Season Three is here with Dr. Kristen Hillaire and Patti Quatro! We talk in depth about the groundbreaking all-female Detroit rock ‘n’ roll band, the Pleasure Seekers, formed in 1964.

At the ages of sixteen and seventeen, Patti and her two best friends, Nan Ball and Diane Baker, were hanging out together and noodling on their instruments in a basement in the suburbs of Detroit. Like so many other teens, the British invasion was having a huge influence on the cultural shifts occurring in music, and after seeing the Beatles live at Olympia Stadium, Patti was hooked on rock ‘n’ roll. She recruited younger sister, Suzi, and Nan’s younger sister, Mary Lou, at the age of fourteen, and the Pleasure Seekers were ready to go!

Also in 1964, Dave Leone’s and Ed “Punch” Andrews’ “Hideout” opened as a teen club in the suburbs of the city. It was an explosive time in Detroit – the music, the Motor City, the mayhem, and the magic! The Pleasure Seekers and the Quatro sisters were not only there to bear witness to it all, they helped to create the distinct and dynamic sounds of early rock ‘n’ roll in Detroit.

When the Pleasure Seekers (and Cradle) were inducted into the Detroit Music Awards at the Fillmore Theater in 2012, Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson of the MC5 wrote, “The Quatro girls were the first all-female band that played instruments well, and forerunners for many bands to follow. One kick-ass band!”

On Ep. 37, Patti Quatro and I discuss the Pleasure Seekers and the conclusion of their summer-long 1968 tour in the Pacific Northwest. The summer stint had brought so much excitement and exposure for the band, including their new official fan club, sold-out crowds, winning over music moguls and DJs of the region, adoring press, and more. All of this was occurring as the nation was facing huge cultural upheavals with social movements like civil rights and women’s rights. Vietnam was looming large, and it was a chaotic and tumultuous time for many. It was also during this time and on this months-long tour that the girls in the group were growing up. This included their heavier approach to rock music, as well as their personal lives. And with growing up comes growing pains. The Pleasure Seekers were no longer innocent teens. They were becoming young adults all while having to contend with life on the road in a rock ‘n’ roll band.

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