Singer/songwriter Suzy Dalton grew up listening to Broadway show tunes. “For hours, I’d sit at the piano and belt out show tunes”, she laughs. “I dreamed of being on stage, but was just too insecure to pursue it.”

Then she met Pat Garrett, leader of the successful country group, The Pat Garrett Band who was looking for a female singer. “If I had thought about it for even a second, I would never have done it.” She laughs recalling, “In fact, I didn’t know any country songs, so my on-the-spot audition for him was ‘Sleepy Time Gal.’ “It’s a complicated song musically,’ explains Garrett, “and she nailed every note – and sang it a cappella (without accompaniment). She has an incredible memory for lyrics and melodies, and a great sense of humor. I knew she’d be a quick study.”

Suzy began by singing background vocals, and was featured on a couple of songs in each show. She also taught herself to yodel, and before long was a full-fledged country singer. “I had the fringes, the yodel, the boots. I sang Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, Patsy Montana, Patty Loveless, you name it!”

Then the bass player in the Pat Garrett Band suddenly left for medical school.

Suzy remembers, “Pat said ‘I just can’t keep a bass player’. I said, half-jokingly, ‘Well, how hard is it?’” He taught me the basics, I locked myself in a closet and practiced, and in about two weeks, I’m embarrassed to say, I was playing in the band!”

As she developed an appreciation of country music, Suzy also found herself influenced by the music of Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Sheryl Crow, Emmy Lou Harris, Nora Jones, and other female singer/songwriters. Slowly, she began penning her own tunes. “Somewhere I had it in my head, ‘You’re not a songwriter’, but you know, you are what you do, so I just did it because I felt like I had something to say.” Soon people began requesting her songs in shows, buying her albums, and “to see people singing along to your own songs – what a kick!”

Suzy’s most recent album, “The Sweetest Thing I’ve Never Heard” features six songs by Dalton, or co-written by Dalton and Pat Garrett. Her first album “Somewhere In the Middle” includes two of her originals, the title cut and “You Don’t Realize”. She is currently at work on her third album.

“I pick topics I believe are issues with women,” explains Suzy. “Sometimes I offer advice, sometimes empathy, sometimes a kick in the butt. But I always write with a hope someone out there will learn from my mistakes”.

The Pat Garrett Band is based in Pennsylvania U.S.A., and divides its time between there and Nashville.

Find out more about Suzy, her music and The Pat Garrett Band at http://www.patgarrett.com