Mary Wilson

A charter member of the Supremes, Mary Wilson has long contended that she could have been as popular a singer as Diana Ross had Motown's Berry Gordy not determined for extra-musical reasons that only Ross was to get star treatment. Ross, Wilson, and Florence Ballard were the original Supremes. They began working together as teens in the Primettes. Wilson remained a Supreme from 1960 until 1976. She had an erratic solo career, cutting one LP, Red Hot, for Motown in 1979 before departing permanently. She co-wrote Dreamgirl, My Life as a Supreme to document what she felt were the widespread abuses artists suffered during Motown's heyday. Wilson was featured on numerous talk shows and programs during 1987, and she also recorded a single for Britain's Motorcity label that year, "Don't Get Mad, Get Even." She followed it with a cover of the Five Stairsteps' "Oooh Child" in 1989. The following year, Wilson published the second volume of her memoirs, and a new studio album followed in 1992. Later in the '90s and into the new millennium, Wilson concentrated on stage and film work, although she did release a number of singles on independent labels and toured frequently. On February 6, 2021, Wilson posted a video on social media announcing the upcoming release of archival recordings and projects to honor Black History Month. Sadly, she would not live to see them reach the public; she died at her home in Las Vegas on February 8, 2021 at the age of 76. ~ Ron Wynn