Zulema Cusseaux (January 3, 1947 – September 30, 2013) – Standing In The Back Row Of Your Heart (1975)
The unsung but supremely talented singer/songwriter wrote this superb jam for her 1975 self-titled LP, produced by Mandrill's former producer Beau Ray Fleming.
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Zulema Cusseaux was a supremely talented singer/songwriter and pianist who released six of her own solo albums in the 1970s. See our earlier post on Zulema for more on her musical career.
After leaving her first group Faith, Hope and Charity, Zulema’s self-titled debut solo album was released in 1972 on Clarence Avant’s Sussex Records. Produced by the genius arranger/producer Bert DeCoteaux, it featured Zulema on vocals and piano, Cornell Dupree and John Tropea on guitar, Ralph McDonald on percussion, Gordon Edwards on bass (who would later co-found the all-star funk group Stuff), Richard Davis on double bass, and Jimmy Johnson aka Papa Funk on drums.
Zulema wrote seven of the album’s ten tracks, including the socially conscious “American Fruit, African Roots,” and the LP’s single, the message song “This Child Of Mine” about a single mother’s struggles. That same year, she famously performed the song live in concert on an amazing bill with Earth, Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Sly and the Family Stone, and Roberta Flack at the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s PUSH Expo in Chicago. It was taped for the 1973 documentary film Save The Children, and she was also featured on its soundtrack.
She later performed “This Child Of Mine” on Ellis Haizlip’s PBS show SOUL!, which aired on November 29, 1972.
Her second solo album Ms. Z. came out on Sussex the following year in 1973. Produced by Bobby Taylor, she again wrote or co-wrote almost all its songs. Standout cuts were the heartfelt love song “I Was There,” the funky cut “I’m Watchin’ You,” and the stellar jam “Hold Back The Night,” the latter two which she co-wrote with Joe Gray.
In 1975, Zulema was part of the all-star cast of RCA’s soul and funk artists brought together by producer and A&R executive Carl L. Maults for a phenomenal soundtrack. Alongside the Friends of Distinction, keyboardist Weldon Irvine, and trumpeter Blood Hollins, she helped make the 1974 independent Blaxploitation film Honey Baby, Honey Baby one of the funkiest but little known flicks of the decade.
She sang lead on the beautiful jam “I Just Can’t Say Goodbye,” written by keyboardist Michael Tschudin with a full string section conducted by Gene Orloff, and shared vocals with the Friends of Distinction on “(A Song For Diana) Hey, Hey Star,” written by Maults.
The same year in 1975, RCA released two more of her albums. The first was another self-titled LP, helmed by former Mandrill producer Beau Ray Fleming. Its advance single “Wanna Be Where You Are” was co-written by Diana Ross’ brother Arthur and Leon Ware, and went to #58 R&B, the biggest hit Zulema had yet seen.
She wrote the album’s opening cut and superb second single “Standing In The Back Row Of Your Heart.”
According to one of Zulema’s close friends, the enigmatic .28 (lead singer of 80s synth pop/funk group The Earons), when she performed it on Soul Train that year with three backing vocalists, “she wanted to sit at the grand piano on Soul Train but the Powers said no.”
Her other album released in 1975 was R.S.V.P., produced by Maults. It was packed with solid tracks, starting with its opening cut, the funky Labelle-esque message song “What Kind Of Person Are You?” which Zulema wrote and arranged.
Other highlights included the upbeat, funky jam “Half Of Your Heart,” co-written by Zulema, Maults, and Joe Gray; the beautiful, gospel-flavored slow jam “You Had To Know,” co-written by Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson; a superb cover of Brenda Holloway’s 1967 original “Just Look What You've Done,” co-written by Motown songwriters Frank Wilson and R. Dean Taylor; the symphonic soul cut “You're So Empty (A Strong Wind Could Blow You Away),” written by unsung songwriter Heidi Fenster; and the upbeat, funky soul-disco cut “Why (Did It Have To End This Way)?” which Zulema solely wrote.
Happy Heavenly Birthday to the magnificent Zulema Cusseaux.
Further info:
“Stargayzing Guest Columnist John Frazier Salutes Vocalist Zulema Cusseaux,” Stargayzing, July 11, 2013.
“Zulema Cusseaux, deceased Sept. 30, 2013,” obituary, Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Florida, October 11, 2013.
“Under The Radar: Zulema,” Record Collector Magazine, November 2, 2023.
#soul #funk #disco #ZulemaCusseaux