Like many homes, Suzanne de Passe's is filled with stuff.Her version of stuff? Gold and platinum albums.
Snapshots with Stevie Wonder and a young Michael Jackson.The Oscar-nominated screenplay she co-wrote for "Lady Sings the Blues." Her 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Award.De Passe is a giant in the music and entertainment industry … a trailblazing executive who moved Motown from Hitsville to Hollywood.
She did it with raw talent and relentless determination."I had so many wonderful things to do," she said, "and they were all hard, and they were all new – learning; making mistakes; getting my butt kicked; crying (tears of frustration, not sadness) – and little by little, I got my legs up under me."Born in Harlem and nurtured in the historic Black community of Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard, de Passe says a supportive family gave her the tools to succeed.I asked, "What were the lessons you learned from them?""I think more than lessons, it was values," she replied.
By 19, she left college to book performers at the Cheetah Club in Manhattan.Her friend, Cindy Birdsong, had just joined The Supremes, and introduced de Passe to her boss, Motown founder Berry Gordy, who hired de Passe as his creative assistant."When he decided that I should come to the company, I asked for a contract," she recalled.
"He said, 'I don't do contracts.' And I was there for 21 years without one, on a handshake."Part of her job was to find new talent, and that's what she did, when de Passe first heard about a group of brothers from Gary, Indiana.They called themselves The Jackson 5."The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
They were great," she said."The hair literally stood up?""Yeah, the hair.
This is my big barometer, back there, absolutely.When you feel something, it's not intellectual, at all.
I said, 'Oh, my gosh, Mr.Gordy, I saw this great act.' He said, 'Great.' I said, 'Wait till you see these kids.' He said, 'Kids? I don't wan...