Mary Wilson (singer)

Mary Wilson (March 6, 1944 – February 8, 2021) was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of the Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals.

Wilson remained with the group following the departures of the other three original members: Barbara Martin (in 1962), Florence Ballard (in 1967), and Diana Ross (in 1970), though the subsequent group disbanded following Wilson's own departure in 1977. Wilson later became a New York Times best-selling author in 1986 with the release of her first autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, which set records for sales in its genre, and later for the autobiography Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together.

Continuing a successful career as a concert performer in Las Vegas, Wilson also worked in activism, fighting to pass Truth in Music Advertising bills and donating to various charities. Wilson was inducted along with Ross and Ballard (as members of the Supremes) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Early life

Mary Wilson was born March 6, 1944, to Sam, a butcher, and Johnnie Mae Wilson in Greenville, Mississippi. She was the eldest of three children including a brother, Roosevelt, and a sister, Cathy. The Wilsons moved to Chicago, part of the Great Migration in which her father joined many African Americans seeking work in the North, but at age three, Mary Wilson was taken in by her aunt Ivory "I.V." and uncle John L. Pippin in Detroit. Her parents eventually separated and Wilson's mother and siblings later joined them in Detroit, though by then Wilson had come to believe I.V. was her real mother. Wilson and her family had settled in the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, a housing project in Detroit where Wilson first met Florence Ballard. The duo became friends while singing in their school's talent show. In 1959, Ballard asked Wilson to audition for Milton Jenkins, who was forming a sister group to his male vocal trio, the Primes (two members of which were later in The Temptations). Wilson was soon accepted into the group known as The Primettes, with Diana Ross and Betty McGlown, who lived in the same housing project with Wilson and Ballard. In this period, Wilson also met Aretha, Erma and Carolyn Franklin, daughters of the pastor at her local Baptist church.

Wilson graduated from Detroit's Northeastern High School in January 1962.

Career

The Supremes: 1959–1977

In 1960, the Primettes signed a contract with Lu Pine Records, issuing two singles from which Wilson sang lead vocals on "Pretty Baby". Shortly after, McGlown left to get married and was replaced by Barbara Martin. During that year, they kept pursuing a Motown contract and agreed to do anything that was required, including adding handclaps and vocal backgrounds. By the end of the year, Berry Gordy agreed to have the group record songs in the studio. In January 1961, Gordy relented and agreed to sign the girls to his label on the condition they change their name. Motown lyricist Janie Bradford approached Ballard with a list of names to choose from before Ballard chose "Supremes". Gordy agreed to sign them under that name on January 15, 1961.

The group struggled in their early years in comparison to other Motown acts, garnering the nickname "no-hit Supremes" as a result. One track, "Buttered Popcorn", led by Ballard, was a regional hit, but still failed to chart. Before the release of their 1962 debut album, Meet The Supremes, Martin had become pregnant and subsequently left the group, leaving the Supremes as a trio.

In December 1963, the single "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. Following the single's success, Gordy assigned Ross as the group's lead singer. In the spring of 1964, the Supremes released "Where Did Our Love Go", which became their first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, paving the way for ten number-one hits recorded by Ross, Ballard, and Wilson between 1964 and 1967.

By 1965, the group had become international stars, appearing regularly on television programs such as Hullabaloo, The Hollywood Palace, The Dean Martin Show, and, most notably The Ed Sullivan Show, on which they made 17 appearances. As early as 1966, Ballard's chronic alcoholism led to her missing press conferences and recording sessions. To serve as a stand-in for Ballard, Gordy selected Cindy Birdsong, a member of Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles. In July 1967, following a contentious performance at the Flamingo, Ballard was removed from the Supremes and replaced with Birdsong. Simultaneously, Gordy renamed the group "Diana Ross & the Supremes", beginning with the single "Reflections". In 1968, Wilson sung lead on "The Ballad of Davy Crockett", a cover the group recorded for their album Diana Ross & the Supremes Sing Disney Classics in 1968. The album was shelved and never released. However, the song still appeared on the 1987 compilation The Never-Before-Released Masters. In 1969, Wilson sang the duet "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (a Frankie Valli cover) with Eddie Kendricks for the album Together, in preparation for Ross' departure from the Supremes with many assuming she would step up and eventually take the lead in the group.

The new lineup continued to record hit singles, although several stalled outside the top 20 chart range. Ross left the group in January 1970, and at her farewell performance Jean Terrell was introduced as the replacement for Ross. According to Wilson, Gordy told Wilson that he thought of having Syreeta Wright join the group in a last-minute change, after Terrell had already been introduced as lead singer, to which Wilson refused. From there, Gordy relinquished creative control of the group over to Wilson. With Terrell, the group reverted to the name "the Supremes;" known unofficially at first as "the New Supremes", and in later years informally called "The '70s Supremes". The Wilson-Birdsong-Terrell lineup recorded seven top-40 hit singles in a three-year period, including "River Deep/Mountain High" (with the Four Tops), "Up the Ladder to the Roof", "Stoned Love", "Nathan Jones", and "Floy Joy". Unlike the latter years with Ross, the single "Automatically Sunshine" succeeded in reaching the top 20 charts.

In 1972, Wilson took the lead on "I Keep It Hid", from The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb. That same year, Cindy Birdsong left the group following marriage and pregnancy and was replaced by Lynda Laurence (then Tucker). The group's popularity and place on record charts dropped significantly. For the first time in a decade, two singles in a row failed to break into the top 40, including the Stevie Wonder penned-and-produced "Bad Weather". Discouraged, Jean Terrell and Lynda Laurence both departed in late 1973. Scherrie Payne was recruited from a group called The Glass House, and Cindy Birdsong returned. Beginning with this lineup change, Wilson began doing almost half of the group's lead vocal duties, as she was considered the group's main attraction and reason for continuing.

In 1975, Wilson sang lead on the Top 10 disco hit "Early Morning Love", which was released as a single in the United Kingdom only from the album, The Supremes. In 1976, the group scored its final Top 40 hit single with "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking", written and produced by Brian and Eddie Holland and included on the album High Energy. Birdsong again departed, just before the album's release, and was replaced by the group's final official member, Susaye Greene, whose voice was dubbed over two songs. High Energy was well-received, but the follow-up album Mary, Scherrie & Susaye, released in 1977, would be their last. During a meeting with Motown, Wilson's husband Pedro Ferrer had notified Motown that Wilson would leave the Supremes to embark on a solo career. On June 12, 1977, Wilson gave her farewell performance with the Supremes at London's Drury Lane Theatre. Meanwhile, Payne and Greene had planned to continue as the Supremes, but a replacement for Wilson proved to be unsuccessful, in which the Supremes officially disbanded.

Solo career: 1977–2021

In July 1977, just one month following her farewell performance with the Supremes, Wilson began a touring "Supremes" show with two background singers as the "Mary Wilson of The Supremes" show. The show was the result of Motown's allowance of the group to go into hiatus despite the fact that there were still several uncancelled international tour dates to complete. Mary therefore hired former Supreme, Cindy Birdsong and Debbie Sharpe to complete a summer tour of South America to fulfill contracts so venues would not sue. The three-week tour began in Caracas, Venezuela, and was composed of mostly small clubs. Despite the company's displeasure and the fact that it owned the rights/distribution rights to the name "Supremes", Motown never cancelled the tour. Later that year, Wilson hired Karen Jackson and Kaaren Ragland to tour with as background singers. She and Cindy rehearsed them for a year end's tour of Europe, that was composed of dates at officers' clubs and swank discos.