Chuck Suchy

Chuck Suchy (pronounced soo-key) is the real thing--one of the foremost musical voices of the American Great Plains. A working farmer, born and raised and at home in the blue hills along the Missouri River south of Mandan, North Dakota, Chuck Suchy has a love for making music that goes back to his childhood. Throughout his youth and young adult life, he found time to perform in the area's halls, clubs and lounges, singing and playing guitar and accordian. In 1982 a major event occurred when an acquaintance gave him a tape of Canadian troubadour Stan Rogers singing his classic Field Behind The Plow. "It was at that moment" Suchy says "that I realized that the life I was immersed in was worthy of song." He began writing his own ballads and songs, slipping them into his performances and it was soon obvious that he was on to something quite unique -sensitive and honest portrayals of contemporary American farm life, but from an insider's point of view. In the decade since, Chuck Suchy has continued to write, sing and record songs evoking and extolling the Great Plains region and lifestyle. His themes have expanded to include songs about human relationships, spirituality, motorcycles, and even sailing. The Plains have seen a lot of change over this time, including farm crises, loss of population, and a major restructuring of the agricultural economy. Chuck remains an astute observer of it all and his songs chronicle not only the events, but the emotions and feelings that accompany such upheaval and change. CROSSROADS MAGAZINE has called Chuck "One of the shining lights of the Upper Great Plains." His music and stories speak to everyone -urban and rural- because laughter, love, gain and loss are common human property.