MAA NEWS MAGAZINE: Suzanne dePasse

December/ 2012

Online Monthly Free Magazine

Volume 3

Motown label screw-ups

FACTS ON MICHAEL JACKSON IN DEATH AND LIFE

Brains, Beauty, and Determination

RARE BILLBOARD MAGAZINE PROMO

Even the mighty Motown who prided themselves on perfection made mistakes. We will present you with only a few labeling scew-ups. This research was Compiled by LG Nilsson, Seabear Studios, Stockholm, Sweden, and other sources.

The Motown mistake on this cut was a minor one, but a mistake none the less.

Can you find it?

Look near the very top of the label.

The word “Masterpiece has an extra “S” in its name. Not all of the recordings had this error and Motown quickly fixed the problem once recognized.

This Chris Clark label didn’t have the obvious mistake. Originally the title of the song was supposed to be “Love’s Gone Bad”. Take a look at the title of the song that was the mistake.

Even the perfectionist Marvin Gaye didn’t recognize the screw up on his own recording. The original title of this recording is “How Can I Forget”, not “How Can I forget You”. The word “You” was added to the song title.

Autry DeWalt… aka… Junior Walker got two screw-ups on his biggest hit recording. The first is the word “Shotgun” was placed as two words on the label instead of one word.

And, They just totally screwed-up the group’s name It was supposed to be Junior Walker & The All Stars, not Junior Walker & All The Stars.

Junior Walker & The All Stars were on a roll with screw-ups. Seems that the company changed the gender of the title of this song. It was supposed to be “Cleo’s Back”, but apparently “Leo’s Back”. They forgot the “C”.

We are on a roll with Junior Walker screw-ups. This mistake dealt with the distribution mark at the bottom of the label. Though there was a Bell Record Company in New York, Motown didn’t work with them, making this recording a mistake.

Remember the ‘Bell Distribution screwup just above this screw-up? Well there were other mistakes with the same outcome. Apparently, the label makers used the Bell distribution mark on a lot of the Soul Label recordings. So Motown put a permanent black mark over the mistake ... Tacky but neat!

Here’s a mistake that got a giggle out of us. First of all take a look at the label. What would you think is wrong with that song title? Its long as he$%#^! This is not the title they used on the distributed copies. They eventually broke the title down to “ A Breath Taking Guy”.

Brains, Beauty, and Determination

Of all the people to respect during Motown’s hey-days, Suzanne dePasse deserves a standing ovation. She literally worked her way into the Motown power base during the time of the Jackson 5 fame and the early 70s move. Though she spent time in Detroit during the late 60s, her most recognized achievements were after Motown and during the 70s and 80s.

Motown was moving into a new perspective by the end of the 60s with the departure of their top songwriting team Holland-DozierHolland. dePasse from the New York area squeezed her way into the Motown family lineup when she met Gordy at a function in New York City, and Gordy offered her a job. Though Gordy was paying her as an employee, and hired her as a creative assistant, she had nobody to be creative with. dePasse was not satisfied with being the token cutie on the pay role, so she picked up and moved to Detroit.

Motown eventually found a place for her; one position being creative Assistant. However, the position was

not one that Esther Gordy Edwards (Berry’s sister) wanted to hand over, because that was her job! Mrs. Edwards amongst other jobs was responsible for creating album covers. “I was not very pleased about that young girl taking over the position I held at the time” said Esther to MAA in 1996; “but she went on to be a fabulous designer and executive for the company… I’m glad she worked her way to the top of the Motown ladder.”

One of the most interesting stories about Suzanne is the fact that she was the person that got Berry Gordy to look at the Jackon 5. Bobby Taylor brought the young people into the vision of dePasse who was persistent in pushing Gordy to take a look at the group.

Berry did not want to deal with child artists because of the problems he had with Stevie Wonder and others.

They went on to become major stars for Motown, but when the Jackson 5 were leaving Motown, Michael didn’t want to leave. Michael told MAA in a 2001 phone interview, “I never wanted to leave Motown,” said Michael. “I cried and pleaded to Suzanne to let me stay” Jackson went on to say. Footnote: The group broke their contract with Motown to go to Epic Records, Motown had nothing to do with them making that decision.) dePasse went on to be the CEO of dePasse Enterprise, and have countless accolades accredited to her name.

We have a lot more to say about Suzanne dePasse, but we’d just rather lay out her credits and let them speak for her.

