The soul singer who was the linchpin of the Supremes

1944–2021

When Mary Wilson and the rest of the Supremes signed with Motown in 1961, the record label sent the teenage singers to its famed inhouse “charm school.” Etiquette coach Maxine Powell told Wilson and bandmates Diana Ross and Florence Ballard that they were “diamonds in the rough” who needed a little polish because “one day you’re going to be singing before kings and queens.” The Supremes, neighbors from Detroit’s BrewsterDouglass Housing Projects, all laughed. “We were like, ‘Yeah, sure,’” recalled Wilson. But seven years and a dozen No. 1 singles later—including “Baby Love” and “Stop!

In the Name of Love”—the Supremes were performing for British royalty at a televised London gala, having established themselves as pop-soul superstars.

Mary Wilson

Born in Greenville, Miss., and raised in Detroit, Wilson teamed up with Ballard and Ross in high school to form a girl group, said

The Washington Post. After signing with Motown, the Supremes scored a hit with 1963’s “When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes.” The group had its first No. 1 the following year with “Where Did Our Love Go?”

Fractures soon emerged, said the Associated Press. Ballard “became resentful of Ross’ growing prominence” and was replaced by Cindy Birdsong in 1967. The group was renamed Diana Ross and the Supremes by Motown—a name that held until 1970, when the fiercely ambitious Ross went solo. Replacement members came and went, and Wilson finally disbanded the Supremes in 1977. She went on to write best-selling autobiographies and to perform solo. Wilson said she hoped fans left her shows thinking, “Wow, it wasn’t just one girl in the Supremes. Maybe it was three.”