Why didn't Motown like Mary Wilson?

[Ollie9]

I don't think it would've mattered to BG if Flo and Mary were as "dedicated" [[and I use that term for lack of a better one) as Diana. He zeroed in on Diana at a certain point because she had that over the top "it" factor. The Supremes worked because all three had an "it" factor. The image, the personality, the chemistry, they all had to have "it" to do what they did. But make no mistake about it, Diana had a certain extra thing that made her captivating and Gordy recognized that. It wasn't just talent, it was the total package, and he knew he had that in Diana.

I don't know if he was ever impressed with Mary's singing. Others have been, including Eddie Holland, just like some weren't impressed with Diana's singing, or Flo's. Gordy obviously felt Flo had a certain something, judging by giving her tunes he had written in the early days, including giving her the second single. He also allowed her lead on "People" to remain in the act for two or so years, something Mary never got until her incessant singing of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" much later. So he obviously felt Flo had the chops. But Gordy was definitely overly impressed with Diana's uniqueness and for Gordy that was an asset in his quest for the BIG TIME.

Sup is right, Mary does make mention that TPTB at Motown apparently made it known that they thought Flo and Mary were less dedicated than Diana. I don't think they were less dedicated. They had a different workload than Diana had. Once Operation Copa was put into place, which is really the start of taking the Supremes from girl group to super group, Diana was given nearly all the leads and nearly all of the dialogue. She had a lot on her plate, given to her by Motown. Gordy was in her ear, championing her every step of the way. He lit a fire under her. Had Gordy not encouraged Diana to take it all, she probably would have been more likely to hold back. Flo and Mary didn't have a Gordy telling them they could do anything, and that is never good for morale, when one person is getting the "atta girl" and the other two are being told to get out of the way.

Gordy was never going to give Flo and Mary much more than he did, no matter how hard they worked. Maybe they could have gotten a little more had they demanded more. We don't know that they did or didn't, but I suspect they didn't demand more because, until things really got crazy behind the scenes, none of them, including Flo, wanted to rock the boat much. They enjoyed the money and the new homes and the cars and the jet setting lifestyle. Who wants to go back to the projects over some "oohs" and "ahhs"?

I would imagine when you have the owner of a record company in your corner all the way, it would inspire you to go that extra mile. Flo and Mary never experienced that, making it impossible to gage the impact it might have had on their mindset.
As regards Diana, it was certainly her uniqueness that swung things her way. Nothing wrong with that at all.