Mary Wilson: June 13, 1977 - August 27, 1979

[marybrewster]

Contracts are hard to get...just ask the countless amateurs over the decades who have tried but failed, for various reasons. But finding a contract when you've already been in the business makes the process a million times easier. Your examples of the Ronettes is right on. Mary had been in the music business for decades, and for most of it she wasn't a bottom dwelling celebrity either. Mary, apparently the most personable and outgoing of the original trio of Supremes, made countless friends and connections in the industry and yet it seems like none of it did her much- if any- good [[business wise) after she left the group. What labels did she audition for? How many demos did she record and shop around? I cannot be convinced that after Dreamgirl's success that there weren't labels who saw dollar signs in being able to promote Mary Wilson and her music. Hell even Cindy Birdsong had a damn recording contract in the 80s! LOL But Mary couldn't get one? Nobody wanted her? I'm trying so hard to break my bad habit of cussin but for this I have to say: BULLSHIT.

The one mystery is what the hell happened with Atlantic Records? No reputable source seems to have any real insight into what happened after Mary recorded the demos for the company. Perhaps they heard the demos and didn't like what they heard. But was that on Mary or the songs? And could anyone who signs Stacy Q and Julian Lennon decide that there's nothing Mary could do vocally? I think not. Lol

I don't recall her talking about Atlantic in her second book at all.

Bravo. And I couldn't agree more about the possibility of Mary getting a contract after the success of "Dreamgirl". Sales of the book alone should have had record companies interested in her.

The only thing I can come up with, by looking at the top hits of that year[[1986) is that music was new wave heavy, and 3 of the 5 biggest songs of the year came fom non-US artists: Falco, Europe, and the Pet Shop Boys. The biggest US sellers were Madonna and Berlin. Maybe Mary could have found her niche, but I don't see her competing with anything that was current at the time.

[marv2]

Bravo. And I couldn't agree more about the possibility of Mary getting a contract after the success of "Dreamgirl". Sales of the book alone should have had record companies interested in her.

The only thing I can come up with, by looking at the top hits of that year[[1986) is that music was new wave heavy, and 3 of the 5 biggest songs of the year came fom non-US artists: Falco, Europe, and the Pet Shop Boys. The biggest US sellers were Madonna and Berlin. Maybe Mary could have found her niche, but I don't see her competing with anything that was current at the time.

There were several record companies that were interested in Mary Wilson. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe they could not come to terms with her? Just maybe.........?

[milven]

There were several record companies that were interested in Mary Wilson. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe they could not come to terms with her? Just maybe.........?

Sounds believable. And there was the other time when she couldn't come to terms and also wound up with nothing.

[RanRan79]

Sounds believable. And there was the other time when she couldn't come to terms and also wound up with nothing.

I don't believe anyone is buying that Mary talked to a bunch of labels and couldn't come to terms. If anything, that scenario makes Mary look bad. It makes her look like an idiot who couldn't figure out how to negotiate a deal. And let's not kid ourselves, love her as we do, but this is Mary Wilson, not Diana Ross. What the hell was there for her to negotiate? Unless every contract had crazy stipulations like Mary had to sign over her first born or she had to undergo medicinal experiments or she had to perform a concert on the moon, there really was nothing for her to turn down. If the label was going to pay her and help her put out an album, what was the problem?

[Bluebrock]

I don't believe anyone is buying that Mary talked to a bunch of labels and couldn't come to terms. If anything, that scenario makes Mary look bad. It makes her look like an idiot who couldn't figure out how to negotiate a deal. And let's not kid ourselves, love her as we do, but this is Mary Wilson, not Diana Ross. What the hell was there for her to negotiate? Unless every contract had crazy stipulations like Mary had to sign over her first born or she had to undergo medicinal experiments or she had to perform a concert on the moon, there really was nothing for her to turn down. If the label was going to pay her and help her put out an album, what was the problem?

Good post. I find it hard to believe she turned down many if any offers of a recording contract. I am sure she would have taken pretty much any offer on board. It is more likely that no-one was willing to take a chance on her. Her voice does not lend itself well on pop or r&b tunes. She is better suited to jazzy numbers and standards . A cabaret singer maybe, but an r&b diva ? No way.

