Tom's Diner, Luka - US-singer Suzanne Vega turns 65
Suzanne Vega once forgot the lyrics to one of her most famous hits, "Luka," during a free concert in New York's Madison Square Park. She was about to begin the second strophe when the US singer, who turns 65 on July 11, found herself at a loss for words. "I've sung this song 18 million times, but somehow the words aren't coming to me now. But you all know them, please help me out."
Fans immediately called out the beginning of the second strophe of one of her most famous songs, and Vega continued playing, accompanied by the clapping and cheering of the audience. Vega expressed her gratitude with a compliment: "I love performing in my hometown. I perform all over the world, but it's just the most beautiful here."
In the 80s, Vega emerged as a young woman in the New York folkpop scene with her guitar and sad songs - "Tom's Diner" or "Luka," a song about child abuse from the perspective of the victim, which became a global hit despite its heavy subject matter. She recalls that "I still go into some drugstore and ask for a cream, and the clerk starts humming 'Luka.' That's the price you pay for having dreams come true."
With "Tom's Diner" as the "Mother of MP3"
Meanwhile, Vega became known as the "Mother of MP3": The 1982 song deals with a visit to the still-existing "Tom's Restaurant" in Manhattan, where large parts of the TV series "Seinfeld" were later filmed. She had often eaten or had coffee there, she says. "It's not pretty or atmospheric. It's just simple, and that's why I like it." Due to its sound quality, numerous musicians used the song to test their speakers - and in the late 80s, engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Erlangen recorded "Tom's Diner" as the first song ever in MP3 technology.
The a cappella version of the song presented a challenge for the engineers, who managed to compress the human voice without loss of quality. The format allows music to be downloaded quickly from the internet. The first attempt with "Tom's Diner" sounded back then like "someone is scratching at my left and right ear," said inventor Karlheinz Brandenburg when Vega visited the institute in Erlangen in 2007.
Breakthrough with second album
Born in 1959 as Suzanne Peck in Los Angeles, but moving to New York with her mother just a year after her birth, Vega grew up in Manhattan and began writing poetry and songs and performing in small music clubs at a young age. "I've always had a feeling that I know myself quite well, and I didn't really care about having a specific image." In the early 80s, she signed her first record deal and achieved a breakthrough with her second album - "Solitude Standing" - in 1987.
The success of this album, which included "Luka" and "Tom's Diner," could not always be replicated by Vega - but the singer, who is married for the second time and has an adult daughter, continues to make her own music and writes songs inspired by the works of American writer Carson McCullers (1917-1967).
Many fans remain loyal - and grateful that the singer, who has been praised numerous times, continues to tour extensively. This summer, she embarks on an European tour immediately after her birthday, which brings her to Marburg, Kulmbach, and Freiburg, and plans to tour the US in the fall.
Suzanne Vega often visits the drugstore in Manhattan, where the clerk might hum her famous song "Luka." Despite being known as the "Mother of MP3," she prefers the simplicity of Tom's Restaurant, a place where she used to have coffee. After moving to New York with her mother at a young age, Vega began performing in local music clubs and achieved a breakthrough with her second album, "Solitude Standing," which included hits like "Luka" and "Tom's Diner." Vega expressed gratitude for her fans who helped her during a musical mishap at a free concert in New York's Madison Square Park. A man, likely a seller in a drugstore, may unknowingly contribute to her fame by humming her song.
