Why didn't Motown like Mary Wilson?

[reese]

She was definitely naive. She was also desperate. And she was afraid. Motown had Mary by the ovaries. They had the power, she had none. I imagine that had to suck. But she really should have looked for something elsewhere. She wrote in her book that her confidence issues were still plaguing her as late as the early 80s. I guess at the time of the lawsuit, if she wasn't convinced that she had all the goods, sticking with the "home" label of Motown, whatever the circumstances, might have felt like her best bet.

In contrast, when Flo was offered a solo contract with Motown, she apparently didn't even entertain the thought. I think she probably knew that if Motown wasn't fully in her corner as a Supreme, the label wasn't suddenly going to get interested in her alone. She also didn't have the self confidence issues Mary had, figuring she could get a deal on her own, which she did. I believe Mary had it in her to get signed somewhere, but she always played it safe.

Re her solo deal at Motown, it is unfortunate but it is probably true that Mary didn't have many [if any] other offers. I remember a column in Soul magazine from this period and it said something like "if Pedro Ferrer had gone into butchering hogs instead of his wife's career maybe she wouldn't be in this war with Motown. Let's face it: she's great when it comes to the group scene but as a solo, everything sounds as if its in the key of H." Ouch!

Reading something like that couldn't have done much for Mary's confidence.

[sup_fan]

Re her solo deal at Motown, it is unfortunate but it is probably true that Mary didn't have many [if any] other offers. I remember a column in Soul magazine from this period and it said something like "if Pedro Ferrer had gone into butchering hogs instead of his wife's career maybe she wouldn't be in this war with Motown. Let's face it: she's great when it comes to the group scene but as a solo, everything sounds as if its in the key of H." Ouch!

Reading something like that couldn't have done much for Mary's confidence.

yeah i think the issue was more that there weren't other offers. part of this is that mary didn't have a reputation in the industry. she wasn't the lead of the group. and when she did share a lead [[like HMM) it really wasn't something the industry or public noticed. the group was a non-entity for years and so that basically meant she had no US track record.

second probably had to do with timing. if she was looking to move to another label in 77 or 78, it was all about disco and she just wasn't a fit for that. nor did she have a name where they could at least play that up - like the horrid Martha Reeves Skating in the Street disco garbage or Ethel Merman's disco nonsense lol.

and then there's age. if she was struggling to land a pop deal in 78 when she was 34, it would only get harder as time went by.

let's face it - if any other label in the industry had been willing to sign her, she would have done it

[RanRan79]

I'm 100 percent positive Mary Wilson received no offers for a solo deal, aside from what Motown offered her, for the first few years after leaving the Supremes. The thing is that only the biggest acts received unsolicited offers, aside from newly discovered acts where someone in the power section happens to run across the talent. Mary didn't get offers because Mary didn't go after it. She spent the first year or so of her solo career fighting Motown. She took the deal Motown offered and was locked into that until 1980. In that time it is highly doubtful she ever knocked on anyone's label door asking for an audition or a meeting.

She mentions shopping her demos around in the 80s, but doesn't go into the details. The one fish who seemed to bite was that Bogart dude and then he died. She did demos in the late 80s for Atlantic but nothing came of that and no one seems to know why, although it might be as simple as Atlantic hearing the demos and being disinterested.

Mary was never in a position to sit at home and wait on the phone to ring with offers of record contracts. Artists all over the industry were hustling, banging on doors, trying to get opportunities. There isn't much evidence that Mary had this same mentality. Perhaps if she had, she may have found herself a label, even a small one, that was willing to get behind her talent.

She also didn't do herself any favors by hiring inept management. The success of Dreamgirl should have netted Mary a deal somewhere, if only on the strength of publicity, and a good manager would have secured that.

[sup_fan]

I'm 100 percent positive Mary Wilson received no offers for a solo deal, aside from what Motown offered her, for the first few years after leaving the Supremes. The thing is that only the biggest acts received unsolicited offers, aside from newly discovered acts where someone in the power section happens to run across the talent. Mary didn't get offers because Mary didn't go after it. She spent the first year or so of her solo career fighting Motown. She took the deal Motown offered and was locked into that until 1980. In that time it is highly doubtful she ever knocked on anyone's label door asking for an audition or a meeting.

She mentions shopping her demos around in the 80s, but doesn't go into the details. The one fish who seemed to bite was that Bogart dude and then he died. She did demos in the late 80s for Atlantic but nothing came of that and no one seems to know why, although it might be as simple as Atlantic hearing the demos and being disinterested.

Mary was never in a position to sit at home and wait on the phone to ring with offers of record contracts. Artists all over the industry were hustling, banging on doors, trying to get opportunities. There isn't much evidence that Mary had this same mentality. Perhaps if she had, she may have found herself a label, even a small one, that was willing to get behind her talent.

She also didn't do herself any favors by hiring inept management. The success of Dreamgirl should have netted Mary a deal somewhere, if only on the strength of publicity, and a good manager would have secured that.

but she was 42 or so when Dreamgirl came out. that's gonna be tough to sell into a record company that someone at that age is ready to start a pop solo career.

she did try branching into other areas at least - did a little acting here and there. some auditions.

i think her strongest bet would have been to go into jazz, blues and heavier r&b ballad work. i don't know how much of a market there was for that but adult r&b could have been a niche for her. and from there you could get the occasional crossover pop ballad hit

[RanRan79]

Re her solo deal at Motown, it is unfortunate but it is probably true that Mary didn't have many [if any] other offers. I remember a column in Soul magazine from this period and it said something like "if Pedro Ferrer had gone into butchering hogs instead of his wife's career maybe she wouldn't be in this war with Motown. Let's face it: she's great when it comes to the group scene but as a solo, everything sounds as if its in the key of H." Ouch!

Reading something like that couldn't have done much for Mary's confidence.

I'm sure a comment like that would hurt, but it should be understood that this is the nature of the business. I'm sure Diana heard or read worse than that, but she would use it to fuel herself. Mary should have trusted in her talent like Diana and Flo did.