The Roches are a three woman vocal band from New Jersey. They got their first big break as background vocalists for Paul Simon and then had one of their songs recorded by Phoebe Snow, The Married Men.
I discovered them working at WKDI, which was at the time the college radio station at Northern Illinois University. On The Road To Farifax County from their 1982 record, Keep On Doing is simply a beautiful song (it’s actually a cover as well. The song was written by David Massengill and was also a minor hit for Joan Baez).
In 1990, the Roches recorded and released an eclectic Christmas record, We Three Kings. It features 24 songs and while being different, is really quite good.
I’m going to feature two songs from it tonight but will also post it in its entirety below.
Star of Wonder/We Three Kings starts as a lovely three harmony vocal but turns a sharp corner to an almost Dire Straits feel when We Three Kings starts up (like i said, different).
Christmas Passing Through is a Suzzy Roche original and pretty much sums up the style and talent of the band. Give them a listen. I think you’ll enjoy them.
Star of Wonder/We Three Kings
Christmas Passing Through
We Three Kings (Full Album)
Tom's Christmas Music Blog 