Mary Wilson (singer)

Mary Wilson (March 6, 1944 – February 8, 2021) was an American singer.

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.

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.

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".

Eventually, 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

However, the song still appeared on the 1987 compilation The Never-Before-Released Masters.

Wilson was inducted along with Ross and Ballard (as members of the Supremes) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.