Ahmet Ertegun Award Honoree Suzanne de Passe On Not Taking No For An Answer & The Power Of A Great Attitude

If not for trailblazing executive Suzanne de Passe, the world might not have been introduced to the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson. After all, in her job as creative assistant to Motown founder Berry Gordy, it was de Passe who helped sign the Jackson 5 to the label in 1968 after Gordy initially said no.

De Passe, who got her start in the industry as the talent coordinator at New York’s Cheetah nightclub, is being honored with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Ahmet Ertegun Award, given to non-performing industry professionals who have had a major influence on the creative development and growth of rock ’n’ roll and music that has impacted youth culture. During her nearly six decades in the entertainment industry de Passe has continued trusting her gut and using her persistence to become one of the first leading female executives in the business.

Other notable signings for de Passe, who eventually led Motown’s records division, include The Commodores and Rick James.

She’s also helped pave the way for women in TV and film including co-writing the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for the 1972 Billie Holiday biopic “Lady Sings the Blues,” starring Diana Ross. De Passe became President Of Motown Productions, with career highlights including producing and co-writing the Emmy Award-winning anniversary special “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever,” which featured a Supremes reunion and Jackson’s moonwalk. Post-Motown, de Passe went on to found the Emmy Award-winning TV content and production company de Passe Jones Entertainment.

Pollstar: Your first role in the music business was as the talent coordinator at the Cheetah nightclub in New York. What first inspired you to get into the industry?
Suzanne de Passe: I did not set out to have a career in music or media. It sort of happened to me (laughs) but I realized somewhere along the line that I was really liking it and very happy to be part of it at such an early age. And so I think I got the job at Cheetah because I had a lot of opinions. I would tell the managers which bands I thought were good and I would say, “Look at that dance floor, nobody’s on there. Don’t book that act.” They invited me to come to auditions once a week and from that, they said we think that we’d like to bring this operation in-house. And I was flattered and honored and excited.

You’ve had so many milestones over the years including helping sign Jackson 5. What is the secret to your persistence and how you found that inner strength to trust yourself?
Well, I give a lot of credit for my values and beliefs to my upbringing and my family, my mother and her two sisters, my maternal grandfather. I think that confidence is different from arrogance. Confidence, I think, is [going] forward without any other influences such as personal gain or “What is it going to mean in the long run?” where there’s some sort of payoff or [thinking] my opinion matters more than anybody else’s. I don’t feel that way. But I do have confidence in things that I believe in. With Mr. Gordy, he didn’t want any more kid acts. I knew that that couldn’t be a good reason to turn down [the Jackson 5]. I persisted because I had seen them and I knew he hadn’t. And I felt that if he saw them, he would change his mind. And he did. (laughs) … If you believe in something, you have to go for it. And also, to not be insensitive to timing. If [you get a] no the first time, wait a little bit. Go back and [say] “I know you said no, but listen … this is important.”

What are you most proud of in your career?
I am very proud to have survived it all. Because there are moments along the way [where] it wasn’t all rosy, it wasn’t all fun. It was tough. And I cried a lot, not because I was sad, but because I was frustrated that things didn’t go the way [I wanted]. Sometimes you just have to let it out. I never got to the point where I felt like I would give up. But I got to the point where I was like, “What do I do now?” and having to figure it out and carry on.

What advice would you give young women wanting to make it in the biz?
I feel as though doing the work is so important. … You can’t control other people, you can’t control circumstances … there’s so many things outside of our control. The one thing that I feel is essential, that is within our control, is to have a good attitude. And to not get hung up on “I don’t want to get the coffee. I don’t want to open the office” … I really believe staying cheerful and motivated with a great attitude of “I can do” — not “I can’t do” — is like a giant magnet. And people are attracted to it. Even if you don’t feel like smiling, smile. Because you never know who’s watching. It’s vital that people don’t get in their own way. And I’m not saying to take abuse — no, no, no. In an abusive environment, you’ve got to get out even if you go on welfare. But I’m talking about in general. Not every workplace is hostile. So first you’ve got to put yourself in an appropriate place. … But once there, [don’t] get hung up on the small stuff that you can’t control.

What are you excited about?
My business partner, Madison Jones, and I are busy at work on a new anime studio. … It’s just so exciting to develop content in a new medium. I’m as excited today as I’ve ever been. I have a cousin I don’t speak to anymore who said, “Are you still working? … I thought you’d be retired by now.” And I said, “Why would I do that? Give up the thing I love the most to go sit on a beach?”(laughs).