Originally Posted by
RanRan79
I think Mary was a big part of the issue. I've said before, and it bears repeating, that Mary did not have a risk personality. If you go over everything that has been written and said by the original Supremes and those who knew them at the time, going back to the very beginning, Florence and Diana took charge of everything. Every time someone mentions anything to do with a decision, no one, including Mary, ever names her as a decision maker, outside of something being put to a vote. She followed Flo and Diana into every move of the group. So in my mind, once Mary is the last original standing, I imagine that she held dear the mantra of "play it safe", because she really don't have the skill to be either a leader or an effective leader, and that extends to the vision of the group.
I don't think Mary took any real monumental risks in her career until she made the decision to leave the group, a huge risk indeed. But of course she followed that up by playing it safe again and again and again, until she dropped the first book. And then it was back to the same ole, same ole. Rinse and repeat. I'll always believe that with excellent management Mary Wilson could've been a solo star. Probably not a superstar, but a star. But even if you ignore the fact that she had horrible management in the 80s, I think Mary hindered herself more than anything. She just never seemed to be able to figure out what direction to move in. I wonder if this is what was going on with her in the 70s, knowing she needs to move forward, but couldn't figure out the direction, and so instead of choosing something progressive, she allowed the group to stick to the tried and true, but tired.
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