Norma Tanega

Tanega died on December 29, 2019, at her home in Claremont, California, aged 80.

In 2015, Sienna Sebek portrayed Tanega in a London stage production based on the life of Dusty Springfield. Critics panned the show, one writing that the Tanega-Springfield relationship was reduced to, "they meet, fall in love, have a relationship and break up all within the space of a [sic] 10 minutes or so." Anabello Rodrigo reprised the role for a 2016 production featuring 3-D virtual effects.

In 2014, Tanega's song "You're Dead" was used in the opening credits of the New Zealand vampire comedy film What We Do In The Shadows and was remixed to become a running theme for its characters. In 2019, it was also used as the opening credits theme for the film's television adaptation.

Beyond the mid-60s buzz around Tanega's sole hit single and the number of songs she contributed to Dusty Springfield's repertoire, many other musicians have continued to record their own versions of Tanega's early work. Garage rock group Thee Oh Sees covered "What Are We Craving?" on their 2011 album Castlemania. Her one chart hit, "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog", has continued the rounds in other musicians' repertoires: Dr. Hook included it in a 1996 three-disc collection; Yo La Tengo performed it in 2010; and They Might Be Giants recorded it in 2013 for release on their 2015 children's album Why?.

Her next band was called Baboonz with guitarist Tom Skelly and bassist Mario Verlangieri. The trio released a self-titled CD in 2008, the album HA! In 2009, and a third called 8 Songs Ate Brains in 2010. Other recording projects soon followed, including the album Push with John Zeretzke, Twin Journey with Steve Rushingwind Ruiz, and a return collaboration with Ceramic Ensemble sound sculptor Brian Ransom for their album Internal Medicine.

In the 1990s Tanega founded the group hybridVigor, starting as a duo with Mike Henderson for their first album, then expanding to a trio with the addition of Rebecca Jamm for their second album. In 1998 Tanega formed the Latin Lizards with Robert Grajeda, and the duo released the album Dangerous in 2003.

In 1972 Tanega moved back to Claremont, California and took jobs teaching music and English as a second language. She returned to painting and exhibiting her artwork — with frequent support from the Claremont Museum of Art — and sometimes combined with her musical performances. Musically she switched from playing guitar to percussion and her style evolved from folk-rock singer-songwriting to more instrumental and experimental music. In the 1980s she was a member of Scripps ceramics professor Brian Ransom's Ceramic Ensemble, a group that played Ransom's handmade earthenware instruments. Over the years Ceramic Ensemble played at universities, folk festivals, and art museums.

The couple took up residence in London's Kensington district, where Tanega continued to paint and play music. Springfield recorded many of Tanega's songs. These included "No Stranger Am I", the 5/4 number that originally appeared on Tanega's first album; "The Colour of Your Eyes", which Tanega wrote for Springfield in Venice, Los Angeles; "Earthbound Gypsy" and "Midnight Sounds", both co-written in New York with Tanega's high school friend Dan White; and "Come for a Dream", co-written with bossa nova musician Antônio Carlos Jobim. Tanega also penned the English language lyrics for Springfield's version of "Morning", a cover of the song "Bom Dia" by Gilberto Gil and Nana Caymmi. In 1970 Tanega teamed up with jazz pianist Blossom Dearie to write a song about Springfield for Dearie's album That's Just the Way I Want to Be.

While Tanega's next three singles had less commercial success than "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog", her debut album was named for its big hit and its popularity spawned several cover versions by contemporary artists. A month after Tanega's single entered the charts, Barry McGuire cut a version on the heels of his number one hit "Eve of Destruction". The T-Bones did an instrumental take on it later that year, and both the Jazz Crusaders and Art Blakey released jazz treatments of the song in 1967. International versions adapted the song into other languages. Madagascar yé-yé group Les Surfs translated it as "Mon Chat Qui S'Appelle Médor" for the French-speaking and African markets, Belgium's Lize Marke released it as "Wanneer Komt Het Geluk Voor Mij" ("When Comes This Happiness For Me") in Dutch, and Jytte Elga Olga interpreted it as "Min Kat – Herr Hund" ("My Cat, Mister Dog") on a Danish 45.

Tanega worked for a short time at a mental hospital, where she sang and played songs for patients. She spent her summers working as a camp counselor upstate in the Catskill Mountains. Brooklyn-based record producer Herb Bernstein saw Tanega performing while visiting the camp one summer. Impressed by what he saw, Bernstein introduced her to Four Seasons songwriter Bob Crewe. The two men produced a number of recordings that comprised Tanega's first album and singles to be released on Crewe's New Voice Records label in 1966.

Tanega began classical piano lessons at age nine. She entered Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1952 and in her senior year directed the school's art gallery. By age 16 she was exhibiting her paintings at both Long Beach's Public Library and its Municipal Art Center, playing Beethoven and Bartók at piano recitals, and writing poetry. At age 17, she entered Scripps College on a scholarship and continued her studies at Claremont Graduate School, earning an MFA in 1962.

Norma Tanega was born on January 30, 1939 in Vallejo, California, USA as Norma Cecilia Tanega.