.
After a tour interrupted by the death of their father, the Roches released Can We Go Home Now, the last original recording they released as a trio until 2007.
In 1997, the sisters formally put their group on long-term hold. They continued to work on solo projects and often collaborated on albums and performances. Terre teaches guitar workshops and has released a solo album. Suzzy, who has acted on the stage and in several movies, released two of her own albums and two with Maggie, with whom she toured. All three sisters periodically participated in New York-area events. At the end of 2005, the three Roches reunited for a short but successful holiday tour. Several more appearances in the U.S. and Canada took place in 2006–07, and in March 2007, after a 12-year hiatus, the Roches released a new studio album, Moonswept. After the tour for Moonswept, the Roches announced that they would no longer be touring, but they continued to make isolated appearances individually and as a group, mostly in and around New York City.
On January 21, 2017, Maggie Roche died from breast cancer at the age of 65. In a statement on Facebook, Suzzy wrote that Maggie "was a private person, too sensitive and shy for this world, but brimming with life, love, and talent. She was smart, wickedly funny, and authentic — not a false bone in her body — a brilliant songwriter, with a distinct unique perspective, all heart and soul." She was survived by her partner Michael McCarthy and son Edward "Felix" McTeigue.

Family

Maggie Roche had an "unusual" contralto voice—"almost a baritone". Terre provided a soprano that bracketed the upper range of the sisters, while Suzzy filled in the middle range. While touring, the sisters accompanied themselves with guitars and keyboards, occasionally with additional musicians.
Terre Roche continues to perform publicly in New York City, and since 2016 she has led a "Sunset Singing Circle" at Battery Park in Manhattan under the auspices of the Parks Department.
Brother David is also a singer-songwriter with his own solo album, and often backed up the trio on their recordings. Maggie's son, Felix McTeigue, recorded three albums and was a producer for others. Suzzy's daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche, has also contributed vocals on the Roches' and McTeigue's albums, and in 2007 produced an EP of her own, 8 Songs, followed by 8 More in 2008 and tours opening for acts such as Amos Lee and the Indigo Girls. Lucy has released three full-length albums: Lucy, There's a Last Time for Everything, and Little Beast. Her father is Loudon Wainwright III, and she is the half-sister of singers Martha and Rufus Wainwright.

Discography

Maggie and Terre Roche

Seductive Reasoning
  • ''I Gave My Love a Kerry''

The Roches

The Roches Nurds Keep On Doing Another World No Trespassing Speak We Three Kings A Dove Will You Be My Friend? Can We Go Home Now.The Collected Works of the Roches Moonswept
  • ''Rhino HiFive: The Roches''

Suzzy Roche

Holy Smokes

Terre Roche

The Sound of a Tree Falling Imprint
  • ''Inner Adult''

Suzzy and Maggie Roche

Zero Church
  • ''Why The Long Face''

Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche

Fairytale and Myth Mud and Apples
  • ''I Can Still Hear You''

Terre Roche, Sidiki Conde and Marlon Cherry (as Afro-Jersey)

  • ''Afro-Jersey''

Other appearances