"They're surprised that I can sing" she says.
The audiences coming to Mary Wilson's show at Palm Beach's Royal Room aren't surprised that she's poised, glamorous and accomplished. After all, she was one-third of The Supremes, the most successful American singing group of the rock era; is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; and is the author of two autobiographies.The Supremes, which included Florence Ballard and Diana Ross, had an impressive string of hit songs during the '60s, including Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Come See About Me and Stop, In the Name of Love. Wilson also had solo hits with such songs as Red Hot and One Night With You.
Wilson also published two best-selling memoirs, about her life as a Supreme, and lobbies as an activist, along with "Bowser," John Baumnan, in support of Senate Bill 53, dubbed the "Truth in Music" bill. Wilson told lawmakers that at least five groups are performing as the Supremes. Breaking into song, Wilson said she tells those groups: "Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart."
Mary’s new cabaret act, "Mary Wilson: Up Close," tells her story in the music of Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, the Rolling Stones and with only one Supremes song.
"This is about my journey," the unbelievably youthful 64-year-old singer says, taking a long sip from a glass of pink Champagne.
"All (people) know is Diane. I wanted songs I could feel totally comfortable with, that I could hear and go 'That's my story!'"
Question: You acknowledge in the show that fans may have followed you since the 1960s without really knowing what you sound like. And it turns out that Mary Wilson sounds more like Nancy Wilson than she sounds like Diana Ross.
Answer: Nancy Wilson was my favorite! And it's true - they always heard Diane, but people didn't know how significant the background was to the sound. People grew up to us. They got married to our music, studied for their exams in college to it.
What I wanted to do was to tell my real story.
Q: You do just one Supremes song, My World Is Empty.
A: I normally don't, but I realized that the show was being advertised as "Mary Wilson of the Supremes," I didn't want people to feel cheated. I'm really more of a ballad singer. My World Is Empty fit the best into the format of the show. I even do some rock.
Dallas, Tex.:
I remember when Florence Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong. At the time, how did you feel about the change and is it true that Flo passed away in poverty?
Joe Eula’s classic Supremes poster, in ink and charcoal, is distinguished by his light, zippy style and natural sense of movement
Q: That Rolling Stones medley was unexpected, but it rocked.
A: I love rock. I'm like a young Tina Turner!
Q: Anyone who thinks that "Dreamgirls" is your story thinks that there was a lot of drama between all of you.
A: No! I was very happy that Berry liked any of us. But Flo and I never got to show that we had that kind of talent. Florence could sing rings around anybody.
Q: Are you and Diana in contact?
A: We're very close, but we're not in touch.
Q: In 2000, Diana had a tour that was supposed to be a Supremes reunion, but that didn't include you, the only other original Supreme, or Cindy Birdsong, who replaced Florence Ballard. Do you think you'll ever finally get back together?
A: Whenever (Ross) gets ready. When we did that "Motown 25" special (the only time the three have sung together since Ross left in 1970), it was a big fiasco because we allowed other people to make it happen. It's going to take her and I getting together to make it happen.
Mary Wilson: When Florence had to leave the group and was replaced by Cindy I was very saddened. This, for me, meant the end of the Supremes -- not that Cindy was joining the group because Cindy is a beautiful human being inside and out; however, f or me without the three original girls, the dream was over.
Alexandria, Va.: Do the Supremes still collect residuals each time one of your songs are played, or is there a time limit on how long you can be paid for each playing of a song?
Mary Wilson: I cannot speak for the other ladies who came after the original group but Diane and I do receive residuals. Unfortunately Florence received a one-time settlement.
Washington, D.C.: When you recount the memories and the total experience, how does it make you feel knowing you are a huge icon for the music industry?
Mary Wilson: (Laughs) You know, you have a job, you have a life and you approach it like that. However, now that 40 some years have passed I recognize that the Supremes have made huge contribution to the music industry but,
I never really thought about that early
on in my life. It was a great job, it was a great career and I lived it as that.
Washington, D.C.: I've got to know about the change in the Supremes. Who replaced whom in the group and why?
Mary Wilson: Cindy Birdsong replaced Florence Ballard in 1967. Jean Terrell replaced Diana Ross in 1970 and then Lynda Laurence replaced Cindy and then Sherrie Payne became a member when Jean Terrell left and then Cindy came back and then Susaye Green came into the group. There were lots of reasons but you can find out more about this in my books, "Dreamgirl" and "Supreme Faith."
You can also get this information on my Web site: www.marywilson.com.
Mary Wilson’s new CD, Up Close, was recorded live in San Francisco.
Sources: Palm Beach Post, Washington Post, The Blues Alley in Washington, D.C, and Michael Feinstein's at Loews Regency, NYC.
Florence died of a broken heart with a welfare check in her mailbox
A book-length portrait of the best singer in Motown's biggest group, the Supremes, is now published, three decades after her death. Born in Detroit in 1943, Florence Ballard co-founded the Primettes in 1959 with Diana Ross and Mary Wilson. By 1960, they were working as background singers at Motown Records; when founder Berry Gordy insisted on a new name, Ballard chose the Supremes, and the rest was music history.
In a revealing new book, journalist Peter Benjaminson attempts valiantly, painstakingly to resurrect the reputation of founding Supreme member Florence Ballard, who left the group early on and descended into litigiousness and alcoholism. Then a reporter with the Detroit Free Press, Benjaminson interviewed Ballard a year before her death in 1976 and elicited a sad story of a starry-eyed, single-minded high school dropout whose dream, and fortune, was co-opted by Berry Gordy's Motown empire.
But all was far from rosy. Ballard was haunted by memories of her rape
by a family friend when she was 17; she could be difficult, and she refused to be the controlling Gordy's "puppet on a string." Around 1966, angered
by all the attention focused on Ross, who made sure the boss liked her best, Ballard began hitting the bottle hard and was fired from the group the following year. Her post-Supremes solo career never took off, and by 1975, when the author was a reporter at the Detroit Free Press, she and her three children were on welfare. Benjaminson's article about her plight ran nationally, and he won Ballard's trust.
The Lost Supreme: Florence Ballard
Pair this book with Mary Wilson's equally revealing autobiography "Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme" (1986), and you've got an unmatchable snapshot of the exhilarating yet often ugly 1960s soul music scene. Source: Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus Reviews Amazon.com
New Book Reveals:
Mary Wilson's live Cabaret CD, entitled "Up Close,"
recorded at San Francisco's Plush Room.
Limited Edition is now available.
01 Here's To Life
02 Smile
03 Body And Soul
04 I Believe In You And Me
05 Spring Is Here
06 Fields Of Gold
07 I Remember You/
Girl From Ipemema
Mas Que Nada (Medley)
08 New York State Of Mind
09 Don't Know Why
10 My World Is Empty
Without You
11 Tears In Heaven
12 I Am Changing
13 Both Sides Now
14 What A Wonderful
World
This page was last updated: December 6, 2008
Q & A
The first-ever collection of recordings by Florence Ballard one of the founding members of Motown legends, The Supremes. 18 tracks that were unearthed from the Motown/ABC vaults & are issued here for the first time. Tracks, 'Like You Babe', 'Yesterday', 'Yours Until Tomorrow', 'It's Not Unusual', 'Impossible Dream', 'It Doesn't Matter How I Say It', 'Let's Stay In Love', 'Walk On By', 'Going Out Of My Head', 'Sweetness', 'Everything Wonderful', ' Love Ain't Love', 'Forever Faithful', 'My Heart', 'Buttered Popcorn', 'Ain't That Good News', 'Hey Baby' & 'Heavenly Father'.
