Cherie Currie
Cherie Currie | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Cherie Ann Currie |
Born | Encino, California, US | November 30, 1959
Genres | Punk rock hard rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, actress, artist, producer |
Instrument(s) | vocals, piano, guitar |
Years active | 1976–present |
Labels | Mercury, Capital, Raven, MCA, Rocket City |
Website | cheriecurrie |
Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actress and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. After the Runaways, she became a solo artist. Then she teamed up with her identical twin sister, Marie Currie, and released an album with her. They released a duet "Since You Been Gone" which charted number 95 on US charts. Their band was called Cherie and Marie Currie. She is also well known for her role in the movie Foxes.
Early life
Currie was born to Don Currie and actress Marie Harmon.[1] She was raised in Encino with three siblings. Her brother is Don Currie Jr. She has an elder sister, actress Sondra Currie, and an identical twin sister, Marie. Marie is two minutes older.[2]
Career
Currie was the teenage lead vocalist for the all-female rock band the Runaways with bandmates Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Sandy West, Jackie Fox and Vicki Blue. Bomp! magazine described her as "the lost daughter of Iggy Pop and Brigitte Bardot".[citation needed]
Currie joined the Runaways in 1975, at age 15. The teen rock anthem "Cherry Bomb" was written for her at the audition. Assessments of her impact at that time differ; one reviewer has written that "the received wisdom that [the Runaways] carved out new territory for female musicians is hard to justify – it's doubtful that the predominantly male audience who flocked to see the 16-year-old [Currie] in her undies picked up any feminist subtext."[3]
After three albums with the Runaways, (The Runaways, Queens of Noise and Live in Japan), Currie went on to record three other albums. She signed a contracted with Mercury saying she would record four records, but she left the Runaways after the third album, thus she was obligated to record another album.[4] She recorded it solo and the result was Beauty's Only Skin Deep for Polygram Records. Marie Currie did a duet with Cherie on her solo record, "Love at First Sight".[5] Cherie and Marie went on a US tour, and when Marie would join Cherie on stage to sing the encores the audience would go wild.[6] Then they went on a Japan tour. While in Japan, the twins performed on many TV shows. So Cherie ran with the idea of two blonds are better than one.[7] With her twin sister Marie Currie, she recorded Messin' with the Boys for Capitol Records and Young and Wild for Raven. Messin' with the Boys received more radio play than Beauty's Only Skin Deep and, the song "Since You Been Gone" off of Messin' with the Boys charted number 95 on US charts. Cherie and Marie performed on many television shows; including the Sha Na Na show, and The Mike Douglas Show. She then worked as an actress, starring in movies such as Foxes (her best known film), Parasite, Wavelength, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Rosebud Beach Hotel (with Marie Currie), Rich Girl, and others, as well as numerous guest spots on television series (Matlock and Murder, She Wrote, among others). Cherie and Marie sang, wrote, and produced songs for The Rosebud Beach Hotel Soundtrack.
Later years
In 1997 Cherie and Marie re-released Messin' with the Boys with seven bonus tracks. One of the bonus tracks was "Cherry Bomb" a song Cherie sang with the Runaways. In 1998 the twins released a compilation called Young and Wild. In 1999 the twins released a rare studio album on Rocket City Records called The 80's Collection[8] which has songs that Cherie and Marie sang in The Rosebud Beach Hotel, some unreleased duets by the Cherie and Marie and some songs by Cherie. Cherie is currently printing this album up and selling it on her own ebay page. In 2001 Cherie performed on, produced, co-wrote a few tracks, played keyboards, and provided supporting vocals on Katt Lowe & the Othersyde's debut album.[9]
In 1989, Currie wrote a memoir called Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story. In 2010, she published an updated version entitled Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, and it reached number 9 on L.A. Weekly's bestseller chart. The book was so successful it inspired The Runaways movie. With the success of the book and the film it inspired Currie to put a band together and tour. Recently, Currie has been touring and recording with ex-bandmate Lita Ford, and her son, Jake Hays.
Cherie Currie was named the Malibu Rock Legend in 2013. Lita Ford presented it to her.[10] In 2013, Cherie started Christmas music project with former Runaways bandmate Lita Ford[11] which ties into their efforts on behalf of Toys for Tots, and rising sales for new material from 1970s recording acts, make eventual public release likely.
In a Facebook post Cherie announced that her new album will be called Reverie.[12]
Personal life
Currie struggled with drug addiction for much of her younger life, which was a major factor in the abrupt ending of her career. She later wrote a memoir, Neon Angel, recounting life in the band and her traumatic experiences with drug addiction, sex abuse, and her broken family. The Runaways, a 2010 musical biographical drama film executive-produced by Joan Jett, focuses on the group's early beginnings and explores the relationship between Currie and Jett. In the film, Currie is portrayed by Dakota Fanning.
Currie was married to actor Robert Hays on May 12, 1990, and they had one son together, Jake Hays. They are now divorced.[13] Jake Hays learned to play guitar well enough to be included in recent recording sessions, and as a member of Cherie Currie's new touring band.
