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Suzee Ikeda

American singer (born 1947) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Suzee Ikeda is an American singer who was the first Asian-American solo artist at Motown. However, she is best known for her work "behind the scenes" at Motown with such acts as Michael Jackson and The Temptations.

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Biography

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Born Susan Wendy Ikeda on August 25, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of a Japanese father and an American mother.

Initially assigned to Mowest, Motown's subsidiary label, her first single was a cover version of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the Disney film, Song of the South. The single failed to chart.

In April 1973, Suzee released her first single on the Motown label, a ballad written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel called, "Time For Me to Go." Unfortunately, the single and her solo career went nowhere.[citation needed]

During her tenure at Motown she was described as a "creative confidant" of Michael Jackson. "Michael Jackson could make you forget he was so young," writes Suzee Ikeda, in her introductory essay to Hello World: The Complete Motown Solo Collection.[1]

Ikeda's rapport with artists soon led to a new role behind the scenes as a production executive for the company. One of her early projects was the A Song for You album by The Temptations, released in 1975.

In 1983, Ikeda became one of the principal players in Super Three, a division of Motown responsible for developing new and existing acts. Other participants in the partnership were off again-on again Motown figure Ray Singleton and Guy Costa (nephew of musician and arranger Don Costa), the latter who served as the entity's creative director.[2]

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Selected credits

Singles

As a recording artist

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Albums

Serving in various capacities

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References

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