Suzanne de Passe ’68 at the 2006 Rick Weiss Humanitarian Awards in California. The former Motown president is being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Oct. 19.
Suzanne de Passe ’68 believes there are two types of visionaries—those who thrive in corporate America and those who don’t. A veteran music, television and film producer, she falls squarely into the latter category. “I’m an entrepreneur,” proclaims the 2024 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF). “Risk is its own reward.”
The former Motown executive who helped sign The Jackson 5 in 1968 has built a career on taking risks. De Passe’s ability to navigate uncertainty, to not take “no” for an answer, exemplifies her unflagging self-confidence.
“The word ‘no’ is like a vitamin,” says the co-chair of LA-based de Passe Jones Entertainment Group, who also is receiving the RRHOF’s Ahmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement. “It makes me want to push harder.”
The University taught me how to live fearlessly.
Suzanne de Passe
Born and raised in Harlem, New York City, de Passe attended Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences before taking a job as Berry Gordy Jr.’s creative assistant. While she considers the legendary Motown founder her mentor, his larger-than-life personality could “sometimes be hard” to deal with.
De Passe found this out when she tried to persuade Gordy to sign The Jackson 5—a “bunch of kids from Gary, Indiana, whose singing made the hairs on the back of [her] neck stand up.” She learned about them from Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, a Canadian soul band on one of Motown’s imprints. Even with Taylor’s personal endorsement, de Passe had difficulty convincing Gordy—who was then working the teenaged Stevie Wonder—to invest in another “kids act.”
De Passe persisted, scoring The Jackson 5 a live audition that Gordy blew off. “He changed his mind, however, after seeing their videotape,” recalls the University’s Arents and Chancellor’s Citation award winner. The Jackson 5 soon relocated to southern California, where they fine-tuned their stage act and cranked out four No. 1 singles between 1969-70.
“They were a hit-making machine,” notes de Passe, praising the Jacksons’ work ethic and willingness to learn from others. “But it was their talent and charm that gave them enduring crossover appeal.”
From Success to Success
“The University taught me how to live fearlessly,” says de Passe, who now runs her own production company in LA.
De Passe remained at Motown until 1992, overseeing the records division and signing the likes of Lionel Richie and the Commodores, Rick James, Teena Marie and DeBarge. She also led the company’s expansion into television.
In her quest to shatter the glass ceiling, de Passe became the first African American woman to co-write an Oscar-nominated screenplay. “I’m proud to be the first, but I abhor being the only one,” she says of her involvement with the 1972 Billie Holiday biopic, Lady Sings the Blues.
De Passe also produced and co-wrote the 1983 Emmy-winning documentary Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, introducing Michael Jackson’s iconic moonwalk dance.
“I didn’t have any practical skills, but I had a big mouth, a lot of input and a lot of opinions,” de Passe recently told the RRHOF. Such moxie translated into more than $2 billion in entertainment revenue for Motown during her tenure there.
With her own production company, de Passe has spent the past three decades going from success to success. She’s particularly proud of her work on the TV sitcom Sister, Sister and the miniseries Lonesome Dove as well as former President Obama’s Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball.
“I like being a role model for others,” says de Passe, who regularly speaks to students in Syracuse and LA. “The University taught me how to live fearlessly. I never give up.”