Producer (38 titles): 2006 - The 2006 Black Movie Awards (TV special) (executive producer)

2005 - The Black Movie Awards (TV movie) (executive producer)

2004 - Zenon: Z3 (TV movie) (producer)

2004 - The Soluna Project (TV movie) (executive producer)

2003 - 34th NAACP Image Awards (TV special) (executive producer)

2003 - Essence Awards (TV documentary) (executive producer)

2002 - Showtime at the Apollo (TV series) (executive producer)

2002 - Essence Awards (TV documentary) (producer)

2001 - 32nd NAACP Image Awards (TV special) (executive producer)

2001 - Zenon: The Zequel (TV movie) (executive producer - as Suzanne de Passe)

2000 - Cheaters (TV movie) (executive producer - as Suzanne de Passe)

2000 - The Loretta Claiborne Story (TV movie) (executive producer)

1994-1999 Sister, Sister (TV series) (executive producer - 119 episodes) – Fly Away Home (1999) (executive producer) – The Road Less Traveled (1999) (executive producer) – Let Them Eat Cupcakes (1999) (executive producer) – Before There Was Hip Hop... (1999) (executive producer) – FreakNik (1999) (executive producer)

1997-1999 Smart Guy (TV series) (executive producer - 51 episodes) – Never Too Young (1999) (executive producer) – The Graduate? (1999) (executive producer) – The Soda Wars (1999) (executive producer) – Cross Talk (1999) (executive producer) – Crushed (1999) (executive producer)

1999 - Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (TV movie) (executive producer - as Suzanne de Passe)

1999 - Chains (producer)

1998 - The Temptations (TV movie) (executive producer)

1998 - Motown 40: The Music Is Forever (TV documentary) (executive producer)

1996 - Dead Man's Walk (TV mini-series) (executive producer)

1995 - Streets of Laredo (TV mini-series) (executive producer)

1995 - Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (TV series) (executive producer)

1995 - Buffalo Girls (TV movie) (executive producer)

1994 - On Our Own (TV series) (executive producer - 1 episode) – All I Want for Christmas (1994) (executive producer)

1994 - Someone Else's Child (TV movie) (executive producer)

1992 - The Jacksons: An American Dream (TV movie) (co-executive producer)

1992 - Class Act (executive producer)

1990 - Smokey Robinson: The Quiet Legend (TV documentary) (executive producer)

1989 - Small Sacrifices (TV movie) (executive producer)

1989 Bridesmaids (TV movie) (executive producer - as Suzanne de Passe)

1989 - Lonesome Dove (TV mini-series) (executive producer - 4 episodes)

– Return (1989) (executive producer) – The Plains (1989) (executive producer - as Suzanne de Passe) – On the Trail (1989) (executive producer - as Suzanne de Passe) – Leaving (1989) (executive producer - as Suzanne de Passe)

1988 - Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues (video documentary) (executive producer)

1987 - Motown Merry Christmas (TV movie) (producer)

1987 - Marvin Gaye (TV documentary) (executive producer)

1986 - Nightlife (TV series) (producer)

1986 - Motown on Showtime: Temptations and Four Tops (TV documentary) (executive producer)

1985 - Motown Returns to the Apollo (TV special) (executive producer)

1983 - Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (TV documentary) (executive producer)

1983 - II Happy Endings (TV movie) (executive producer)

Hide Writer (4 titles) 2005 - The Black Movie Awards (TV movie)

1998 - Motown 40: The Music Is Forever (TV documentary)

1983 - Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (TV documentary)

1972 - Lady Sings the Blues (screenplay / as Suzanne de Passe)

Hide Self (19 titles) 2010 - An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Lionel Richie (TV movie) Herself

2009 - The Black List: Volume Two (TV documentary)

Herself

2006 - TV One on One (TV series) Herself – Episode dated 18 June 2006 (2006) … Herself

2005 - Behind the Blues: Lady Sings the Blues (video short) Herself

2004 - TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (video documentary) Herself 2003 - The Michael Jackson Story (TV documentary) Herself - Motown Records Executive 1968-1988

2000-2003 Intimate Portrait (TV series documentary) Herself – Mo'Nique (2003) … Herself – Holly Robinson Peete (2000) … Herself

2003 - All American Girl (TV series)

