Originally Posted by
RanRan79
Thoughts:
-Both "High Energy" and "Teardrops" were missed single opportunities. I'm not convinced HE would have been a hit, but I also wouldn't bet against it. I think it was fresh enough to make waves if given the right promotion. R&B radio would have probably played it. The question for me is would pop radio have done the same. "Teardrops" sounds like a hit to me. This was a lost opportunity for Mary.
-Nobody has been able to explain to me when exactly did Mary Wilson of the Supremes become powerful enough to dictate to Motown regarding releases? The accusation of her [[and Pedro) nixing "Said Before" in favor of "He's My Man" is mentioned every few months or so, and yet it still doesn't make sense to me. Diana begged for "Reach Out and Touch" to be her first single. Begged. And she had a connection to Gordy where she could ask and have a prayer in having the request granted. And still she had to beg. Diana Ross, begging. And I'm supposed to believe that Motown wanted "It's All Been Said Before" as a single and Mary walked up in there, made a demand, and walked out without any Motown push back? I need more convincing. Make it make sense.
-Mary declining Motown's management might appear to be a mistake in hindsight, but the truth is that Motown had not given her any reason to trust them to do right by the group as managers. A year or so before, the label was perfectly willing to let the group die a quiet death, not realizing Mary was doing some serious CPR. Now she's supposed to hand over management to them just because they ask? What was the pitch? Did Motown even have any ideas, or was this a maneuver to kill the group even faster? If Mary was braindead for declining, Motown had to be braindead for asking and expecting her to go along to get along, like Mary of the 1960s, as if she isn't in her 30s at that point.