Music
Rachel Nagy
1973–2022 · singer
Lead singer and co-founder of the Detroit Cobras, whose tough, soulful takes on forgotten R&B and rock and roll songs made them stars of the city's garage revival.
- Born
- Died
New Orleans, Louisiana
aged 48- Detroit years
- 1990s–2010s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Rachel Nagy co-founded the Detroit Cobras in 1994 with guitarist Mary Ramirez, and the two remained the heart of a band whose other members changed constantly. Rather than writing originals, the Cobras dug up obscure 1950s and 1960s soul, R&B and girl-group sides and played them with garage-rock swagger, with Nagy's husky, commanding voice out front. An early live set was captured at the Old Miami on Cass Avenue for the 1995 compilation Bankstock II. Their albums Mink, Rat or Rabbit (1998) and Life, Love and Leaving (2001) on Sympathy for the Record Industry, then Baby (2004) on Rough Trade and Tied & True (2007), carried them to Europe alongside the White Stripes and other Detroit bands. Third Man Records later reissued their work and released a new single in 2018. She died at her home in New Orleans in January 2022, shortly before a planned tour; Detroit held a public celebration of her life that summer.
Highlights
- Co-founded the Detroit Cobras in 1994
- Albums Mink, Rat or Rabbit (1998), Life, Love and Leaving (2001), Baby (2004), Tied & True (2007)
- Signed to Rough Trade in the early 2000s
- Single “What More” on Third Man Records (2018)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1995
The Old Miami
Cass Corridor bar with a big backyard stage; the Cobras' July 4 weekend 1995 set here appeared on the compilation Bankstock II.