Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.
31 Facts About Mary Wells
2.
Mary Esther Wells was born near Detroit's Wayne State University on May 13,1943, to a mother who worked as a domestic, and an absentee father.
3.
Mary Wells used singing as her comfort from her pain and by age 10 had graduated from church choirs to performing at local nightclubs in the Detroit area.
4.
Mary Wells graduated from Detroit's Northwestern High School at the age of 17 and set her sights on becoming a scientist, but after hearing about the success of Detroit musicians such as Jackie Wilson and the Miracles, she decided to try her hand at music as a singer-songwriter.
5.
In 1960,17-year-old Mary Wells approached Tamla Records founder Berry Gordy at Detroit's Twenty Grand club, with a song she had intended for Jackie Wilson to record, since Mary Wells knew of Gordy's collaboration with Wilson.
6.
However, a tired Gordy insisted Mary Wells sing the song in front of him.
7.
Impressed, Gordy had Mary Wells enter Detroit's United Sound Systems to record the single, titled "Bye Bye Baby".
8.
Mary Wells became the first Motown female artist to have a Top 40 pop single after the Mickey Stevenson-penned doo-wop song "I Don't Want to Take a Chance" hit number 33 in June 1961.
9.
Mary Wells's teaming with Robinson led to a succession of hit singles over the following two years.
10.
Around this time, the Beatles stated that Mary Wells was their favorite American singer, and soon she was given an invitation to open for the group during their tour of the United Kingdom, thus making her the first Motown star to perform in the UK.
11.
Mary Wells was only one of three female singers to open for the Beatles, the others being Brenda Holloway and Jackie DeShannon.
12.
Mary Wells made friends with all four Beatles and later released a tribute album, Love Songs to the Beatles, in mid-decade.
13.
In 1964, Mary Wells was our big, big artist, I don't think there's any audience with an age of 30 through 50 that doesn't know the words to My Guy.
14.
Ironically during her most successful year, Mary Wells was having problems with Motown over her original recording contract, which she had signed at the age of 17.
15.
Finally, Mary Wells invoked a clause that allowed her to leave the label, advising the court that her original contract was invalid, as she had signed while she was still a minor.
16.
Mary Wells won her lawsuit and was awarded a settlement, leaving Motown officially in early 1965, whereupon she accepted a lucrative contract with 20th Century Fox Records.
17.
Mary Wells worked on material for her new record label while dealing with other issues, including being bedridden for weeks suffering from tuberculosis.
18.
In 1970, Mary Wells left Jubilee for a short-lived deal with Warner Music subsidiary Reprise Records and released two Bobby Womack-produced singles.
19.
In 1972, Mary Wells scored a UK hit with a re-issue of "My Guy", which was released on the Tamla-Motown label and climbed to number 14.
20.
In 1977, Mary Wells divorced Cecil Womack and returned to performing.
21.
Mary Wells was spotted by CBS Urban president Larkin Arnold in 1978 and offered a contract with the CBS subsidiary Epic Records, which released In and Out of Love in October 1981.
22.
The album, which had been recorded in 1979, yielded Mary Wells's biggest hit in years, the funky disco single, "Gigolo".
23.
Mary Wells still had one more album in her CBS contract, and in 1982, released an album of cover songs, Easy Touch, which aimed for the adult contemporary radio format.
24.
In 1989, Mary Wells was celebrated with a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation during its inaugural year.
25.
In 1990, Mary Wells recorded an album for Ian Levine's Motorcity Records, but her voice began to fail, causing the singer to visit a local hospital.
26.
Mary Wells was given a tribute by friends such as Stevie Wonder and Little Richard on The Joan Rivers Show.
27.
In 1991, Mary Wells brought a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Motown for royalties she felt she had not received upon leaving Motown Records in 1964 and for loss of royalties for not promoting her songs as the company should have.
28.
Mary Wells married twice: first, in 1960, to Detroit singer Herman Griffin; they divorced in 1963.
29.
In 1966, Mary Wells married singer-songwriter Cecil Womack, formerly of the Valentinos, and the younger brother of musician Bobby Womack.
30.
Mary Wells was given one of the first Pioneer Awards by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1989.
31.
Mary Wells was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2006.