Susaye Greene
Encyclopedia
Susaye Greene is an African-American
singer
, best known for being the last official member to join Motown girl group
The Supremes
, remaining in the group during its final years of existence from 1976 to 1977.
as a teenager, she appeared in various commercials and attended and graduated from the New York City High School of Performing Arts
.
Prior to joining The Supremes, Greene sang with Ray Charles
' Raelettes
and Stevie Wonder
's Wonderlove, which paired her with Deniece Williams
and Shirley Brewer. In 1973, she sang lead as a guest vocalist on New Birth's hit "Until It's Time for You to Go
" (a cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie
's song). A successful singer and songwriter
as well, Greene has written hit records for Michael Jackson
, Deniece Williams, and many others.
Greene was a member of The Supremes
from early 1976 to summer of 1977 (replacing Cindy Birdsong
), and performed on their last two albums, High Energy and Mary, Scherrie & Susaye
. Working alongside original member Mary Wilson
and Scherrie Payne
, Susaye quickly found her niche in the group and amongst the group's legions of fans. Susaye took lead on "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," in the group's live shows, which never failed to garner a standing ovation, and recorded "High Energy", the title song from the High Energy album.
entitled Partners under the name "Scherrie & Susaye." She also hosted her own cable television
show, Hollywood Hot, and continued writing for various artists. One of her most noteworthy compositions was the track "I Can't Help It", co-written with Stevie Wonder
for Michael Jackson
's Off the Wall
.
While touring England
in 1984 with Stevie Wonder, Greene met her present husband in London
and relocated there. In 1986, she sang lead on jazz
saxophonist Courtney Pine
's single "Children of the Ghetto". She signed with Ian Levine
's Motorcity
label, based in the United Kingdom
, in 1989. She released two solo singles on Motorcity - "Stop, I Need You Now" (1990) and her own version of Deniece Williams
' hit "Free
" (1991, which she co-wrote). At Motorcity, she also recorded the duet "It's Impossible
" with Billy Eckstine
. An unreleased demo recording of "Don't Pity The Fool" also exists, although no vocals were added.
Susaye Greene released her second solo album, Brave New Shoes, in 2005.
. She joined DeviantArt on Sept. 17, 2004 under the pseudonym "supremextreme".
On Sept. 21, 2005, Susaye was featured on DeviantArt's on-site chat network, "dAmn", for one of the community's regularly sponsored "Featured Chats". She interacted with members of the DeviantArt community-at-large, answering questions about her life, career, inspirations, motivations, and her time on the art site itself.
Greene continues to be an active member on DeviantArt and is preparing 3d images of her Supremextreme character for her first short animated feature film. She is also a key figure in The one million masterpiece
charity project, an online arts event aiming to raise over $6 million for global causes. Susaye is heavily involved in the marketing of the project to the artistic community.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, best known for being the last official member to join Motown girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, remaining in the group during its final years of existence from 1976 to 1977.
Early life and career
Born in Houston, Texas, she began her professional career at the age of 12 months. After moving to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as a teenager, she appeared in various commercials and attended and graduated from the New York City High School of Performing Arts
High School of Performing Arts
The High School of Performing Arts, more formally known as The School of Performing Arts: A Division of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, informally known as "PA", was a public alternative high school in New York, New York, USA that existed from 1948 through...
.
Prior to joining The Supremes, Greene sang with Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
' Raelettes
Raelettes
The Raelettes were a girl group in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, formed, as their name suggests, to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles.Its membership originally consisted of Darlene McCrea, Margie Hendricks, Patricia Lyles, and Gwendolyn Berry...
and Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
's Wonderlove, which paired her with Deniece Williams
Deniece Williams
June Deniece Chandler known by her stage name Deniece Williams is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s...
and Shirley Brewer. In 1973, she sang lead as a guest vocalist on New Birth's hit "Until It's Time for You to Go
Until It's Time for You to Go
"Until It's Time for You to Go" is a song from the 1965 album Many a Mile by Canadian First Nations singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. It was never released by her as a single, but was a UK Top 20 hit for British group The Four Pennies in 1965, and for Elvis Presley in 1972, and a US Hot 100...
" (a cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
's song). A successful singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
as well, Greene has written hit records for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Deniece Williams, and many others.
Greene was a member of The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
from early 1976 to summer of 1977 (replacing Cindy Birdsong
Cindy Birdsong
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Birdsong , better known by her stage name, Cindy Birdsong, is an American singer, most famous for singing with the legendary soul groups Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles and The Supremes.-Early life:...
), and performed on their last two albums, High Energy and Mary, Scherrie & Susaye
Mary, Scherrie & Susaye
Mary, Scherrie & Susaye is the final studio album by The Supremes, released in 1976 on the Motown label.The album featured the final line-up for the Supremes, composed of original Supreme Mary Wilson and latter-day members Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene. All three Supremes take leads on the...
. Working alongside original member Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson is an American singer, formerlymember of the Motown female singing group The Supremes during the 1960s and 1970s. Wilson was the only singer to be a consistent member of the group in its eighteen-year tenure...
and Scherrie Payne
Scherrie Payne
Scherrie Payne is an American singer. The younger sister of singer/actress Freda Payne, Scherrie Payne was the co-lead singer of The Supremes from 1973 to 1977, after Jean Terrell left the group in the fall of 1973...
, Susaye quickly found her niche in the group and amongst the group's legions of fans. Susaye took lead on "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," in the group's live shows, which never failed to garner a standing ovation, and recorded "High Energy", the title song from the High Energy album.
