Sue Saad and the Next
Encyclopedia
Sue Saad and the Next was an American
New Wave
band from Los Angeles, California
. Its self-titled first and only album reached #131 in the US Billboard 200
in 1980. Although sometimes characterized as one hit wonders, the band has achieved a significant cult following
in subsequent years following their breakup in 1986. Sue Saad and the Next also provided the soundtracks
for several movies during the 1980s such as Roadie
(1980), Looker
(1981) and Radioactive Dreams
(1985). Sue Saad had a memorable musical performance in Radioactive Dreams, included with several others in the film's official soundtrack, and originally voiced the main theme for Looker later performed by Kim Carnes
.
. Given their mutual interest in music, they began collaborating together and eventually formed Calliope. They achieved some success and released several singles. One of these, "We've Made It", dealt with the generation gap
and so angered a local disc jockey
that he destroyed the record while still on air and voiced a tirade against the band.
The three decided to form a new band around 1978, Sue Saad and the Next, whereupon they moved to San Francisco and then Los Angeles
hoping to find work as sidemen. It was during this time that they began writing songs and recording them on their Rodney Sound four-track tape recorder
. They were later joined by guitarist Billy Anstatt and bass player Bobby Manzer, studio musicians who had played together in the rock musical
Zen Boogie, wanting to perform in a regular band. The band played in clubs and similar venues throughout Los Angeles and were eventually signed by Warner Bros. Records
to develop as writers. Then-chairman Ed Silvers brought the band to record producer Richard Perry
who immediately signed them to a contract with his company Planet Records in late-1979. They, along with Marc Safan and the Cretones
, were the first New Wave
groups signed to the label.
The band's debut album was co-produced by James Lance and Richard Perry, the first time Perry had ever shared a production credit, with all the songs being written by Lance, Riparetti and Saad. The album, self-titled Sue Saad and the Next, took less than twenty days to finish at a cost of $50,000. This was well below the industry standard, generally between $125,000-$150,000 financing, and at least 3 to 6 months production time. It was released in 1980 and reached #131 on the US Billboard 200
. Perry later said the album's songs "evoke[d] youthful passion seasoned with wry adult knowledge, as well as a toughminded picture of daily American life and the ways it can be lit up by moments of rock and roll celebration." It was the fourth album to come out from Richard Perry's label and, despite its limited release, it received some positive reviews, earning comparisons to Pat Benatar
and Blondie
, and eventually made its way overseas months later.
That same year, their music was featured in the 1980 comedy film Roadie
along with Eddie Rabbit, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Roy Orbison
and Emmylou Harris
, The Joe Ely Band
, Teddy Pendergrass
, Jay Ferguson
and Pat Benetar. The film's director Alan Rudolph liked the band so much that one scene was written in specifically for one of their songs, "Double Yellow Line", which took place on a highway.
Although the band did not put out a second album, it continued performing throughout the United States and toured Europe
with UFO
and the Boomtown Rats. They also appeared in concerts run by Texas promoter Jack Orbin in late-1981. During the next few years, Sue Saad and the Next performed in science fiction film
s Looker
(1981) and Radioactive Dreams
(1985), performing the main themes for both films. "Radioactive Dreams" and three other songs, "Guilty Pleasure", "She's A Fire" and "When Lightning Strikes", were among those released on the official Radioactive Dreams soundtrack. It was also in Radioactive Dreams that Sue Saad had a small role as a punk rocker who performed a musical number, "Guilty Pleasure", and is regarded by many fans of the film as one of its most memorable moments.
It was while working on "Radioactive Dreams" that director Albert Pyun
made an offer to James Lance and Tony Riparetti to score music for film and together composed the music for Say Yes (1986), Commando Squad (1987), Alien from L.A.
(1988) and Brainsmasher... A Love Story
(1993). Though Lance eventually left the partnership, Riparetti remained with Pyun and continued to compose scores for his films including Omega Doom
(1997), Mean Guns
(1997), Postmortem
(1998), Invasion (2005) and Left for Dead (2007). He also worked with the Beastie Boys
for a time. Riparetti's success led to his starting his own company, Sound Logic, which composes film scores and sound editing for low budget films from his North Calle César Chávez studio in Santa Barbara. In April 2008, Riparetti and his company were featured in the Santa Barbara Independent
.
The Charms
, a rock band based in Boston, Massachusetts, were compared to Sue Saad and the Next by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
during their early career.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band from Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Its self-titled first and only album reached #131 in the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in 1980. Although sometimes characterized as one hit wonders, the band has achieved a significant cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
in subsequent years following their breakup in 1986. Sue Saad and the Next also provided the soundtracks
Soundtracks
Soundtracks may refer to:* The plural of soundtrack* Soundtracks * Soundtracks , an album by Tony Banks of Genesis...
for several movies during the 1980s such as Roadie
Roadie (film)
Roadie is a 1980 film directed by Alan Rudolph about a truck driver who becomes a roadie for a traveling rock and roll show. The film stars Meat Loaf and marks his first starring role in a film. There are also cameo appearances by musicians such as Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., Blondie and Alice...
