Mary Wells (1943-1992) was the Queen of Motown. While her name is often excluded from the roster of Motown greats, she belongs in this parthenon of barrier-breaking talent.
Mary Wells (1943-1992) was the Queen of Motown. While her name is often excluded from the roster of Motown greats, she belongs in this parthenon of barrier-breaking talent.
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Today, we’re talking about the Queen of Motown. While her name is often excluded from the roster of Motown greats, she belongs in this parthenon of barrier-breaking talent.
Let’s talk about Mary Wells.
Mary was born on May 13, 1943 in Detroit. As a child, she contracted spinal meningitis which left her with several severe health complications – including partial deafness and partial blindness. Nevertheless, from an early age Mary showed an aptitude for music. By the age of 10, she was writing her own songs and performing in clubs and talent contests.
After graduating high school, Mary began approaching the founder of Motown Records, Berry Gordy, in hopes of selling him some of her songs. Berry avoided Mary’s requests but eventually, her persistence wore him down and he agreed to meet. She pitched her original song, “Bye Bye Baby.” When Berry asked her to sing a bit of it, he was so impressed by her performance that he signed Mary as a performer too.
In 1960, “Bye Bye Baby” rose to Number 45 on the Billboard Top 100 chart - a rare feat for a Black female singer at the time.
Esther Gordy Edwards, Berry’s sister, served as Mary’s manager at Motown. She said that Mary was, “our first big, big star.”
From there, Mary’s career took off.
In the early 1960s, Mary teamed up with the legendary Motown songwriter Smokey Robinson. Together, they co-wrote chart-topping records like, “The One Who Really Loves You”, “You Beat Me to the Punch”, “Two Lovers” and the song that became Mary’s signature – “My Guy”.
“My Guy” was a universal hit. Lucy Gordy Wakefield, Motowns’ first sales chief once said, “I don’t think there’s any audience with an age of 30 through 50 that doesn’t know the words to ‘My Guy’.”
Mary’s songs were embraced by both Black and white communities alike. Her pioneering voice helped open doors for other legendary performers like Diana Ross and The Supremes.
Despite her rise to stardom, “My Guy” was Mary’s last hit with Motown. Feeling undervalued and underpaid, Mary and Motown acrimoniously parted ways in 1964.
She later signed with 20th Century Fox records, but never reached nearly the same level of success.
In 1966, Mary wed Cecil Womack of the famed R&B group, The Valentinos. The couple had three children before divorcing in 1976. Mary later had a fourth child with Cecil’s brother, Curtis.
A heavy smoker, Mary was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx in 1990. Lacking health insurance, treatment costs devastated Mary’s dwindling finances and she was evicted from her home in Los Angeles. In response, the Rhythm and Blues foundation, alongside stars like Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen and the Temptations all raised money to support her.
Shortly following her throat surgery, Mary said, “people say this is a cruel business and it is. But a lot of people in the business do have hearts.”
Mary began chemotherapy the following year in 1991, but it soon became clear the cancer had spread. She passed away on July 27, 1992 at the age of 49.
Despite once being hailed the Queen of Motown, and breaking the color barrier on her way to the top, Mary is still not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Her biographer, Peter Benjaminson, remains committed to one day seeing her inducted.