A common face in New York subways since 2002, singer Susan Cagle was signed to a record deal when producer Jay Levine saw her playing at the Herald Square Street station at 34th Street. Cagle, who spent her childhood traveling the world with her family -- who were part of the Children of God religious sect -- singing and playing the guitar, had never seriously considered music as a career. But after she set off on her own to New York in 2001, she soon found that she could make just as much money -- and have a much better time doing it -- performing her blend of pop, rock, and soul underneath the city as she could with a more "typical" job. In 2006 Cagle and her band (which includes sister Caroline on bass and brother Jesse on guitar) released her debut album, The Subway Recordings, which, as the title suggests, contains songs taken from two live performances, one in the Times Square Station and the other beneath Grand Central. Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
NEW YORK, May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A dream came true for emerging singer- songwriter Susan Cagle when Oprah Winfrey invited her to appear and perform live on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Susan's Cinderella story and new song, "Dear Oprah," had captured Oprah's imagination and the Emmy-winning host of America's top-rated talk show wanted to meet Susan in person. Susan appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Thursday, May 10, with a heartfelt performance and candid interview with the woman who'd inspired "Dear Oprah."
Susan Cagle's "Dear Oprah" is
currently available online at iTunes, Sony Connect, Rhapsody, Napster, Yahoo! Music Jukebox, Zune, and URGE. Susan is currently working on her major label studio debut album, slated for release later this year.
On her own and as an official part of the "Music Under New York" program, Susan Cagle became an underground sensation in New York City--literally. Since 2002, the striking young performer has emerged as one of the most popular singer/songwriters ever to play for tips on a Manhattan subway platform (selling more than 30,000 copies of her self-made recordings to commuters, tourists and fans). It was at the 34th Street station along the N/R lines that Susan first caught the attention of producer Jay Levine who later introduced her to the executives at Columbia Records. Recorded at stations along New York's fabled 42nd Street line -- six tracks recorded during rush hour in Times Square and four cut late at night at the legendary Grand Central Station -- Susan's major label debut, The Subway Recordings, was released by Lefthook/Columbia Records, in May 2006.
Susan Cagle was the subject of an MTV "You Hear It First" story in March 2006 and opened shows for label mate Teddy Geiger later that year.
No stranger to performing live, Susan was raised in a family of musicians who made their living by playing together on street corners and in subway stations. The second oldest of ten brothers and sisters, she traveled the world as a child, learning to sing and play music while barely out of the crib. During performances with her family, she was taking solos before she was four years old, and started playing guitar at age seven. By the time she was fourteen, she had lived in Venezuela, Mexico, Greece, Italy, France, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland and all across the United States -- from California to up and down the East Coast -- and had traveled as far west as Hawaii and as far east as communist-era Czechoslovakia. When Susan Cagle she came of age, she decided to pursue her own musical path. With her soulful vocals, hooky songs and sweet stories, Susan struck out on her own and moved to New York in 2001.
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โ Brandee J. Tecson, with reporting by Matt Paco
Many aspiring musicians cut their teeth on the streets, but 25-year-old songstress Susan Cagle headed underground, deep into the heart of New York's subway system, to get her soul-bearing tunes out to the masses. À la Mary Lou Lord, she plugged away for years down below, pulling impromptu gigs on platforms filled with cranky commuters.
Watch Susan warm up the NYC VMAs by going underground for a six-song set.
See why it might be time for Susan Cagle's big break. The Aruba-born singer/songwriter persevered with her busking, developing a loyal following. Cagle's pure vocals and raw talent were evocative enough to stop hundreds of people in their tracks as she poured light into the Times Square and Grand Central stations with her bright, hopeful songs. And they still are, as Cagle continues to perform underground to this day.
"We've had so many adventures with the police shutting us down in the middle of our set because we'd have like 500 people watching us," said Cagle, who performs with a small band that includes her sister Caroline on bass and her brother Jesse on guitar.
It was at the Herald Square station that the singer received her big break last year, catching the eyes and ears of producer Jay Levine. He landed Cagle a meeting with the ######### of Columbia Records, who subsequently signed her.
"I went to see her and there were hundreds of people around buying her CDs," Levine recalled of the first time he met Cagle, who had already sold more than 30,000 copies of her self-made CD. "Her voice was so unbelievable, so positive and uplifting in such an unlikely place ... she was like a diamond in a pile of rocks, hypnotizing everyone who passed."