(1980), Looker
Looker
Looker is a 1981 science fiction film written and directed by Michael Crichton. It starred Albert Finney, Susan Dey, and James Coburn. Former NFL linebacker Tim Rossovich was featured as the villain's main henchman....
(1981) and Radioactive Dreams
Radioactive Dreams
Radioactive Dreams is a 1985 post-apocalyptic science fiction-comedy film. The film was directed by Albert Pyun, and stars Michael Dudikoff, Don Murray, and Lisa Blount...
(1985). Sue Saad had a memorable musical performance in Radioactive Dreams, included with several others in the film's official soundtrack, and originally voiced the main theme for Looker later performed by Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes is an American singer-songwriter. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner noted for her distinctive raspy vocal style. Some people have called her "The Female Rod Stewart" due to her raspy voice....
.
Band members
- Sue Saad (1978—1986): Vocalist of the band and songwriter.
- James Lance (1978—1986): Drummer, vocalist and co-songwriter. He worked with Richard Perry to produce the band's first album.
- Tony Riparetti (1978—1986): Guitarist, vocalist and co-songwriter. After leaving the band, he started his own studio and frequently worked with director Albert PyunAlbert PyunAlbert Pyun is an American film director best known for having made many low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. He frequently blends kickboxing and hybrid martial arts with science fiction and dystopic or post-apocalyptic themes, which often include cyborgs...
. - Billy Anstatt (1978—1981): Backup guitarist.
- Bobby Manzer (1978—1981): Bass player.
History
Sue Marie Saad, James Lance and Anthony "Tony" Lloyd Riparetti met in junior high school while growing up in Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. Given their mutual interest in music, they began collaborating together and eventually formed Calliope. They achieved some success and released several singles. One of these, "We've Made It", dealt with the generation gap
Generation gap
The generational gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of a younger generation and their elders, especially between children and parents....
and so angered a local disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
that he destroyed the record while still on air and voiced a tirade against the band.
The three decided to form a new band around 1978, Sue Saad and the Next, whereupon they moved to San Francisco and then Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
hoping to find work as sidemen. It was during this time that they began writing songs and recording them on their Rodney Sound four-track tape recorder
Tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
. They were later joined by guitarist Billy Anstatt and bass player Bobby Manzer, studio musicians who had played together in the rock musical
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...
Zen Boogie, wanting to perform in a regular band. The band played in clubs and similar venues throughout Los Angeles and were eventually signed by Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
to develop as writers. Then-chairman Ed Silvers brought the band to record producer Richard Perry
Richard Perry
Richard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
who immediately signed them to a contract with his company Planet Records in late-1979. They, along with Marc Safan and the Cretones
The Cretones
The Cretones were a United States, Los Angeles-based new wave rock and power pop group in the early 1980s. Led by singer/guitarist and former Eddie Boy Band member Mark Goldenberg , the group had a strong sense of melody and a lyrical wit that placed them a cut above most of their new wave peers...
, were the first New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
groups signed to the label.
The band's debut album was co-produced by James Lance and Richard Perry, the first time Perry had ever shared a production credit, with all the songs being written by Lance, Riparetti and Saad. The album, self-titled Sue Saad and the Next, took less than twenty days to finish at a cost of $50,000. This was well below the industry standard, generally between $125,000-$150,000 financing, and at least 3 to 6 months production time. It was released in 1980 and reached #131 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Perry later said the album's songs "evoke[d] youthful passion seasoned with wry adult knowledge, as well as a toughminded picture of daily American life and the ways it can be lit up by moments of rock and roll celebration." It was the fourth album to come out from Richard Perry's label and, despite its limited release, it received some positive reviews, earning comparisons to Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
and Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
, and eventually made its way overseas months later.
That same year, their music was featured in the 1980 comedy film Roadie
Roadie (film)
Roadie is a 1980 film directed by Alan Rudolph about a truck driver who becomes a roadie for a traveling rock and roll show. The film stars Meat Loaf and marks his first starring role in a film. There are also cameo appearances by musicians such as Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., Blondie and Alice...
along with Eddie Rabbit, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
and Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, The Joe Ely Band
Joe Ely
Joe Ely is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll....
, Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...
, Jay Ferguson
Jay Ferguson (American musician)
Jay Ferguson is an American rock and roll musician, known for his work with Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, and his 1978 solo hit "Thunder Island". His later career has been as a composer of music for television programs and films.-Childhood and early musical career:He was born in Burbank, California, in...
and Pat Benetar. The film's director Alan Rudolph liked the band so much that one scene was written in specifically for one of their songs, "Double Yellow Line", which took place on a highway.