Herself/Coach

2003 - Girlfriends (TV series) Herself – Sex, Lies, and Books (2003) … Herself

2003 - E! True Hollywood Story (TV series documentary) Herself – Diana Ross (2003) … Herself

2003 - Essence Awards (TV documentary) Herself

2002 - It's Black Entertainment (TV special documentary) Herself

2000 - Biography (TV series documentary) Herself - Producer – Farrah Fawcett: America's Angel (2000) … Herself - Producer (as Suzanne DePasse)

1998 - Behind the Music (TV series documentary) Herself – Rick James (1998) … Herself

1990 - The 11th Annual Black Achievement Awards (TV special) Herself

1990 - Story of a People: The Black Road to Hollywood (TV special documentary) Herself

1988 - The Media Show (TV series) Herself – Episode #3.9 (1988) … Herself

1988 - Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues (video documentary) Herself

1983 - The 35th Annual Emmy Awards (TV special)

Herself - Winner: Best Variety, Music or Comedy Program

Research Reference:IMDb

Black artists were not that popular on the Billboard music charts until the late 50’s and even then, Ray Charles, Little Richard, The Platters, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, and the Moonglows clearly dominate Black visibility on TV and radio. However, when the early 60s broke in, things started to change.

Motown was born, and they almost singlehandedly broke down the color barriers imposed by racist radio stations and distributors. We found some early Billboard promotion and advertisement that represented Motown’s early years in Billboard Magazine. These ads, chart placements, and or promotion are extremely rare. Enjoy your read.

If you have been following Michael all his life like we have, you will find the deeper you get into his mystique the more interesting he has become. Every item and or picture we placed in this book is something interesting to Jackon fans.

This listing is Michael Jackson’s official funeral expenses.

We didn’t want to pull the entire will of Michael Jackon even though every fan will read every word. We just added the part where his Mother takes charge of the kids.

Remember when people thought Michael had an Oxogin chamber in his home?

Michael said that he was testing the chamber because the Michael Jackson Burn Center just bought the item, and he wanted to test it out to make sure the children weren’t scared getting into it. There were obviously other pictures, and this is not the

picture that the world seen, but Jackson was very interest in the comfort of the children.

The Coroner released this picture in the court case as evidence. Its authentic and very sad.

The only thing wrong with this picture is that the dates are wrong.

Christopher Rogers Michael’s autopsy doctor said that the date should be July 25.

Michael suffered for the rest of his life with the Pepsi commercial burn on the top of his head. He said that the area was numb, and he couldn’t feel anything in that area, but with surgery, and plants he was able to deal with it.

People couldn’t believe Michael wanted to grow a beard and mustache. People thought his skin was falling off his face. He was so upset about what people were saying that he went back to the clean shaven look. His internet fans about 6,000,000 + didn’t care at all.

Michael Jackson’s Death Certificate

Michael Jackson’s Passport

Lisa McCall is a master dancer, choreographer and teacher. Her extensive experience as a performer and choreographer in internationally recognized companies, musicals, concert tours and music videos place her into the top of the field as a valuable asset and inspirational visionary.

Lisa has travelled throughout the USA and abroad, dancing with worldrenowned artists such as Clifford Fears, Katherine Dunham, Pearl Reynolds, and George Faison. She has performed with stellar dance companies including the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Student Company, Dance Afrique, Forces of Nature, Joan Peters’ Dunham Theater, the Frank Hatchett Dance Company, Penny Godboldo’s Writhm Dance Company, and Baba Ali Abdullah’s Studio of African Dance & Philosophy.

James Carter, Lisa McCall, Freda Payne and Herbert J. Strather

Her skills have been invaluable as both dancer and choreographer with music greats such as the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, Lena Horne, Chaka Khan, Regina Belle, and Maria Gibbs, just to name a few of the

many. Through this her work has been shown at prestigious places such as the Kennedy Centre, Carnegie Hall, The White House, the Presidential Library for Bill Clinton, the Lincoln Center, and most recently, Grammy’s week in LA.

Some of her stage credits include lead roles in the musicals The Wiz, Dream Girls, Raisin, and Your Arms Too Short To Box With God. Recently, she wrote, produced and directed a Broadway Style Musical called Blues Rhythm Musical, which ran for 6-weeks and is currently being packaged for touring. In addition, Lisa has choreographed for independent films and music videos.

