Portrait of Suzanne Vega

Birthday profile

Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Born
July 11, 1959
Age in 2026
67
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1959

About Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Nadine Vega (née Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter of folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s, she released four singles that entered the Top 40 on the UK singles chart, "Marlene on the Wall", "Left of Center", "Luka" and "No Cheap Thrill". "Tom's Diner", which was originally released as an a cappella recording on Vega's second studio album, Solitude Standing (1987), was remixed in 1990 as a dance track by English electronic music producers DNA with her vocals, and became a Top 10 hit in five countries. The original a cappella recording of the song was used as a test during the creation of the MP3 format. The role of her song in the development of the MP3 compression prompted Vega to be given the title of "The Mother of the MP3". Vega has released ten studio albums; her most recent release is the studio album Flying with Angels, released on May 2, 2025 by Cooking Vinyl. Vega and Peck met for the first time in her late 20s, and they remain in contact. Vega's eponymous debut studio album was released on May 1, 1985 by A&M Records and was well received by critics in the U.S.; it reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the album, in 1989 Vega became the first female artist to headline the Glastonbury Festival.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Suzanne Vega timeline

  1. Vega's eponymous debut studio album was released on May 1, 1985 by A&M Records and was well received by critics in the U.S.; it reached platinum status in the United Kingdom.
  2. Following the success of the album, in 1989 Vega became the first female artist to headline the Glastonbury Festival.

The world when Suzanne Vega was born

Suzanne Vega was born in 1959. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1959

  • #1 song"Mack the Knife" – Bobby Darin
  • Top movieBen-Hur
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookGoldfinger – Ian Fleming

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentIngemar Johansson knocks out Floyd Patterson for heavyweight title
  • Top headlineAlaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th US states
  • Technology milestoneMicrochip (integrated circuit) invented
  • Defining fadBarbie dolls
  • Notable inventionBarbie doll
  • World population2.98 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championLos Angeles Dodgers (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population177.1M

1959 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Suzanne Vega's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19592026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,400$435,000
Average income$7,000$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population177.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.