Currie is now a wood-carving artist using a chainsaw to create her works. She has been doing chainsaw art since 2002 and opened her own gallery in 2005 in Chatsworth, California.[14] Her chainsaw art has been featured on recent television programs. In the 8th season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, she made a guest appearance.[15]
Discography
With the Runaways
Studio albums
- 1976 – The Runaways
- 1977 – Queens of Noise
- 1980 – Flaming Schoolgirls
Live albums
- 1977 – Live in Japan
Solo
Studio albums
- 1978 – Beauty's Only Skin Deep
- 1980 – Messin' with the Boys (with Marie Currie)
- 1997 – Messin' with the Boys (re-released with 7 bonus tracks, with Marie Currie)
- 1998 – Young and Wild (compilation, with Marie Currie)[16]
- 1999 – The 80's Collection (rare studio album, with Marie Currie as a guest on some tracks)[17]
EPs
- 2007 – Cherry Bomb[18]
Guest appearances
- 1981 - 707 - The Second Album[19]
- 1984 – various artist – The Rosebud Beach Hotel Soundtrack (with Marie Currie)
- 1990 – Tater Totz – Stereo: Sgt. Shonen's Exploding Plastic Eastman Band Request[20]
- 1993 – Atsushi Yokozeki Project – Raid
- 2001 - Katt Lowe & the Othersyde - Katt Lowe & the Othersyde
- 2013 – Shameless – Beautiful Disaster
- 2013 – Warehouse 13 – Runaway
- 2013 – Glenn Danzig – "Some Velvet Morning"
Singles
Year | Single | US | Album | Artist | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | "Call Me at Midnight" | - | Beauty's Only Skin Deep | Cherie Currie | |
1978 | "Beauty's Only Skin Deep" | - | Beauty's Only Skin Deep | Cherie Currie | |
1978 | "Love at First Sight" | - | Beauty's Only Skin Deep | Cherie and Marie Currie | |
1978 | "Science Fiction Daze" | - | Beauty's Only Skin Deep | Cherie Currie | |
1979 | "Since You Been Gone" | 95 | Messin' with the Boys | Cherie and Marie Currie | [21] |
1979 | "Messin' with the Boys" | - | Messin' with the Boys | Cherie and Marie Currie | |
1980 | "This Time" | - | Messin' with the Boys | Cherie and Marie Currie | |
1989 | "Instant Karma!" | - | Mono! Stereo: Sgt. Shonen's Exploding Plastic Eastman Band Request | Tater Totz featuring Cherie Currie | |
2013 | "Life's a Gas" | - | Beautiful Disaster | Shameless featuring Cherie Currie | |
2013 | "Some Velvet Morning" | - | Single Only | Glenn Danzig featuring Cherie Currie | |
2013 | "Rock This Christmas Down" | - | Single only | Lita Ford and Cherie Currie |
Album charts
Year | Album | US | Artist | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | Beauty's Only Skin Deep | - | Cherie Currie | |
1980 | Messin' with the Boys | - | Cherie and Marie Currie | |
1997 | Messin' with the Boys (Re-released) | - | Cherie and Marie Currie | |
1999 | The 80's Collection | - | Cherie Currie/Cherie & Marie Currie |
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Foxes | Annie | |
1982 | Parasite | Dana | |
1983 | Twilight Zone: The Movie | Sara | Segment #3 |
1983 | Wavelength | Iris Longacre | |
1984 | Murder, She Wrote | Echo Cramer | TV episode: "It's a Dog's Life" |
1984 | The Rosebud Beach Hotel | Singing Maid Cherie | Her twin Marie Currie played Singing Maid Marie. |
1990 | Matlock | Renee Thorton | 2 episodes: "The Informer: Part 1" and "The Informer: Part 2" |
1991 | Matlock | Betsy Rhodes | TV episode: "The Suspect" |
Rich Girl | Michelle | ||
1992 | Dr. Giggles | ADR voice | |
2004 | Getting the Knack | Herself | documentary |
2005 | Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways | Herself | Film by former Runaways bassist Victory Tischler-Blue documenting the Runaways' musical history. |
2013 | Hansel and Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft | Ms. Thoman | Direct-to-DVD release |
Warehouse 13 | Herself | TV episode "Runaway" |
Bibliography
Year | Book | L.A. Weekly | |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Neon Angel | - | |
2008 | Cherry Bomb | - | |
2010 | Neon Angel (Re-released) | 9 |
References
- ^ Interview with The Runaways’ Cherie Currie, Tribute.ca, March 26, 2010; retrieved 2011-12-22.
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1899&dat=19800322&id=MH8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IWUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2147,3103138
- ^ Sunday Times Culture, April 25, 2010
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/beautys-only-skin-deep-mw0000337174
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1899&dat=19800322&id=MH8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IWUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2147,3103138
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20075904,00.html
- ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/cherie_currie/80s_collection/
- ^ album.http://www.allmusic.com/album/katt-lowe-and-the-othersyde-mw0000328736
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ Cherie Currie & Lita Ford – Christmas single 2013
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/CherieCurrieOfficial
- ^ Cherie Currie rocks with biopic. Dailynews.com. (March 19, 2010) Retrieved on 2011-12-22.
- ^ Welcome to. Chainsawchick.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-22.
- ^ Cherie Currie- Chainsaw Art A Current Affair
- ^ Young & Wild: Cherie Currie & Marie: Music. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-22.
- ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/cherie_currie/80s_collection/
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Bomb-Cherie-Currie-Runaways/dp/B000S98O6U/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTFB&sr=1-1&keywords=Cherie+Currie+Of+The+Runaways
- ^ http://www.discogs.com/707-The-Second-Album/release/2623674
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/mono-stereo-mw0000201343/credits
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/messin-with-the-boys-mw0000596615/awards
External links
- 1959 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from Los Angeles, California
- Musicians from Los Angeles, California
- American female singers
- American feminists
- American punk rock singers
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- American women sculptors
- American woodcarvers
- Female punk rock singers
- Feminist artists
- Feminist musicians
- The Runaways members
- Sex-positive feminists
- 20th-century American singers
- 21st-century American singers
- American female heavy metal singers
- American female rock singers
- Female rock singers
- 20th-century sculptors