Lisa’s choreography spans the diverse dance styles of ballet, jazz, musical theatre, modern Dunham technique and dances of the African and Caribbean Diaspora. Whether choreographing for a musical, nationwide tour, or a special presentation, Lisa’s choreography provides a vast array of knowledge and artistic vision.

Her detailed resume and full story is attached. More about Lisa can be found at www.myspace.com/LisaMcCallChoreography.

Lisa McCall was born a natural dancer, beginning her dance discipline at the age of 10, first studying ballet. At the age of 14, she trained with the late Clifford Fears, world renown musical director, arranger/composer, pianist, vocalist, songwriter, among more, eventually becoming a young soloist at the Festival of the Performing Arts, an annual summer youth program. There, Lisa was introduced to her first professional experiences as well as the Katherine Dunham Technique.

At the age of 17, Lisa went to New York on a full dance scholarship to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. She was also awarded a notable scholarship from the Ballerine Bells, led by Beatrice Buck. In New York Lisa was taken under the wings of fierce and strict dance instructor Pearl Reynolds, one of the first generation Dunham dancers who took Lisa’s Detroit energized passion and culminated it with New York’s brassy flair, as she began blossoming

There are Motown artists that are working and performing all over the world. This listing will give you a heads-up on who is doing what, and where.

MARY WILSON (Info from MaryWilson.com)

Fri 01/18/13

Fort Myers, FL Siesta Bay RV Resort

Sat 01/19/13

Lula, MS

Sat 01/26/13

Saint Charles, MO

Isle Of Capri Casino

Bezemes Family Theatre

Mary Wilson Continues ‌

Sat 02/09/13

Jackson, MI

Potter Center

Fri 02/15/13

Duluth, MN

Reif Center

Appearing with Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone Sat 03/23/13

Schenectady, NY

Proctors

Sat 04/20/13

New Brunswick, NJ

State Theatre

Appearing at "Fleetwood Country Cruize-In Car Show" Fri 06/07/13

London, ON

Plunkett Estate

Appearing at "Where The Action Is Tour" Fri 07/19/13

Lancaster, PA

American Music Theatre

Fri 03/07/14

Boca Raton, FL Stonebridge Golf and Country Club

Sat 03/08/14

Boynton Beach, FL

Valencia Isles Club

Sun 03/09/14

Delray Beach, FL

Kings Point

Continue…

THE TEMPTATIONS (Info from RonTyson.com)

OCTOBER 2012

Thursday Nov 8 Centrepointe Theatre Ottawa, ON (Canada)

Friday Nov 9

The Empire Theatre and Centre for the Performing Arts Belleville, ON (Canada)

The Temptations Continues…

Saturday Nov 10

Markham Theatre

Markham, ON (Canada)

Sunday Nov 11 Hamilton Place Theatre Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)

Thursday Nov 29

Friday Nov 30

Colonial Theatre

Keene, NH

Lebanon Opera House Lebanon, NH

JANUARY 2013

Friday Jan 25

Turlock Community theatre

Turlock, CA

Saturday Jan 26 Peppermill Hotel Casino West Wendover, NV

FEBRUARY 2013

Saturday Feb 6 Stamford Center for The Arts

Saturday Feb 7

Friday Feb 8

Count Basie Theatre

Mayo Performing Arts Center

Red Bank, NJ

Morristown, NJ

The Temptations Continue‌

Saturday Feb 9 NYCB Theatre at Westbury

Westbury, NY

Sunday Feb 10 Worcester Center for the Performing Arts

Feb 15 Quechan Casino Resort Yuma, AZ

Saturday Feb 16

Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts Cerritos, CA

MARCH 2013

Friday Mar 22 The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Concert Hall West Palm Beach, FL

Saturday Mar 23

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

Sarasota, FL

Sunday Mar 24 Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts

APRIL 2013 Saturday Apr 13

French Lick Resort

French Lick, IN

Melbourne, FL

SMOKEY ROBINSON (Info from Pollstar.com)

Wed 11/14/12 Performing Arts Ctr.

