Susan Cagle (March 10, 1980 – July 24, 2024), also known professionally as Susan Justice, was an American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

singer-songwriter and guitarist. She is known best for her debut self-recorded album, ''The Subway Recordings''.

Early life

Susan Cagle was born on March 10, 1980 in Aruba Island. Cagle is the second-oldest of ten children. Accompanied by several of her siblings as The Susan Cagle Band, she started performing in subway stations in New York City as part of the

Music Under New York Music Under New York (MUNY) is a part of the MTA Arts & Design, Arts & Design program by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) that schedules musical performances in transportation hubs across its rapid transit, ferry, and commuter rai ...

program. In addition to singing, Cagle plays the guitar in the majority of her performances, with her sister Caroline playing bass and her brother Jesse on second guitar. As a child, Cagle traveled the world with her family, living in or visiting countries including Venezuela, Mexico, Greece, Italy, France, Germany, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Her parents were members of the Children of God

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...

, widely referred to as a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

, and like actors

River Phoenix River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor. He was known as a teen actor before taking on leading roles in critically acclaimed films and becoming one of the most preeminent talents of his generation. Pho ...

and

Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress and activist. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992), she achieved recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generation' ...

(who also spent their early childhood in the group), she and her siblings would often busk on street corners for passers by.

Career

Cagle began playing guitar at the age of 7, and by the age of 14 was writing poetry and songs. When older, she decided to leave her family and the Children of God group, at odds over their beliefs, and moved to New York. She soon began writing, recording music and performing in subway stations (her album, ''The Subway Recordings'', is cut from live shows). During a show in the 34th Street – Herald Square subway station, Cagle was discovered by producer Jay Levine, who introduced her to then new president of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, Steve Greenberg. She soon became his first signing in this placement. Cagle released her debut album, ''The Subway Recordings'', in 2007 with Lefthook Entertainment and Columbia Records. After leaving Columbia Records in 2009 and signing to Warner Bros., Cagle changed her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

to Susan Justice, saying it happened "of its own accord" and it (the name change) was something she felt she "needed to do". Her second album is titled ''Eat Dirt'' and was released March 26, 2012. The album was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

Notable performances

On May 10, 2007, Cagle and her band performed "Dear Oprah", an ode to billionaire talk show host

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

, on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

''. "Dear Oprah" features such lyrics as: "Dear Oprah, Have you ever felt like breakin’ down/ when there ain't no one who cares around/did you ever feel this way back in the day so blue/ what did you do?" The band appeared in the 2006

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Video Music Awards warm up in the "You Hear It First". She appears in the Gary King independent film ''New York Lately'' as Truly Hanssen. The film was released in 2008 to generally favorable reviews. Her life and music were the subject of a profile and interview on the NPR program ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...

'' that aired Monday, March 26, 2012.

Early life

Career

Notable performances

References

External links