Suzanne Vega

Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega (born in 1959 in Santa Monica, CA) broke through in the ’80s with “Luka,” an acutely told tale of child abuse that struck a chord with listeners all over the globe. While studying at Manhattan’s Barnard College, Vega began playing around Greenwich Village; she released her self-titled debut in 1985, and the longing “Marlene On the Wall” became a cult hit. Solitude Standing, which followed two years later, was Vega’s breakthrough; in 1990, the British electro duo DNA remixed her a cappella New York snapshot “Tom’s Diner,” adding drums and grooves to her clipped vocals, and it became a massive hit. Vega expanded her own sound in the years that followed, particularly on 1992’s forward-thinking 99.9 F, which combined industrial clamor with melodic folk-pop, and 1996's Nine Objects of Desire, which brought in elements of jazz, funk, and bossa nova. In the 21st century, Vega has continued performing and recording, remaking her earlier work in the Close-Up series and writing the play Carson McCullers Talks About Love (a biography of the spiritually minded writer) and an attendant album.