Although the band did not put out a second album, it continued performing throughout the United States and toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
and the Boomtown Rats. They also appeared in concerts run by Texas promoter Jack Orbin in late-1981. During the next few years, Sue Saad and the Next performed in science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
s Looker
Looker
Looker is a 1981 science fiction film written and directed by Michael Crichton. It starred Albert Finney, Susan Dey, and James Coburn. Former NFL linebacker Tim Rossovich was featured as the villain's main henchman....
(1981) and Radioactive Dreams
Radioactive Dreams
Radioactive Dreams is a 1985 post-apocalyptic science fiction-comedy film. The film was directed by Albert Pyun, and stars Michael Dudikoff, Don Murray, and Lisa Blount...
(1985), performing the main themes for both films. "Radioactive Dreams" and three other songs, "Guilty Pleasure", "She's A Fire" and "When Lightning Strikes", were among those released on the official Radioactive Dreams soundtrack. It was also in Radioactive Dreams that Sue Saad had a small role as a punk rocker who performed a musical number, "Guilty Pleasure", and is regarded by many fans of the film as one of its most memorable moments.
It was while working on "Radioactive Dreams" that director Albert Pyun
Albert Pyun
Albert Pyun is an American film director best known for having made many low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. He frequently blends kickboxing and hybrid martial arts with science fiction and dystopic or post-apocalyptic themes, which often include cyborgs...
made an offer to James Lance and Tony Riparetti to score music for film and together composed the music for Say Yes (1986), Commando Squad (1987), Alien from L.A.
Alien from L.A.
Alien From L.A. is a 1988 science fiction film that stars Kathy Ireland as a young woman who visits the underground civilization of Atlantis. The film was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000.-Plot:...
(1988) and Brainsmasher... A Love Story
Brainsmasher... A Love Story
Brainsmasher... A Love Story is a 1993 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Albert Pyun. It stars Andrew Dice Clay as Ed "Brainsmasher" Molloy and Teri Hatcher as Samantha Crain...
(1993). Though Lance eventually left the partnership, Riparetti remained with Pyun and continued to compose scores for his films including Omega Doom
Omega Doom
Omega Doom is a 1996 film by Albert Pyun, starring Rutger Hauer who plays a robot who, during a nuclear winter, plays both sides of a robot civil war against each other in a small town...
(1997), Mean Guns
Mean Guns
Mean Guns is a 1997 action film starring Ice T, Christopher Lambert, Michael Halsey, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, and Hunter Doughty; directed by Albert Pyun.-Plot summary:...
(1997), Postmortem
Postmortem (1998 film)
Postmortem is a 1998 film directed byAlbert Pyun and starring Charlie Sheen .-Plot:...
(1998), Invasion (2005) and Left for Dead (2007). He also worked with the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
for a time. Riparetti's success led to his starting his own company, Sound Logic, which composes film scores and sound editing for low budget films from his North Calle César Chávez studio in Santa Barbara. In April 2008, Riparetti and his company were featured in the Santa Barbara Independent
Santa Barbara Independent
The Santa Barbara Independent is a news, arts, and entertainment newspaper published every Thursday in Santa Barbara, California.-History:The paper was founded in November 1986...
.
The Charms
The Charms
The Charms are a garage rock band from Somerville, Massachusetts formed in 2002. The current lineup consists of Ellie Vee, Joe Wizda, Kat Kina, Mark Nigro, and Jason Meeker. The band teamed with local Boston based management company Twisted Rico Management and formed Red Car Records in...
, a rock band based in Boston, Massachusetts, were compared to Sue Saad and the Next by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
during their early career.
Studio Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
JPN Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
NZ | SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
|||
| 1980 | Sue Saad and the Next
|
— | 131 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | US | JPN | GER | |||
| 1985 | Radioactive Dreams Soundtrack
|
— | — | — | — | |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Dance | CAN Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
JPN Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
ITA | |||
| 1980 | "Your Lips-Hands-Kiss-Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1980 | "Gimme Love Gimme Pain" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1980 | "Prisoner" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1980 | "Kamonbayebeh/Won't Give it Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1981 | "Looker" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album song |
Further reading
- Hounsome, Terry. Rock Record 7. Llandysul, United Kingdom: Record Researcher Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-9506650-3-7
- Whitburn, JoelJoel WhitburnJoel Carver Whitburn is an American author and music historian.Whitburn founded Record Research Inc. in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, in 1970, and put together a team of researchers to examine in detail all of Billboards music and video charts...
. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955-2001. Llandysul, United Kingdom: Record Researcher Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-89820-147-0
External links
- Good Rockin' Tonight: Sue Saad and the Next
- Sue Saad and the Next at ArtistdirectARTISTdirectFounded in 1994, Artistdirect, Inc. is an online digital media entertainment company. It owns several websites including Artistdirect.com, UBL.com and the Artistdirect Network...