Obituary: Mary Wilson: singer with legendary Motown group The Supremes msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Mary Wilson, who has died aged 76, was one of the original members of the Supremes, widely acclaimed as the ultimate Motown girl group and the only one to compete with the Beatles in the American charts.
With the two other founders, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson emerged from a housing project in Detroit in the late 1950s. As the Primettes, they released a handful of singles that all flopped.
Rebranded the Supremes, they had their first hit with their 10th record, Where Did Our Love Go?, which topped the American charts in early 1964. Their follow-up, Baby Love, established them in Britain where it climbed to No.1 that November; it reached No.2 in Ireland.
Supremes singer original member of groundbreaking Motown group
Weâre sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
Dismiss
February 10, 2021 â 1.41pm
Save
Normal text size
MARY WILSON: 1944 - 2021
Mary Wilson, who has died aged 76, was one of the original members of the Supremes, widely acclaimed as the ultimate Motown girl group and the only one to compete with the Beatles in the American charts.
With the two other founders, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, Wilson â in many ways the most gracious of the trio â emerged from a housing project in Detroit in the late 1950s. As the Primettes, they released a handful of singles that all flopped.
Mary Wilson of The Supremes Dies At Age 79
Mary Wilson, a co-founder of USA Motown soul group The Supremes, has died at age 79. A cause of death has not been revealed.
Mary started the Supremes in Detroit in 1959 with Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Betty McGlown. Initially they were called The Primettes, the female equivalent to Detroit male act The Primes, featuring Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams, who later became The Temptations.
McGlown left in 1960, was replaced by Cindy Birdsong. In 1970 Diana Ross left and went solo while Mary continued The Supremes through to 1977, ending the group as the only original and continuous member.
8:44 pm UTC Feb. 8, 2021
As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive series, Hallowed Sound.
Motown Records’ creative ingenuity and commercial prowess made it a hit machine, one that’s still chugging along today indeed, a list of Motown classics could fill a book. For now, here are 50 essential singles from Motown’s Detroit era, defined as 1959-1972, as selected by the Detroit Free Press and its readers to commemorate the label’s 50th anniversary.