The youngest of six musical children, Fuchs was born and raised in Wildwood, Florida. It is a small rural town. She is the daughter of Sandy and Don Fuchs. At the age of twelve she joined the First Baptist Gospel Choir and began singing in public. At sixteen she became the lead singer of a popular local band at a roadside Holiday Inn. She moved to New York City at nineteen and began working with Jon Diamond, a guitarist who had toured with Joan Osborne and W.C. Handy Award winner Debbie Davies. They formed the Dana Fuchs Band. The band was a feature act at a number of clubs, performing with people like John Popper, James Cotton, and Taj Mahal.