The Definitive Collection: Mary Wells

Album Review

Mary Wells' greatest success came with Motown Records, climaxing in her enduring 1964 hit "My Guy," and for most, the story ends there. Wells left Motown after "My Guy" and signed with 20th Century, which by all accounts was a disaster, and she left 20th Century in 1965 for Atlantic subsidiary Atco Records, where she remained until 1967. She released four singles for Atco — the first of which, "Dear Lover," did fairly well — and one LP before parting company with the label. But the fact remains that Wells, who was Motown's first big star, will forever be linked with the Detroit label. This set, which features the best sides Wells did for Motown, including, of course, "My Guy," as well as other Top 40 hits like Wells' own "Bye Bye Baby" (Wells wrote it when she was only 17 and had her first hit with it in 1961) and the Smokey Robinson-penned (and produced) "You Beat Me to the Punch" and "The One Who Really Loves You," sets the stage pretty well. Blessed with a singing voice that could somehow be sweet and sincere even as it was sexy and sassy (and sometimes all of that at once), Wells, in a fair and equitable world, really should have been able to sustain her career at the top of the charts longer than she did. Life (and the music business) goes where it goes, though, and this anthology really does have her best stuff.