b. 28 July 1962, Akron, Ohio, USA. Sweet sang professionally at the age of five, working as a child model for television commercials in New York and as a support act to Mickey Rooney. At the age of 12 she recorded her first single, the country song "Faded Rose", on the Derrick label which, along with her follow-up "We Live In Two Different Worlds", reached the lower regions of the Billboard country charts. Under the tutelage of manager and songwriter Liam Sternberg, in 1978 Sweet landed a contract with the pioneering independent UK label Stiff Records. The company had previously distributed a compilation album of Akron acts which included two tracks by the singer. For the Stiff 78 Tour with fellow labelmates Lene Lovich, Wreckless Eric, Jona Lewie and Mickey Jupp, Sweet's backing band were the Records. The single, a version of the Isaac Hayes/David Porter song "B-A-B-Y", reached the UK Top 40, with Sweet demonstrating she possessed a mature voice for someone still in her mid-teens. The full-length Fool Around saw her tackling Del Shannon's "I Go To Pieces" and Elvis Costello's "Stranger In The House" as well as several Sternberg originals.

Listen to Rachel Sweet at Finetune.

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