Zulema Cusseaux (January 3, 1947 – September 30, 2013),Obituary, Tampa Bay Times
Retrieved 12 October 2013 usually credited as Zulema, was an American disco and R&B singer and songwriter. Aside from her solo career, she was a member of an early line up of Faith, Hope and Charity and worked as a backing vocalist and songwriter with Aretha Franklin.

Biography

Zulema Cusseaux was born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, Allmusic (((Zulema>Biography)))Accessed May 25, 2010 and attended

Howard W. Blake High School Howard W. Blake High School is a public magnet high school, with an emphasis on the arts, in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is operated by the School District of Hillsborough County. Originally opened in 1956 as a school for African-Americans, ...

. She and her school friend Brenda Hilliard joined a local group called The 5 Crystals, before the two formed the trio the Lovelles, together with fellow Tampa native Albert Bailey. When they met producer

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...

and were signed by Maxwell Records, the group's name was changed to Faith, Hope and Charity. Their song "So Much Love" hit #15 on the R&B chart and #60 on the pop chart in 1970. Zulema left Faith, Hope and Charity in 1971 shortly after a label switch to

Sussex Records Sussex Records, Inc. was a Los Angeles-based record label, founded by music executive and businessman Clarence Avant, that existed from 1969 through 1975. History Sussex Records was launched in December 1969 by Avant, who had previously set up a ...

. Bailey and Hilliard would occasionally sing backing vocals on Zulema's albums, though. Her self-titled solo album included the song "American Fruit, African Roots" and a cover of "If This World Were Mine." Zulema started touring as opening act for major stars like

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...

. She appeared on a bill with

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

, Marvin Gaye,

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and

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at the Push Expo in Chicago, a concert which became a motion picture called ''Save the Children''. The movie's soundtrack was released on Motown Records and included Zulema's single mother anthem, "This Child of Mine". After a second Sussex album, ''Ms Z'' (produced by Bobby Taylor), the singer signed to

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

records, where she released three albums: ''Zulema'', ''R.S.V.P.'' and ''Suddenly There Was You''. She was also one of the featured artists on the soundtrack to the

Michael Schultz Michael Schultz (born November 10, 1938) is an American director and producer of theater, film and television. Life and career Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of an African-American mother Katherine Frances Leslie (1917-1995) ...

movie ''Honeybaby, Honeybaby'', providing the track "I Just Can't Say Good-Bye." Her only charting record during that time was a cover of the early

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Motown hit "Wanna Be Where You Are", which reached #58 R&B. The single "Suddenly There Was You" was reviewed in the October 23, 1976 issue of ''Cash Box''. It was from the album of the same name. The reviewer predicted it as a Top 40 chart record saying, ''"R&B DJs should tear this one right from the jacket and slap it on the turntable"''.''Cash Box'', October 23, 1976
Page 22 SINGLES REVIEWS, picks of the week
/ref> In 1978, she released the album ''Z-Licious'' on Le Joint Records, which featured a duet with long-term collaborator Van McCoy. McCoy also got Zulema on board for Aretha Franklin's 1979 disco album ''La Diva'' - having her write one of the songs and perform backing vocals on the entire album, joined once again by her former band members Hilliard and Bailey. In 1980, Zulema had a starring role in the New York musical, ''Jazzbo Brown''. In 1982, she formed a duo called Zalmac with Al Macdowell. Their album ''Whatcha Gonna Do'' on TSOB included the songs "Friends", "I Get Down" and "What's In It For Me". Zulema had recorded at least one single on the same label, "A Mother Cries", the year before. After returning to live in Tampa, she became lead musician at the First Baptist Church of West Tampa. She died after a short illness on September 30, 2013 at the age of 66.

Discography

Albums

* ''Zulema'' (Sussex, 1972) * ''Ms Z'' (Sussex, 1973) * ''Zulema'' (RCA, 1975) * ''RSVP'' (RCA, 1975) * ''Suddenly There Was You'' (RCA, 1976) * ''Z-Licious'' (Le Joint, 1978) * ''Whatcha Gonna Do'' (The Sound of Brooklyn, 1982) (with Zalmac)

Charted singles

References

External links

1975 interview at SoulMusic.com
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Zulema Cusseaux, Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zulema 1947 births 2013 deaths American dance musicians American soul singers American funk singers Songwriters from Florida Musicians from Tampa, Florida African-American women songwriters 20th-century African-American women singers