Mary Wilson's Guest Appearance on Neil Sedaka album

[daviddesper]

I am sure all you die hard Mary fans are aware that she appeared on one of Neil's 1980s albums. In fact the title cut was the old Supremes' hit "Come See About Me" and Mary provided some very recognizable backing vocals.

Does anyone know if this album was ever available on CD? I have never seen it, but that does not mean it never existed. I would be happy with even part of it, because for me, the highlight was Neil's rollicking version of another soul classic "Stagger Lee."

[Methuselah2]

David - Check this out for info:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_See_About_Me_[[Neil_Sedaka_album)

Album also includes Ashford and Simpson on YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE.

Check out YouTube, too. A number of cuts are there.

[John G. Stumpf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EmygadLXpE

[TheMotownManiac]

Made my ears bleed. HDH should have to approve before their classics are turned into mindless, generic pap.

[RanRan79]

Made my ears bleed. HDH should have to approve before their classics are turned into mindless, generic pap.

Worst thing about it was Neil. Different singer and I think the song would've been okay. Mary sounds great and it just further illustrates my point that in between chasing record deals for herself she should have been hiring herself out as a session backup vocalist.

[luke]

I don't think she thought that would further her career much. She did sing background for Scherrie too

[marv2]

Mary was never a background singer in my opinion. She was assigned that role by Mr. Gordy. She led on one of the Primettes and Supremes earliest recordings and has been a soloist for 40 years now and still getting paid! The only thing I liked about the Sedaka recording is Mary!

[luke]

Good points Marv. Totally agree

[RanRan79]

Cissy Houston is one of the best in the game and she probably made more money singing behind folks than she did on her own, and clearly she is a more than capable lead vocalist. Background singing is a skill and not a knock on one's talent. Mary was as much a lead singer as her fellow Supremes, talent wise, but as a background singer she was just as great. Whatever she thought of herself in the 80s, apparently her phone wasn't ringing off the hook with offers of record deals, which is why I think in addition to chasing a solo deal, she should have also sought session work like Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee, the Waters, etc. Tawatha was doing backup work and still managed to get a solo record deal at the same time. I don't see why Mary couldn't have done the same. Mind you, I'm speaking with hindsight. I definitely get why she might have been hesitant about returning to a background role in any capacity, but who knows what opportunities might have come her way had she gone that route.

[marv2]

Cissy Houston is one of the best in the game and she probably made more money singing behind folks than she did on her own, and clearly she is a more than capable lead vocalist. Background singing is a skill and not a knock on one's talent. Mary was as much a lead singer as her fellow Supremes, talent wise, but as a background singer she was just as great. Whatever she thought of herself in the 80s, apparently her phone wasn't ringing off the hook with offers of record deals, which is why I think in addition to chasing a solo deal, she should have also sought session work like Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee, the Waters, etc. Tawatha was doing backup work and still managed to get a solo record deal at the same time. I don't see why Mary couldn't have done the same. Mind you, I'm speaking with hindsight. I definitely get why she might have been hesitant about returning to a background role in any capacity, but who knows what opportunities might have come her way had she gone that route.

After Diane and Jean, Mary sang more Supremes leads than anyone else.

[luke]

Yes. And it didn't make sense for her to sing background when she was trying to establish herself as a solo. Like Dalene Love finally stopped singing backgrounds and started perusing her solo act. She felt she had to do that even though she was broke and she turned down background offers!

[marv2]

Yes. And it didn't make sense for her to sing background when she was trying to establish herself as a solo. Like Dalene Love finally stopped singing backgrounds and started perusing her solo act. She felt she had to do that even though she was broke and she turned down background offers!

We've all heard some of Mary's demo's, so we know she had the goods. The negotiations seemed to be the sticking point.

[RanRan79]

After Diane and Jean, Mary sang more Supremes leads than anyone else.

A distinction that is well deserved considering that she was the one member with the group through it's entirety. She really has earned the right to be the supreme Supreme.

[RanRan79]

Yes. And it didn't make sense for her to sing background when she was trying to establish herself as a solo. Like Dalene Love finally stopped singing backgrounds and started perusing her solo act. She felt she had to do that even though she was broke and she turned down background offers!

Work is work. Mary being an in demand recording session singer wouldn't have stopped anyone who believed in her talent from signing her to a deal. Hell, Luther was still doing background work even after he had hit records [[although most of that work I do think was on productions he did for other people). Since the dreadful Red Hot, we've gotten, what, maybe one album from Mary per decade? That's some bull considering how good she is and how famous her name actually has been. Anyway, I still see nothing wrong with her doing session work by night and seeking deals by day. Had I been in her shoes, trying to escape the shadow of the Supremes and Diana Ross, I wouldn't have left no stone unturned.

[RanRan79]

We've all heard some of Mary's demo's, so we know she had the goods. The negotiations seemed to be the sticking point.

I would love to know what the problem was. Like you say, Mary had the goods. Those Dudgeon cuts and the Atlantic demos prove that. Mary should be widely known for just being Mary Wilson singing star, and not just Mary Wilson of the Supremes. I keep "Love Talk", "Save Me" and "Sleeping In Separate Rooms" in my shuffle rotation. We needed a full Dudgeon album and we needed Mary to sign with Atlantic. I think they would have known what to do with her. Instead the next official thing we got was that horrendous Motor City junk. I'd rather listen to Red Hot.

[John G. Stumpf]

Why did negotiations fail?

[luke]

I was making a comparison per Darlene Love who felt she wouldn't make it as a soloist unless she got out of doing background work. You can read it in her book. She also got advice from other singers on this. Obviously Mary agreed with this. So isn't this issue kind of pointless?

[marv2]

Why did negotiations fail?

I would not know.

[RanRan79]

I was making a comparison per Darlene Love who felt she wouldn't make it as a soloist unless she got out of doing background work. You can read it in her book. She also got advice from other singers on this. Obviously Mary agreed with this. So isn't this issue kind of pointless?

What's obvious is that I was stating an opinion in 2017 about a hypothetical scenario in the 1980s. Nothing I can say on this issue would change history, which is why I made sure to point out in an earlier post above that I was doing nothing more than Monday morning quarterbacking. But my opinion remains the same, pointless as it may be to you. I'll move on...

[John G. Stumpf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCdFffeCaAk

Mary Wilson - Cavern Liverpool

I've noticed that Mary Wilson never puts on the same show twice and doesn't rely upon background singers.

[John G. Stumpf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uayhSAhnY4

Mary Wilson - Cavern Liverpool

[John G. Stumpf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfaF-OO-Tgs

[John G. Stumpf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px3rt2Fc4oc

[marv2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uayhSAhnY4

Mary Wilson - Cavern Liverpool

That was great! How did you find that?

[John G. Stumpf]

A friend of mine sent the links to the clips for me to post in the forum. He is a fan/friend of Mary Wilson. I contacted him about some concerns I had about a recent interview Mary Wilson may have had and her participation in a possible upcoming book surrounding the Supremes. He said the clip of Mary Wilson singing I Am Changing doesn't do justice on how powerful how voice was on that song.

[luke]

I have Mary's personal email somewhere. Let me kniow if she needs to be communicated with directly. She can also be reached thru Andy Skurow on here.

[John G. Stumpf]

I have Mary's personal email somewhere. Let me kniow if she needs to be communicated with directly. She can also be reached thru Andy Skurow on here.

Thanks, I appreciate that.

[Roberta75]

Thanks, I appreciate that.

You should send Mary a priovate message through facebook or contact her through her booking people. Its real easy to contact Mary.


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