[Roberta75]

there were several record companies that were interested in mary wilson. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe they could not come to terms with her? Just maybe.........?

lololololololololololololol

[midnightman]

Something tells me Mary's confidence wasn't so high even when she released Dreamgirl because the music industry had changed so much from when she was 16. Now she was 42. Time was definitely running out but she could've went into a freestyle/R&B/urban contemporary sound similar to Vanessa Williams and Mel'isa Morgan that year. She had the look and voice for it, just needed a label and the sound so she could finally be MARY WILSON, you know? Instead of "oh that's just Diana Ross' singing partner". Even Florence Ballard post-mortem has been seen as FLORENCE BALLARD, the group's founder. Mary, however, "oh just a background singer" to the mainstream. That has to suck because she was more capable than that, way more.

[RanRan79]

Something tells me Mary's confidence wasn't so high even when she released Dreamgirl because the music industry had changed so much from when she was 16. Now she was 42. Time was definitely running out but she could've went into a freestyle/R&B/urban contemporary sound similar to Vanessa Williams and Mel'isa Morgan that year. She had the look and voice for it, just needed a label and the sound so she could finally be MARY WILSON, you know? Instead of "oh that's just Diana Ross' singing partner". Even Florence Ballard post-mortem has been seen as FLORENCE BALLARD, the group's founder. Mary, however, "oh just a background singer" to the mainstream. That has to suck because she was more capable than that, way more.

Definitely agree on how the public views each Supreme. I don't know if I buy that her confidence around Dreamgirl was still low. When she performs during that time, I don't see or hear a woman who second guesses her abilities. I think at that point she had tunnel vision. She did the book, it was a phenomenal success, but I don't think she really thought about how to parlay that success into a music career. I bet you that once the first book hit, she immediately started thinking about the second book. And of course the second book was definitely a good move, but again, what about the music? Just seems like missed opportunities to me.

[midnightman]

Definitely agree on how the public views each Supreme. I don't know if I buy that her confidence around Dreamgirl was still low. When she performs during that time, I don't see or hear a woman who second guesses her abilities. I think at that point she had tunnel vision. She did the book, it was a phenomenal success, but I don't think she really thought about how to parlay that success into a music career. I bet you that once the first book hit, she immediately started thinking about the second book. And of course the second book was definitely a good move, but again, what about the music? Just seems like missed opportunities to me.

Right. You'd think she'd be able to make music waves like Tina Turner did [[though she released her first memoirs after re-establishing herself so maybe that's not a good comparison?). But yeah I agree that Mary was thinking about books than music. She had mentioned writing a "part 2" during promotion of the Dreamgirl book.

[RanRan79]

Right. You'd think she'd be able to make music waves like Tina Turner did [[though she released her first memoirs after re-establishing herself so maybe that's not a good comparison?). But yeah I agree that Mary was thinking about books than music. She had mentioned writing a "part 2" during promotion of the Dreamgirl book.

Tina was a once in a lifetime story, I think. Mary was never going to make those kind of waves, Dreamgirl or no Dreamgirl. A lot of the music business is pure luck vs many other factors, but I do think most of the HUGE artists of our lifetimes were uniquely talented in someway. I think Mary was/is a gifted vocalist, gorgeous, charismatic, great stage presence. But uniquely talented...I wouldn't say that. She could've made a label some nice money, but she wasn't ever going to do a Tina Turner. Lol [[And I say that as someone who prefers Mary's voice to Tina's.)

[RanRan79]

Bravo. And I couldn't agree more about the possibility of Mary getting a contract after the success of "Dreamgirl". Sales of the book alone should have had record companies interested in her.

The only thing I can come up with, by looking at the top hits of that year[[1986) is that music was new wave heavy, and 3 of the 5 biggest songs of the year came fom non-US artists: Falco, Europe, and the Pet Shop Boys. The biggest US sellers were Madonna and Berlin. Maybe Mary could have found her niche, but I don't see her competing with anything that was current at the time.

Oh yeah, no way was Mary going to compete with any of the BIG names at that point. Around Dreamgirl I don't think Mary was going to do much more than maybe a few top 40 pop singles, some top 20/maybe top 10 r&b singles, some top 10 AC cuts, and a couple of nice albums. Maybe with some luck she might have gotten one big universal smash [[I think Mary would've done just as well as Brenda Russell with "Piano In the Dark"). I think she could do some soft rockers, but it would've been best to let her do the type of stuff Anita Baker, Phyllis Hyman, Melissa Morgan, Regina Belle, and others were doing [[her demo of "Sleeping In Separate Rooms" is the direction I think she should have gone in). But there's no way in my mind that Mary was going to be putting up numbers that even Diana couldn't do at that point. But she would have proven to be a solid money maker IMO. The hope would have been that she was able to just be Mary Wilson, without the Supremes.