UB Celebrates the Life + Music of Mary Wilson
Legendary Motown singer Mary Wilson has passed away at age 76, her publicist has confirmed. The diva, died suddenly at her home in Las Vegas yesterday February 8th.
It’s now almost 60 years since Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Barbara Martin, calling themselves the Primettes, nervously auditioned for Berry Gordy at Motown.
After months of hanging around they were signed a few months before high school graduation in 1961, and re-named “The Supremes.”
Mary Wilson had been the only original Supreme carrying on the group’s legacy. Representing the group in 1999, Mary accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Supremes at their induction into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame, becoming the first female rock star to be its recipient.
Mary made her first television film appearance in Lifetime‘s, “Jackie’s Back,” featuring Jennifer Lewis and Tim Curry. A best-selling author of two novels, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supremeand Supreme Faith…Someday We’ll be Together, Mary, in addition to performing, she also become a successful businesswoman, lecturer, actress, dancer, and singer of not only pop music, but jazz, rock, and R&B.
She became interested in singing as a young girl, Mary was driven. Her days as a teenager living in the Brewster Projects on the East Side of Detroit became the meeting place of three young, ambitious girls who all had one goal — to become stars.
Mary‘s love of singing blossomed when she met Flo Ballard, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, who soon became her closest friends. Together they formed the Primettes, a sister act to the Primes (later renamed the Temptations).
The Primettes began singing locally, developing a huge following as a local record hop group in Detroit. After auditioning for Motown and initially being turned down by Berry Gordy, the girls refused to give up. Spending their high school years “hanging out” at Motown, the Primettes made sure they were seen at the recording studio every day after school. They eventually bonded with Smokey Robinson and even Gordy, hoping that some day they would be in the recording studio cutting their own songs.
On January 15, 1961, their dream came true. The group changed its name to the Supremes, became a three-woman vocal group with Mary, Flo, and Diana, and went on to record 12 #1 hits. These included: Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Stop! In the Name of Love, You Keep Me Hangin’ On, Love Child, and Someday We’ll Be Together — establishing the group as the only American act to have had five consecutive #1 hits — more than any other female group in music history.
By 1970, the Supremes had undergone major transition, as Flo Ballard left the group due to physical illness, and Diana Ross went out on her own as a solo artist. Carrying on the dreams that she, Flo, and Diana had when they started, Mary replaced her former teammates and kept singing. The group went on to produce hit singles for years to come. The Supremes were America‘s answer to the Beatles, all in all releasing 33 songs that reached the Top 40. Among these hits were I’m Gonna Make You Love Me (with the Temptations) River Deep, Mountain High (with the Four Tops), Up the Ladder To The Roof, Stoned Love, Floy Joy, and Automatically Sunshine. During the history of the Supremes, the only member who performed with the group from beginning to end was Mary Wilson.
In 1977 the Supremes officially disbanded, and Mary set out on her own musical path. Her first solo album, Mary Wilson, yielded the dance classic, Red Hot. Simultaneously, Mary broadened her horizons in the acting world, starring in the musical Beehive in dinner theaters all over Canada; in addition she played roles in the film documentary Brown Sugar and Disney’s Tiger Town.
Mary also became a New York Times best-selling author in 1986 when she released her autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life As A Supreme. The novel sold more than 250,000 copies in hardback, received rave reviews, and became the most successful rock and roll autobiography of all time. It was the definitive tell-all story of the history of her life as a Supreme, and the struggles she faced in order to attain her dreams. As one of the first autobiographies ever written by a celebrity, Mary‘s story triggered a wave of Motown stories that followed her best-seller.
The overwhelming response to her first book prompted its 1990 sequel, Supreme Faith…Someday We’ll Be Together, in which Mary recalls her struggle keeping the group together after the Motown hit factory came to a grinding halt. She also candidly wrote about her personal life, including her abusive marriage, raising a family, the tragic death of Flo Ballard, and the explosive reunion with Diana Ross on Motown’s 25th Anniversary television special in 1983.
Continuing to tour solo, in 1992 Mary recorded another album, Walk the Line, which became her first studio recording in 13 years. She debuted her first single on the Arsenio Hall Show, also titled Walk the Line, but found out days later that the independent label had folded.
Still, nothing could keep Mary down, so she dared to dream again. She began telling her story on the lecture circuit, speaking in front of groups all over the world. She also began participating in various charities, donating her time and services to such organizations as The Susan Komen Breast Foundation, The American Cancer Society, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, The Easter Seals foundation, UNICEF, NAACP, The People with AIDS Coalition of Tucson, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, just to name a few.
Then tragedy struck Mary. In 1994, she lost her youngest child, 14-year-old Rafi, in a car accident that nearly claimed Mary‘s life too. “Sometimes your best lessons stem from those that hurt,” stated Mary. “The death of my baby prompted me to take a stronger look at my life. In many ways, this tragedy kick-started my life all over again.”
Ironically, it was only a few months later that the Supremes were celebrated once again, when they were placed in the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Embracing new challenges, Mary moved to New York to make a fresh start, and enrolled at New York University where she revived her education after 30 years of being a performer. The following year Mary found herself back in the recording studio to record a new single with a new sound, entitled U, which became a R&B hit on the European charts.
Mary was also a radio disc jockey who occasionally filled in for vacationing DJs on New York‘s classic R&B WWRL Radio, The Morning Show. In addition to being the only Supreme to venture into theatre — starring in three off-Broadway plays, including the innovative interactive theatre comedy, Grandmother Silvia’s Funeral, Mother’s Hubbard (also a comedy), and Idella’s Soul Shack — Mary also recently recorded her first voice-over on a national commercial for Colgate.
Aside from her touring, acting, voice-over, and boxed set projects, Mary continued to stay on the lecture circuit, speaking to various groups. Her speeches were based on a series of lectures she calls Dare to Dream. Taking her personal experiences, based on her books, Mary spoke candidly at colleges, universities, and abused victims groups, hoping to help those who have experienced the same traumas and challenges she has faced. Because she has been through so much in her life, Mary is able to touch various groups with her motivational speeches which she tailors to each specific group.
The last single Mary released, was the 2011 entitled “Life’s Been Good To Me.”
UB sends Our Condolences to The Family, Friends and Fans of Mary Wilson.
