Susaye Greene

Susaye Greene
Greene, 2019.
Background information
Born	(1948-09-13)September 13, 1948 Houston, Texas,U.S.
Origin	New York City, New York,U.S.
Genres	R&B pop disco dance-pop
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Motown Motorcity
Website	scherrieandsusayeformersupremes.com

Susaye Greene(born September 13, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter. She was the last official member to join theMotowngirl groupThe Supremes,remaining in the group during its final year of existence from 1976 to 1977.She is a successful songwriter as well, having written hit records forMichael Jackson,Deniece Williams,and many others.

Biography

Early life and career

Born inHouston, Texas,Greene began her professional career at the age of 12. As a teenager, she moved to New York City where she attended Professional Children School, graduating in 1966 and later from the New York CityHigh School of Performing Arts,and appeared in various commercials.

Prior to joining The Supremes, Greene sang withRay Charles'RaelettesandStevie Wonder's Wonderlove, which paired her withDeniece Williamsand 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 ofBuffy Sainte-Marie's song).

In 1975 she co-wrote "Free",Williams' breakthrough single.

The Supremes

Greene was a member ofThe Supremesfrom February 1976 to June 1977 (replacingCindy Birdsong), and performed on their last two albums,High EnergyandMary, Scherrie & Susaye.Working alongside original memberMary WilsonandScherrie 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 theHigh Energyalbum. On June 12, 1977, the Supremes performed their farewell concert at the Drury Lane Theater in London and disbanded.

After The Supremes

In 1979, two years after The Supremes disbanded, Greene recorded a duet album with Payne entitledPartnersunder 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 withStevie WonderforMichael Jackson'sOff the Wall.

While touring England in 1984 with Wonder, Greene met her present husband in London and relocated there.

In 1986, she sang lead onjazzsaxophonistCourtney Pine's single "Children of the Ghetto". She signed withIan Levine'sMotorcitylabel, based in the United Kingdom, in 1989. She released two solo singles on Motorcity – "Stop, I Need You Now" in 1990, and her own version of "Free" in 1991.She also recorded the duet "It's Impossible"withBilly Eckstine.An unreleased demo recording of "Don't Pity The Fool" also exists, although no vocals were added.

On July 5, 2014, Greene, along with Payne performed at the Sheraton in Los Angeles a concert program based on their album "Partners" which was released by Motown in 1979. They were featured in the magazine Daeida, with a photo shoot. The article chronicled career highlights with the Supremes and separately and the re-release of their "Partners" album on CD.

In October 2017, Greene replacedLynda Laurencein theFormer Ladies of the Supremesalongside Payne andJoyce Vincent Wilson.

On June 14, 2024, Payne reported that Greene had departed the group to spend time on her "entrepreneurial endeavors", and Laurence would be returning to the group.

Solo albums

Around the turn of the new millennium, Greene moved back to the United 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– withThe Supremes
• Mary, Scherrie & Susaye– with The Supremes
• At Their Best– with The Supremes
• Partners–duetalbum with former SupremeScherrie Payne
• Songs in the Key of Life–Stevie Wonder(background vocals)
• Hotter than July– Stevie Wonder (background vocals)
• Journey to the Urge Within–Courtney Pine(Lead vocals on "Children of The Ghetto", 1986)
• Vital Blue–Blue Mitchell(Mainstream, 1971)

Songwriting credits

• "Free"–Deniece Williams
• "Stop! I Need You Now"
• "No Fear Here"
• "Bewitched"
• "I Can't Help It" – included inMichael Jackson's 1979 releaseOff the Wall;later included inPebbles1995 release, "Straight from My Heart". Also Davina in 1998.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role
2013	20 Feet from Stardom	Herself

Presence in the online artistic community

Susaye Greene is also a member of the world's largest online art community,DeviantArt.She joined DeviantArt on September 17, 2004, under the pseudonym "supremextreme". On September 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 inThe one million masterpiececharity 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.

Personal life

Susaye was married to Ed Brown; together they owned a company called "Mud", a mixture of their colorful names, Brown and Greene. Susaye is currently married to Stephen Coton; they have one son, Daniel.

External links

• SupremeXtreme