• July 11, 1959
• Suzanne Vega was born in Santa Monica, California, but grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side of New York City.
• She was raised by her mother, a computer systems analyst and her stepfather, the Puerto Rican writer Egardo Vega Yunque.
• Suzanne Vega attended New York City's High School of Performing Arts (the school that later inspired the 1980 film Fame), where she studied modern dance and graduated in 1977. Looking back, she said the school did its best with her but she never quite fit the mold.
  
  "It was just like the movie," she recalled to Uncut magazine. "Everybody's really extroverted, dancing, singing, and drama everywhere. And, you know, it's not my temperament. But I learned over time how to give a show in my own way."
  
  After high school, Vega went on to Barnard College, where she majored in English literature.
• Suzanne Vega wrote "Tom's Diner" whilst eating breakfast at Tom's Restaurant in New York City. Tom's Restaurant was also used as the model for Jerry Seinfield's hang out in his hit sitcom Seinfield.
• She auditioned for the lead role in Desperately Seeking Susan, but lost out to Madonna.
• In 1989 Suzanne Vega became the first ever woman to headline at UK's Glastonbury Festival. After receiving death threats from a girl infatuated with her bass player, Vega performed in a bulletproof vest.
• When German computer programmer Karlheinz Brandenburg was developing the technology that would come to be known as the MP3, he found that Suzanne Vega's voice was the perfect template with which to test the purity of the audio compression that he was aiming to perfect. As a result, the MP3 format's voice compression was specifically calibrated to sound good when playing "Tom's Diner". Because of this, Vega has been referred to as the "Mother of the MP3."
• Vega was the first major recording artist to perform live in the Internet-based virtual world, Second Life. The event, which took place on August 3, 2006, was hosted by John Hockenberry of public radio's The Infinite Mind.

Comments

More Songfacts:

UnbelievableEMF

The EMF song "Unbelievable" samples the raunchy comic Andrew Dice Clay saying, "What the f--k was that!"

Shut Up And DanceWalk the Moon

Walk The Moon vocalist Nicholas Petricca got the idea for "Shut Up and Dance" when he and his girlfriend were taking forever to get drinks at a Los Angeles club bar. Petricca was getting frustrated, so his girlfriend told him to, "Shut up and dance with me!'"

Mercedes BoyPebbles

"Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles is about a real guy she fell in love with - they both drove Mercedes when she wrote it.

Soul ManSam & Dave

"Soul Man" was a new term when the song was written in 1967. As defined by Sam & Dave, the "soul man" was a farmer "comin' to ya on a dusty road."

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?Culture Club

"Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" was written by Boy George about his relationship with Culture Club's drummer Jon Moss.

Cracklin' RosieNeil Diamond

Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rosie" is about a bottle of wine.

Editor's Picks

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.