After The Supremes
In 1979, two years after The Supremes disbanded, Greene recorded a duet album with fellow former Supreme Scherrie PayneScherrie Payne
Scherrie Payne is an American singer. The younger sister of singer/actress Freda Payne, Scherrie Payne was the co-lead singer of The Supremes from 1973 to 1977, after Jean Terrell left the group in the fall of 1973...
entitled Partners under the name "Scherrie & Susaye." She also hosted her own cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
show, Hollywood Hot, and continued writing for various artists. One of her most noteworthy compositions was the track "I Can't Help It", co-written with Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's Off the Wall
Off the Wall (album)
Off the Wall is the fifth studio album by the American recording artist Michael Jackson, released August 10, 1979 on Epic Records, after Jackson's critically well received film performance in The Wiz. While working on that project, Jackson and Quincy Jones had become friends, and Jones agreed to...
.
While touring England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1984 with Stevie Wonder, Greene met her present husband in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and relocated there. In 1986, she sang lead on jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...
's single "Children of the Ghetto". She signed with Ian Levine
Ian Levine
Ian Levine is an English songwriter, producer, and DJ. He is also a well-known fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who.Levine attended Arnold School in Blackpool from 1963 to 1970...
's Motorcity
Motorcity Records
Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists.-History:...
label, based in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in 1989. She released two solo singles on Motorcity - "Stop, I Need You Now" (1990) and her own version of Deniece Williams
Deniece Williams
June Deniece Chandler known by her stage name Deniece Williams is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s...
' hit "Free
Free (Deniece Williams song)
"Free" is a popular song by Deniece Williams which was included on her album This Is Niecy. Written by Williams, Hank Redd, Nathan Watts and Susaye Greene and produced by Maurice White and Charles Stepney...
" (1991, which she co-wrote). At Motorcity, she also recorded the duet "It's Impossible
It's Impossible (song)
"Somos Novios " is a song written by the premier Mexican bolero composer Armando Manzanero in 1970. The song was translated into English immediately by Sid Wayne and first recorded by Perry Como the same year under the title It's Impossible. It is one of the most popular boleros of all time...
" with Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
. An unreleased demo recording of "Don't Pity The Fool" also exists, although no vocals were added.
Solo albums
Around the turn of the century, Greene moved back to the States, and in 2002, she finally released her first solo album, No Fear Here. Two singles and a video were released to critical acclaim. Greene penned most of the album herself.Susaye Greene released her second solo album, Brave New Shoes, in 2005.
Album appearances
- High Energy - with The SupremesThe SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
- Mary, Scherrie & SusayeMary, Scherrie & SusayeMary, Scherrie & Susaye is the final studio album by The Supremes, released in 1976 on the Motown label.The album featured the final line-up for the Supremes, composed of original Supreme Mary Wilson and latter-day members Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene. All three Supremes take leads on the...
- with The Supremes - At Their BestAt Their Best (The Supremes album)At Their Best is a 1978 album by The Supremes. It spans from 1970 through 1976, just shortly before the girl group disbanded in 1977.-Side one:#"Stoned Love" #"I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking" #"Floy Joy"...
- with The Supremes - Partners - duet album with former Supreme Scherrie PayneScherrie PayneScherrie Payne is an American singer. The younger sister of singer/actress Freda Payne, Scherrie Payne was the co-lead singer of The Supremes from 1973 to 1977, after Jean Terrell left the group in the fall of 1973...
- Songs in the Key of LifeSongs in the Key of LifeSongs in the Key of Life is the 13th album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released September 28, 1976, on Motown Records. It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. An ambitious double LP with a 4-song bonus EP, Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and...
- Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
(background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
) - Hotter than JulyHotter than JulyHotter than July is the nineteenth album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on Motown's Tamla label on September 29, 1980. Despite the wide critical acclaim for Wonder's previous works such as Songs in the Key of Life and Innervisions, Hotter than July was his first album eligible for platinum...
- Stevie Wonder (background vocals) - Journey to the Urge Within - Courtney PineCourtney PineCourtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...
(background vocals on "Children of The Ghetto") - Vital BlueVital BlueVital Blue is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1971 and released on the Mainstream label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "Booty Shakin'" - 5:20...
- Blue MitchellBlue MitchellRichard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
(Mainstream, 1971)
Songwriting credits
- "FreeFree (Deniece Williams song)"Free" is a popular song by Deniece Williams which was included on her album This Is Niecy. Written by Williams, Hank Redd, Nathan Watts and Susaye Greene and produced by Maurice White and Charles Stepney...
" - Deniece WilliamsDeniece WilliamsJune Deniece Chandler known by her stage name Deniece Williams is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s... - "Stop! I Need You Now"
- "No Fear Here"
- "Bewitched"
- "I Can't Help It" - Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
Presence in the online artistic community
Susaye Greene is also a member of the world's largest online art community, DeviantArtDeviantArt
deviantART is an online community showcasing various forms of user-made artwork. It was first launched on August 7, 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens, Angelo Sotira and others. deviantArt, Inc...
. She joined DeviantArt on Sept. 17, 2004 under the pseudonym "supremextreme".
On Sept. 21, 2005, Susaye was featured on DeviantArt's on-site chat network, "dAmn", for one of the community's regularly sponsored "Featured Chats". She interacted with members of the DeviantArt community-at-large, answering questions about her life, career, inspirations, motivations, and her time on the art site itself.
Greene continues to be an active member on DeviantArt and is preparing 3d images of her Supremextreme character for her first short animated feature film. She is also a key figure in The one million masterpiece
The one million masterpiece
The One Million Masterpiece is the largest artistic collaboration ever attempted. It is an ongoing project to produce a true piece of global artwork...
charity project, an online arts event aiming to raise over $6 million for global causes. Susaye is heavily involved in the marketing of the project to the artistic community.