Cagle, the second oldest of 10 children, honed her skills at an early age. Her parents โ members of a fringe religious sect called the Children of God โ would bring their kids to street corners to sing for passers-by, and by the ripe age of 4, Susan was clearly the breakout star (she started playing guitar at age 7). But never wanting to settle down, the Cagles trotted across the globe, and by the time she was a teen Susan had lived in more than 11 countries, including Venezuela, Greece, France and England. Craving a real place to call home and clashing with her parents' beliefs, Cagle cut ties with her family and moved to New York to pursue her solo career.
"In everyone's life, they have to make a choice to step out on their own and follow their own path," she explained. "I'm a very independent person and when I left, I felt bad ... but at the same time I felt like I had to do my own thing."
Susan Cagle photos There's hardly anything conventional about the performer, whose 10-track major-label debut, The Subway Recordings, was cut from live gigs held during rush hour in Times Square and in the wee hours of the night at Grand Central station.
"It's almost like I did it for the city of New York in a way," she said of the disc, due May 23, which serves as her homage to Gotham's gritty underworld. "It's for all the people who came to see me and supported me all this time."
After witnessing the 9/11 attacks โ the catastrophe happened just weeks after she made the big move โ Cagle penned a handful of uplifting songs to help inspire the dejected city.
"After that day, I just thought that I had to do something," she said. "It was a real mourning period for the city, so I went out and just started playing songs about encouragement ... and that really touched me because for the first time in my life I felt like people were really listening to what I was singing."
"Manhattan Cowboy" is a heavier-sounding ode to the people who risked their lives that fateful day, from the firemen to the volunteers, while "Stay" is a more heartwarming track about wanting to leave the city behind but gathering the courage to push through the dark times.
See other You Hear It First Overdrive shows. "Everyone comes to a point where you've had enough. It's stressful. People get to you and you just want to give up and get away, but 'Stay' says stay around a bit longer and see how you can make a difference," Cagle explained of the universal themes that line her songs.
Other joints like "Dream," which she wrote on a rooftop, and her first single, "Shakespeare," are more lighthearted fare that mirror her unflagging optimism.
"When I'm like 80 and people come up to me and say, 'Hey, Susan, I listened to your song and it really encourages me. I was going to give up my life but your music made me want to fight harder,' that's all I want," Cagle said.
Let us see what suzan cagle said in her facebook page
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โRainy Dayโ
I have had so many stupid ideas in my life, so stupid in fact that Iโm too embarrassed to tell you what they are. But in all my little businesses and side projects, Iโve learned a lot about myself and what I like and donโt like. One thing I learned is that when something means a lot to you, when the stakes are heavy and high, you try to avoid it. For as long as possible. Iโve always loved the arts. I always knew I could sing. Back in the day when I was singing in the subway, I tried all these other things, avoiding going professional as long as possible, just because the singing and the performing was the most important thing. But what if I tried it and failed? What if something bad happened to ruin it forever. Then itโs like you spend your days wasting away in a cave of fear. Itโs not until you put yourself out there that you are really living life. When I say put yourself out there, it could be with anything really. It means expressing who you really are, in any facet shape or form. Telling someone you love them, telling someone you disagree with them, moving on from something or someone else. It means taking the thing you are afraid of and reveling in it. It means using your real voice. Last night I watched Jillian Michaelโs (the trainer from The Biggest Loser) new show, and despite the fact that it was a little bit much, there was a scene where she talked about trying to get her โtraineeโ, who was scarred and traumatized due to the death of her husband, to use her own voice. She may not have used that exact sentence, but thatโs what it translated to in my mind. So anyway, thatโs so terribly hard isnโt it? Thatโs the chore, thatโs the duty of all of us. Otherwise weโre just a bunch of walking crypts, our minds and souls dying away on the inside.
This afternoon I listened to an interview with Joan Rivers on talk radio on the way home from the gym. It may have been NPR or some station like that. What a great interview! I never knew Joan Rivers was so interesting! What a life she had! She just speaks whatโs on her mind. She was saying how comedy pushes the envelope and gets people to talk about things they wouldnโt normally talk about which is so true.
Iโm sitting at a coffee shop writing this. Itโs raining outside. I have a pot of tea on the table next to my laptop. I think the guy behind me is straining to read what Iโm writing, and Iโm not just being paranoid. Iโm wondering how you are doing, and what you are thinking right now.
