It's been my belief that when Dreamgirl was released to amazing success, Mary should have pounced on the chance to turn that literary success and attention into some music success. I've always figured that radio would have given her a chance to at least try to make something work. Around that time we've heard Mary do some live rockish numbers, and then there's also her demos for Atlantic where she's going for a more r&b sound. I particularly like the cuts for Atlantic.

But what do you all think could've worked for Mary in that 1986-87 space in time? Keep in mind Mary was over 40, so it doesn't have to be music specifically to compete with the top stars of the day like MJ, Madonna, Whitney, Janet, etc. That would've been highly unlikely. But I imagine she could've released a couple decent selling singles and albums.

Who would you have paired her with? What songs were out at the time that you think Mary might have had a chance with?