Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells (* 13. May 1943 in Detroit , Michigan ; † 26. July 1992 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American Soul - singer , through their shots at the record label Motown was known.
Life
Wells grew up in a poor neighborhood. In her childhood she developed meningitis , as a result of which she became temporarily blind and deaf, but both sight and hearing returned. She then sang in her school's choir and later performed in various clubs and talent competitions. In 1959 she met Motown employee Robert Bateman and offered him a song called Bye Bye Baby , which she had written for Jackie Wilson . Bateman made it possible that Wells could sing her song Berry Gordy , which eventually earned her a recording deal. Bye Bye Baby became Wells' first hit single in 1961.
The follow-up single I Don't Want to Take a Chance repeated the success of Bye Bye Baby , but Strange Love flopped. Gordy then decided to make Smokey Robinson Wells' songwriter and producer. This resulted in the top 10 singles The One Who Really Loves You , You Beat Me to the Punch and Two Lovers in 1962 , and finally the album The One Who Really Loves You was released, which also made it into the top 10 and making it Motown's best-selling album by then.
A total of four top 40 hits followed in 1963: Laughing Boy , What's So Easy for Two Is So Hard for One , Your Old Standby (originally published as the back of What Love Has Joined Together ) and You Lost the Sweetest Boy . 1964 began with the release of My Guy , which soon ousted the Beatles from the top of the pop charts. It was going to be Wells' biggest hit. Later that year she recorded Once upon a Time and What's the Matter with You, Baby with Marvin Gaye , both of which made it into the top 20, and toured the UK with The Beatles . As a result, she also recorded the album Love Songs to the Beatles , which featured various Beatles covers. It turned out to be a flop.
After that, the bigger successes failed and Wells left Motown to instead sign with 20th Century Fox . Furthermore, the commercial success was limited and in mid-1965 she said goodbye there again. Their first single for Atco , Dear Lover , made it into the top 10 of the R&B charts, followed by two small hits on Jubilee Records . In 1970 Wells married Cecil Womack , Bobby Womack's brother , and withdrew from the music scene.
She made a few more recordings for Reprise in the 1970s and separated from Womack in 1977. In the early 1980s she made a brief comeback with producer Wayne Henderson , when her song Gigolo made it to number 2 in the disco charts, and began touring again. In 1983 Wells released a cover version of Prince 's song I Feel for You on her album The Old, the New and the Best of Mary Wells . In 1990 she was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth, which eventually had a negative effect on her voice, which is why she stopped touring. Two years later she succumbed to cancer in Los Angeles.
Discography
Albums
| title | Catalog no. | published |
|---|---|---|
| Bye bye baby | Motown 600 | 8.1961 |
| The One Who Really Loves You | Motown 605 | 6.1962 |
| Two lovers | Motown 607 | 1.1963 |
| Live on stage | Motown 611 | 1963 |
| Together (with Marvin Gaye) | Motown 613 | 4.1964 |
| Sings My Guy | Motown 617 | 6.1964 |
| Mary Wells | 20th Century TFM 3171 | 1965 |
| Love Songs To The Beatles | 20th Century TFM 3178 | 1965 |
| The Two Sides Of Mary Wells | ATCO 33-199 | 1966 |
| Servin 'up some soul | Jubilee 8018 | 1968 |
| In And Out Of Love | Epic 37540 | 1981 |
| Easy touch | 51 West Q16278 | 1982 |
| The Old, The New And The Best Of Mary Wells | Allegiance AL444 | 1983 |
| Keeping My Mind On Love | Motorcity MOTCLP40 | 1990 |
Singles
| From page | Catalog no. | published |
|---|---|---|
| Motown | ||
| Bye Bye Baby / Please Forgive Me | 1003 | 2.1961 |
| I Don't Want To Take A Chance / I'm So Sorry | 1011 | 6.1961 |
| Strange Love / Come To Me | 1016 | 10.1961 |
| The One Who Really Loves You / I'm Gonna Stay | 1024 | 2.1962 |
| You Beat Me To The Punch / Old Love (Let's Try Again) | 1032 | 7.1962 |
| Two lovers / operator | 1035 | 10.1962 |
| Laughing Boy / Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right | 1039 | 2.1963 |
| Your Old Stand By / What Love Has Joined Together | 1042 | 4.1963 |
| You Lost The Sweetest Boy / What's Easy For Two Is So Hard For One | 1048 | 8.1963 |
| My Guy / Oh Little Boy (What Did You Do To Me) | 1056 | 3.1964 |
| Once Upon A Time (w. M.Gaye) / What's The Matter With You Baby (w. M.Gaye) | 1057 | 4.1964 |
| 20th Century | ||
| Ain't It The Truth / Stop Takin 'Me For Granted | 544 | 10.1964 |
| Use Your Head / Everlovin 'Boy | 555 | 1.1965 |
| Never, Never Leave Me / Why Don't You Let Yourself Go | 570 | 3.1965 |
| He's A Lover / I'm Learnin ' | 590 | 5.1965 |
| Me Without You / I'm Sorry | 606 | 8.1965 |
| I Should Have Known Better / Please Please Me | 619 | 10.1965 |
| ATCO | ||
| Dear Lover / Can't You See (You're Losing Me) | 6392 | 12.1965 |
| Such A Sweet Thing / Keep Me In Suspense | 6423 | 6.1966 |
| Fancy Free / Me And My Baby | 6436 | 9.1966 |
| (Hey You) Set My Soul On Fire / Coming Home | 6469 | 3.1967 |
| Jubilee | ||
| The Doctor / Two Lovers History | 5621 | 4.1968 |
| Can't Get Away From Your Love / Woman In Love | 5629 | 8.1968 |
| Don't Look Back / 500 Miles | 5639 | 12.1968 |
| Never Give A Man The World / Mind Reader | 5676 | 9.1969 |
| Dig The Way I Feel / Love-Shooting Bandit | 5684 | 11.1969 |
| Sweet Love / It Must Be | 5695 | 5.1970 |
| Mr.Tough / Never Give A Man The World | 5718 | 9.1971 |
| Recapitulation | ||
| I Found What I Wanted / I See A Future In You | 1031 | 7.1971 |
| If You Can't Give Her Love (Give Her Up) / Cancel My Subscription | 1308 | 1974 |
| If You Can't Give Her Love (Give Her Up) / Don't Keep Me Hangin 'On | 1308 | 8.1974 |
| Epic | ||
| Gigolo / Let's Mix It Up | 2663 | 12.1981 |
| Gigolo / I'm Changing My Ways | 2664 | 1982 |
| These Arms / Spend The Nights With Me | 2873 | 1982 |
| Nightmare | ||
| Don't Burn The Bridges / Don't Burn The Bridges (Dub-Mix) | MARE33 | 1987 |
| Motorcity | ||
| You're The Answer To My Dreams / You're The Answer To My Dreams (Dub-Mix) | MOTC2 | 1989 |
swell
literature
- Benjaminson, Peter: Mary Wells. The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar . Chicago Review, 2012. ISBN 978-1569762486
- Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 734f - ISBN 0-312-02573-4
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wells, Mary |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wells, Mary Esther (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American soul singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 13, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Detroit , Michigan, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 26, 1992 |
| Place of death | Los Angeles , California, USA |