Englewood, NJ Bergen

Fri 11/16/12 Morristown, NJ Mayo Performing Arts Center

Tue 11/20/12 House

Wilmington, DE Grand Opera

THE TEMPTATIONS REVIEW Featuring DENNIS EDWARDS (Info from Pollstar.com)

Mon 12/31/12

Las Vegas, NV Casablanca Event Center

Fri 05/17/13

Sarasota, FL

Ritz Carlton

BETTYE LAVETTE (Info from Pollstar.com)

Wed 11/07/12

Ann Arbor, MI The Ark

Fri 11/09/12

Chicago, IL

City Winery Chicago

Sat 11/10/12

Chicago, IL

City Winery Chicago

Mon 11/12/12

Minneapolis, MN

Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant

Tue 11/13/12

Minneapolis, MN

Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant

Wed 11/28/12

The Woodlands, TX

Dosey Doe

Thu 11/29/12

Dallas, TX

Fri 11/30/12

San Antonio, TX Jo Long Theatre

Wed 12/05/12

Paris, France

Fri 12/07/12

Bordeaux, France

Sat 12/08/12

Conflans Ste Honorin, France

The Kessler Theater

Alhambra Theatre Music Hall

Casino De Bordeaux

Theatre Simone Signoret

Sun 12/09/12

Lille, France

Hotel Casino Barriere Lille

Tue 12/11/12

London, United Kingdom

Fri 12/14/12

Leuven, Belgium

Sun 12/16/12

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Mon 12/17/12

Utrecht, Netherlands

Fri 01/11/13

New York, NY

City Winery

Sat 01/12/13

New York, NY

Joe's Pub

Mon 11/05/12

Ithaca, NY

State Theatre

Wed 11/07/12

Port Chester, NY

Jazz Cafe

Het Depot

MC Theater

Tivoli Oudegracht

MEATLOAF (Info from Pollstar.com)

The Capitol Theatre

BOYZ II MEN Sun 11/18/12

Geelong, Australia

Costa Hall

Mon 11/19/12

Melbourne, Australia

Billboard The Venue

Wed 11/21/12

Newcastle, Australia

Panthers

Thu 11/22/12

Brisbane, Australia

The Tivoli

Sat 11/24/12

Gold Coast, Australia

Conrad Jupiters Casino

Sun 11/25/12

Canberra, Australia

Royal Theatre

Wed 11/28/12

Penrith, Australia

Evan Theatre

Sat 12/01/12

Sydney, Australia

State Theatre

Mon 12/03/12

Wellington, New Zealand

Tue 12/04/12

Hastings, New Zealand Pettigrew.Green Arena

Wed 12/05/12

Auckland, New Zealand Logan Campbell Centre

Thu 12/06/12

Hamilton, New Zealand Claudelands Arena

The Opera House

Thu 02/14/13

Lancaster, CA

Lancaster Performing Arts Center

Sat 02/16/13

Anaheim, CA

City National Grove Of Anaheim

Tue 02/19/13

Columbia, MO Jesse Auditorium

Fri 04/05/13

New Brunswick, NJ

Sat 04/06/13

Montreal, QC

Olympia de Montreal

Tue 04/09/13

Ottawa, ON

Centrepointe Theatre

Wed 04/10/13

Kingston, ON

Grand Theatre

Thu 04/11/13

Richmond Hill, ON

Fri 04/12/13

Oakville, ON

Sat 04/13/13

Saint Catharines, ON

Sun 04/14/13

Brampton, ON Rose Theatre Brampton

State Theatre

Richmond Hill Centre For the Performing Arts

The Oakville Centre For The Performing Arts

Brock Centre For The Arts

THE JACKSONS (Info from Pollstar.com)

Fri 11/09/12

Grant, OK

Choctaw Event Center

Sat 11/10/12

Durant, OK

Choctaw Casino Resort

Fri 11/16/12

Hindmarsh, Australia

Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Appearing at "Night Of The Proms" Thu 11/08/12

Merksem, Belgium

Sportpaleis Antwerpen

Thu 11/22/12

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Ahoy Rotterdam

Fri 11/23/12

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Ahoy Rotterdam

Sat 11/24/12

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Ahoy Rotterdam

Thu 12/06/12

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo International Forum

Fri 12/07/12

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo International Forum

Sun 12/09/12

Osaka, Japan

Grand Cube

Wed 12/12/12

Selangor, Malaysia

Palace Of The Golden Horses

Thu 12/13/12

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Stadium Negara

Sat 12/15/12

Singapore, Singapore

Singapore Indoor Stadium

RAY PARKER JR. (Info from Pollstar.com)

Fri 01/18/13

Cabazon, CA

Morongo Casino Resort & Spa