The Roches were active as performers and recording artists from the mid-1970s through 2007, at various times performing as a trio and in pairs.
In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry", born April 10, 1953) quit 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 #2 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. They got his assistance (along with an appearance by The Oak Ridge Boys) on their only album as a duo, Seductive Reasoning (1975). Shortly after that, youngest sister Suzzy (rhymes with "fuzzy", born September 29, 1956) joined the group to form The Roches trio.
Around this time, they parlayed bartending jobs at famous Greenwich Village folk venue Gerde's Folk City into stage appearances, an experience they commemorated in their song, "Face Down at Folk City" (from Another World, 1985). It was here that 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 (1979), Suzzy had also begun writing. Robert Fripp produced the album. Maggie's "The Married Men" from this album was eventually to become the biggest hit of the songwriting trio — 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 themselves to perform on the show a few months later in 1979 at the behest of Paul Simon. 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. Their widest exposure in the '80s was an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in November 1985, where they performed 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 (A Dove, 1992), they recorded an entire album of children's songs entitled 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 (1995), 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 has toured. All three sisters periodically participated in New York-area events. At the end of 2005, the three Roches (with brother Dave) reunited for a short but highly 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. Following the tour for Moonswept, the Roches announced that they would no longer be touring, although they have made isolated appearances individually and as a group, mostly in and around New York City.
On January 21, 2017, Maggie Roche died of cancer at age 65.
Maggie had an "unusual" contralto voice – "almost a baritone." Terre provides a soprano that brackets the upper range of the sisters, while Suzzy fills in the middle range. While touring, the sisters accompany themselves with guitars and keyboards, occasionally with additional musicians.
Brother David is also a singer-songwriter with his own solo album, and has often backed up the trio on their recordings. Maggie's son, Felix McTeigue, has recorded three albums (one with his group Filo). Suzzy's daughter, Lucy, has also contributed vocals on the Roches' and McTeigue's albums, and in 2007 she 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 two full-length albums, "Lucy" in 2010, and "There's a Last Time for Everything" in 2013. Her father is Loudon Wainwright III, and she is the half-sister of singers Martha and Rufus Wainwright.
The majority of Roches songs are written by the three sisters, whether individually, in every combination, or collaborating with other songwriters. They have also recorded their own arrangements of songs by a variety of New York folk artists, as well as a few covers of famous songs. Their three-part arrangement of the four-part "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah, featured on Keep On Doing (1982), is well regarded in a cappella circles.
Discography
- Maggie and Terre Roche
Seductive Reasoning (Columbia, 1975)
I Gave My Love a Kerry (Earth Rock Wreckerds, 2004)
- The Roches
The Roches (Warner, 1979)
Nurds (Warner, 1980)
Keep On Doing (Warner, 1982)
Another World (Warner, 1985)
No Trespassing (Real Live Records, 1986)
Speak (MCA, 1989)
We Three Kings (MCA, 1990)
A Dove (MCA, 1992)
Will You Be My Friend? (Baby Boom, 1994)
Can We Go Home Now (Rykodisc, 1995).
The Collected Works of the Roches (Rhino/Warner, 2003)
Moonswept (429 Records, 2007)
Rhino HiFive: The Roches (Rhino/Warner, 2007)
- Suzzy Roche
Holy Smokes (Red House, 1997)
Songs from an Unmarried Housewife and Mother, Greenwich Village, USA (Red House, 2000)
- Terre Roche
The Sound of a Tree Falling (Earth Rock Wreckerds, 1998)
- Suzzy & Maggie Roche
Zero Church (Red House, 2002)
Why The Long Face (Red House, 2004)
Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche[edit]
Fairytale and Myth (2013)
Mud and Apples (2016)
- Terre Roche, Sidiki Conde and Marlon Cherry (as Afro-Jersey)
Afro-Jersey (2013)
Missing
The Roches Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He's not dead or alive
He's not off with some other guy
He's not lost track of the time
He's just
Missing
People say hey it'll never happen to me
Just goes to show how foolish people can be
I've been waiting all night for a sign from my baby
But he's
Missing
He's not coming through the door
He's not dialing the phone
He's not out on the dance floor
He's not walking home alone
He's just
Missing
He's not drugged or lost
Or trying to escape
He's not being raped
He's not in my arms
Looking in my eyes
Smiling for me
He's just
Missing
People say hey it'll never happen to me
Just goes to show how foolish people can be
I've been waiting all night for a sign from my baby
But he's
Missing
The Roches's song "Missing" is a melancholic track that speaks about the uncertainties of a broken relationship. The song's themes explore the frustration and helplessness that come with the absence of a loved one. The lyrics suggest that the subject of the song, presumably a romantic partner, is not dead or alive but is still missing. The line "He's not off with some other guy" suggests that he has not left the relationship for someone else, but rather he is just missing.
The chorus "He's just missing" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the sense of loss that the singer is feeling. The song's imagery is powerful, describing a character that is not coming through the door, not dialing the phone, not on the dance floor, not walking home alone, and not in the singer's arms. The lines "He's not being raped" and "He's not lost or drugged" seem to suggest that there is no foul play involved, and the partner is not in danger. Instead, the focus is on the unknown nature of their absence and the feeling of being helpless in the face of it.
Ultimately, "Missing" is a moving ballad that captures the emptiness of a relationship's breakdown. The lyrics suggest that the singer is left waiting for some kind of sign or confirmation from the missing person, but that sign never comes. The song's themes of longing and loss are universal and are likely to resonate with anyone who has experience in searching for a missing person in their life.
Line by Line Meaning
He's not dead or alive
He is neither dead nor alive, simply absent
He's not off with some other guy
He is not with someone else, he is absent
He's not lost track of the time
He has not lost track of time, he is simply absent
He's just
Missing
He is just missing without any explanation
People say hey it'll never happen to me
People often assume it won't happen to them, but they can be wrong
Just goes to show how foolish people can be
This shows how blind and foolish people can be about unforeseen events
I've been waiting all night for a sign from my baby
The singer has been anticipating a sign or message from their loved one
He's not coming through the door
He is not arriving through the entrance, he is absent
He's not dialing the phone
He is not calling, he is absent
He's not out on the dance floor
He is not on the dance floor, he is absent
He's not walking home alone
He is not walking home by himself, he is absent
He's just
Missing
He is just missing without any explanation
He's not drugged or lost
He is not under the influence or misplaced, he is absent
Or trying to escape
He is not attempting to flee, he is absent
He's not being raped
He is not being sexually assaulted, he is absent
He's not in my arms
He is not present in the artist's embrace, he is absent
Looking in my eyes
He is not making any eye contact, he is absent
Smiling for me
He is not smiling, he is absent
He's just
Missing
He is just missing without any explanation
People say hey it'll never happen to me
People often assume it won't happen to them, but they can be wrong
Just goes to show how foolish people can be
This shows how blind and foolish people can be about unforeseen events
I've been waiting all night for a sign from my baby
The artist has been anticipating a sign or message from their loved one
But he's
Missing
But he is still missing without any explanation
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