Mary Wilson / Ricky Ricardo

[Circa 1824]

I have always viewed Mary Wilson as the Ricky Ricardo of the Supremes.

On stage, Ricky Ricardo was important to the I Love Lucy show. He provided a backdrop for Lucy, the big star and big talent. IMHO, anytime Ricky's part became too big, or God forbid he sang a solo in the nightclub, the energy of the show collapsed. Lucy is who everyone wanted to see, and why millions watched the show. Ricky was just the TV husband. He was the perfect second-banana. Outside of the public's interest as Lucy's sidekick, he had no solo performing potential. [[Ricky was a genius behind the scenes. I am talking about on stage.)

Mary was the second-banana to another great superstar, Diana Ross. When Mary sang a solo, the excitement and energy loss was noticeable, and Diana's magic was instantly missed. "You either got it or you don't." And, Mary and Ricky didn't.

When I see Mary, I think Ricky Ricardo, and ask "Where are Lucy and Diana?"

[Mark Desjardines]

I respect your right to state your opinion. As a fan of the original Supremes, Diana, Mary and Florence had a magic that attracted me to the group. She has a HUGE personality that compensates for any vocal shortcomings her detractors have assigned her. Many "superstars" today rely on dancers, stage theatrics, etc to maintain interest. Mary radiates an energy of her own. Mary has performed many kinds of musical styles, including tributes to female jazz greats. One either gets her or not. She truly is one of the hardest working performers I can think of today.

[Zantellor]

Mary vocal short comings?????? When is the last time you saw Mary perform live????. If Mary has any vocal short comings they really have not been apparent in the shows I saw her perform in the last 20 years or so. Marys shows are vocally great. She can bring an audience to a peak and receive standing ovations with the best of them. Go see Mary live. After that I do not think you will mention vocal short comings and Mary Wilson in the same paragraph ever again

[Bluebrock]

I have always viewed Mary Wilson as the Ricky Ricardo of the Supremes.

On stage, Ricky Ricardo was important to the I Love Lucy show. He provided a backdrop for Lucy, the big star and big talent. IMHO, anytime Ricky's part became too big, or God forbid he sang a solo in the nightclub, the energy of the show collapsed. Lucy is who everyone wanted to see, and why millions watched the show. Ricky was just the TV husband. He was the perfect second-banana. Outside of the public's interest as Lucy's sidekick, he had no solo performing potential. [[Ricky was a genius behind the scenes. I am talking about on stage.)

Mary was the second-banana to another great superstar, Diana Ross. When Mary sang a solo, the excitement and energy loss was noticeable, and Diana's magic was instantly missed. "You either got it or you don't." And, Mary and Ricky didn't.

When I see Mary, I think Ricky Ricardo, and ask "Where are Lucy and Diana?"

That is a very interesting viewpoint circa!! It certainly made me chuckle this morning. Prepare for an avalanche of abuse my friend.............

[detmotownguy]

Mary vocal short comings?????? When is the last time you saw Mary perform live????. If Mary has any vocal short comings they really have not been apparent in the shows I saw her perform in the last 20 years or so. Marys shows are vocally great. She can bring an audience to a peak and receive standing ovations with the best of them. Go see Mary live. After that I do not think you will mention vocal short comings and Mary Wilson in the same paragraph ever again

Hey Zantellor, hope all is well with you. I agree with you. I remember the first time I saw Mary live in Lake Tahoe in the 80's. She litterallly had heads turning during the show. People were saying I didn't know she sounded so soulful. I myself was shocked as well. To this day I still hear the same comments about her vocal styling. I could listen to her all night. My fav performance is her Constitution Hall concert in D.C. She just tore up Love Child. She doesn't scream, over sing and keeps with the melody line. Short comings, nope. The intitial post on this thread was to start something. Actually, the Supremes magic was gone when Motown used session singers began replacing Mary/Flo. The sound wasn't the same. In the end tho, The Supremes were the best at harmony and stage presentation. three distinct voices blending together creating perfection. Nearly 60 years later and they are still being discussed lol!

[Motown Eddie]

Hey Circa, if what you said was true people would not be going to see Mary Wilson perform in concert all these years after The Original Supremes' heyday. Yes, Diana Ross became a major superstar but Mary Wilson has well established herself as a performer with a solid following.

[jim aka jtigre99]

I find Mary Wilson to be quite talented on her own. If you are going to compare Diana Ross to Lucy, I don't find the comparison to Ricky with Mary Wilson. I would say she is more comparable to Ethel Mertz. She supported Lucy, was funny and while Lucy was amazing on her own-she really had a special chemistry with Ethel[[Vivian) that brought about something special. Lucy herself said in an interview that she found herself watching the shows and watching Viv and said she was really something. I would say the same thing, Mary is more like Ethel than Ricky.

[Bluebrock]

Hey Zantellor, hope all is well with you. I agree with you. I remember the first time I saw Mary live in Lake Tahoe in the 80's. She litterallly had heads turning during the show. People were saying I didn't know she sounded so soulful. I myself was shocked as well. To this day I still hear the same comments about her vocal styling. I could listen to her all night. My fav performance is her Constitution Hall concert in D.C. She just tore up Love Child. She doesn't scream, over sing and keeps with the melody line. Short comings, nope. The intitial post on this thread was to start something. Actually, the Supremes magic was gone when Motown used session singers began replacing Mary/Flo. The sound wasn't the same. In the end tho, The Supremes were the best at harmony and stage presentation. three distinct voices blending together creating perfection. Nearly 60 years later and they are still being discussed lol!

One of the joys of listening to the expanded go go is hearing Flo and Mary's excellent backing vocals. I thought the Supremes lost something when Flo, Mary and later Cindy were dispensed with. Having said all that i have never rated Mary as a lead vocalist. Her voice is just too ordinary to get excited about. When i saw her live in Oct 2015 she was frankly poor. She was flat and very underwhelming. When i saw her again in Jan 2016 she was better but still lacking the magic i was seeking. This is just my opinion and i know there are many people on here who rate her as a vocalist. Good luck to you if you do. I am glad you hear something in Mary's voice that sadly eludes my ears. Variety is the spice of life.

[vgalindo]

I really don't care for Mary's voice anymore. Loved her leads on the last few 70 Supremes albums. But lately she has a Rupaul kinda voice to me.

[detmotownguy]

I wish Berry had allowed more of the Supremes chemistry to show on stage, esp The banter with Flo and Diane. 2 completely diff voices and personalities that could have played off each other.

[TheMotownManiac]

I concur with Circa's analogy for the 60's groupings. I thought Mary was dull compared to Flo & Diana, and tried way too hard to take attention from Cindy [[notice she didn't pull that stuff with Flo or it would have been El Kabonnnnggg time lol)

As the 70's progressed, I think Mary developed into a very credible entertainer and by the time I saw her solo show in 1982 or 1983, she was in total command of the stage and vocals except The Supremes hits [[which I still think don't work for the most part.)

Just a few months ago, Mary was fantastic in her show outside of Chicago. FANTASTIC PLUS!!

[TheMotownManiac]

An interesting footnote is that and both Lucy and Diana were known as Diane before they became famous