"At 63, she is about to release her self-titled debut album 33 years later than she had hoped, and her disbelief is understandable. Crowned the first biracial Miss America in 1984, aged 20, in controversial circumstances, Charles went on to suffer a lifetime of adversity. She faced a distressing tour with Bill Cosby and mistreatment by record labels, and her debut album was shelved when her songwriters Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) who had made huge hits for Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and more split up."
"Then came a decades-long marriage that seemed to end her artistic career altogether. You can't make this stuff up, she says. But Charles has reunited with Mike Stock to finally finish the most emotional of projects, her appropriately self-titled debut. I love the way the album's turned out, Stock says. I've worked with Paul McCartney, Donna Summer, Cliff Richard as a singer, I'd put Suzette in that bracket."
"Charles was a performing arts school kid from Philadelphia: I sang everywhere, anywhere, she says. From the age of nine, she starred in commercials for Colgate and Coca-Cola and appeared on Sesame Street and the Morgan Freeman-starring kids' TV series The Electric Company. At 15, she sang a song on the soundtrack to the film version of Hair, and narrowly missed out on the role of Coco Hernandez in Fame to Irene Cara."
"Her mother encouraged her to compete in Miss America 1984. Others warned Charles against it don't even go near that, that's going to stigmatise you but she competed in the final as Miss New Jersey, her parents' home state. At the ceremony, amid underhand tactics among some contestants they'd try to poke a hole in you"
Suzette Charles, crowned the first biracial Miss America in 1984, experienced major adversity across her career. She endured a distressing tour with Bill Cosby and mistreatment by record labels. Her debut album was shelved after her songwriters Stock Aitken Waterman split up. A decades-long marriage also appeared to halt her artistic progress. After reuniting with Mike Stock, she finally completed her self-titled debut album, released 33 years later than planned. Charles described her disbelief at the timing and praised the album’s outcome. Her early life included performing from childhood, appearing in commercials and children’s television, and singing for major projects like Hair.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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