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Suzanne De Passe

Suzanne De Passe, “Larry King Live” (June 25, 2009) (archived)

I had just gone to work for Mr. Gordy in 1968. And he was a very imposing figure. And I was so happy to be at Motown and I was asked to come to see this group at Bobby Taylor's apartment. We lived in the same apartment building.

And I walked in and I saw these kids. And they were unbelievable. And I called Mr. Gordy and I said, oh, I've just seen the most fantastic act. And he said, great. And I said, yes, these kids. He said, kids? I don't want any kids. Stevie Wonder is enough of a handful. Go find some talented adults basically.

And, you know, I was terribly new and terribly green. And I didn't know what to do. And I just had been so profoundly affected by their talent that I went back one more time, mustered up all my courage. And I said, Mr. Gordy, you just have to see these kids. And he finally relented and he agreed to audition them. And the rest is history.

KING: Suzanne, did you [know he was going to be a hit]?

DE PASSE: Absolutely. And as much as one can know anything in this business, I think that he had the charisma, the talent, the voice, the everything you take. When you think about the it factor is, that's what he had at that age. He was phenomenal. And then when he wasn't performing, he was, like, this regular kid that was wanting to color and get candy and mess around. You know? It was just an amazing combination of elements.

KING: Did Berry recognize it as soon as he saw him?

DE PASSE: Oh, yes. That's one of the things that gave me job security for many, many years at Motown is that…

[Laughter]

DE PASSE: You know, I had -- I had to talk him into it. And I think that -- yes, but, of all the people in the world who recognized his talent, Berry Gordy was, you know -- I mean what he mobilized from the time he saw Michael, I mean, and the group was signed and Michael and the Jackson 5 had three number one records in a row before they ever went out to perform.

And I had the opportunity to take them out on their first tour and clearly didn't know what I was doing. But we all figured it out together and, I mean, it was so incredible to see what young kids, in particular, young African-American kids, how they embraced the Jackson 5.

And, I mean, we went from being completely anonymous -- I should say the boys went from being completely anonymous to being absolutely on lockdown not able to go anywhere in a period of a few months. It was phenomenal.

“Reuters” (June 26, 2009) (archived)

Jackson rose to fame as the youngest member of the Jackson 5, a group that Motown founder Berry Gordy was initially reluctant to sign. “He didn’t want any more kid acts because Stevie Wonder was more than a handful,” said former Motown executive Suzanne de Passe, who lobbied Gordy to sign them.

De Passe toured extensively with the Jackson 5, taking charge of their costumes, schooling, choreography and concert production. “Michael was very mischievous back in those days,” de Passe said, recalling that he loved to hide in closets and behind doors to scare unsuspecting targets. She dubbed him “Casper,” and when she saw him decades later mobbed by fans, she yelled out “Casper!” and Jackson immediately rushed over to give her a hug.

Jackson left Motown for the greener pastures of Epic Records in 1979, and de Passe said she last spoke to him about three years ago. She was on a retreat when she heard of Jackson’s death, and described the news as “the shock of my life.”