Suddenly, Tammy! (sometimes uncapitalized as suddenly, tammy!) was an American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band from

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

, United States. Notable for its guitarless, piano-centric lineup, the band released a self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

in 1993 on

spinART Records SpinART Records was a New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Black Francis, Frank Black, and Michael Penn. The label was started by Joel Morowitz and Jeff Price in 1991. SpinART ...

and a second album, '' We Get There When We Do'' on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

in 1995.

Biography

Siblings Jay and Beth Sorrentino began making music as kids in their Lancaster, Pennsylvania, home. Their father was a jazz drummer. Beth took up piano, percussion and vocals, while Jay became a drummer. A high school friend, Ken Heitmueller, joined on bass and the trio formed Suddenly, Tammy!, recording two EPs, ''Spokesmodel'' and ''El Presidente'', in a basement studio in the home of Ken's parents. Both EPs were well-received, especially by ''College Music Journal'', who featured the trio on their cover in 1992. Beth Sorrentino's voice served as centerpiece for the band's tight arrangements. SpinART released the band's full-length debut in 1993. The self-titled album earned Suddenly, Tammy! a number of tour slots paired with major acts (e.g.,

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Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items. Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...

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Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five was an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprised Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). Th ...

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), and eventually got them signed to Warner Bros. in 1994. The band recorded with producer

Warne Livesey Warne Livesey (born 12 February 1959) is a British/Canadian music producer, mixing engineer, songwriter and musician. He has produced Midnight Oil, The The, Matthew Good Band and Deacon Blue. Life and career Warne Livesey started his career in L ...

(

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...

;

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

; Jesus Jones) and released ''We Get There When We Do'' in 1995, and an EP, ''Shut Up! It's Christmas''. More polished and consistent than their debut, ''We Get There ...'' ranged from propulsive hard rock to ballads. The group completed a third album, ''Comet,'' in 1996, which was shelved after the group's contract with Warner Bros. expired, leading the group to disband shortly thereafter. Singer/songwriter Beth Sorrentino subsequently released some solo recordings under her own name, and she continues to write and record new material. The previously uncirculated ''Comet'' had its first public release (in digital format) in Summer 2010. In February 2019, the trio reunited for a performance at the Lancaster Roots & Blues Festival. Jay Sorrentino passed away on December 22, 2024.

Band members

* Beth Sorrentino —

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

*Ken Heitmueller —

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

*Jay Sorrentino —

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(died 2024)

Discography

Albums

*'' Suddenly, Tammy!'' (1993) —

SpinART Records SpinART Records was a New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Black Francis, Frank Black, and Michael Penn. The label was started by Joel Morowitz and Jeff Price in 1991. SpinART ...

*'' We Get There When We Do'' (1995) —

* ''Comet'' (1996) —

(not released by label; released independently in digital format 2010)

EPs

*'' Shut Up, It's Christmas'' (December 1995) —

Cassettes (independently released)

*''Spokesmodel'' (1991) *''El Presidente'' (1991)

References

External links

Suddenly, Tammy! Discography and News About Beth Sorrentino
{{Authority control Warner Records artists Indie pop groups from Pennsylvania American musical trios