Mary delivers a splendid musical tribute to her friend, Nancy Wilson:
Mary delivers a splendid musical tribute to her friend, Nancy Wilson:
What a touching and tender performance. Nice to see Mary exploring her upper register.
Does anyone know when this was recorded?.
Mary could have been a kind of modern day Sarah Vaughan. I find her voice really relaxing in this setting. I do wonder had focused on singing jazz and mor standards a lot earlier, whether a label like Blue Note might have taken a chance with her?. Even if for just one album. I guess we will never know.
Always gets triggered around Diana’s birthday, especially with the global community and social media adoring her. Man, how many more times do we have to see choppy videos of Mary and the other girls “bumped” to the top of the queue here. Some are great, don’t get me wrong! We’re even seeing duplicate posts this year. Sad!
I think it fairly safe to say Mary still performs “Baby Love”.
I find her voice far more effective when singing in a relaxed, laid-back style. “Teardrops”, “Closer Together” or the slower jazz numbers. I never really enjoyed hearing her singing Supremes songs as pop valentines are not really Mary’s forte. Having said that, i think she has performed them much better in recent years due to a softer more casual vocal approach.
Am I the only one who finds it curious that this person who hasn’t been to a
Mary Wilson concert in twenty years and who creeps Mary Wilson out because of his bizarre obsessions with her and Diana Ross, knows someone much about the nuances of her performances? Very, very strange!
Marys still doing the Supremes hits as well she should and there not all audience participation either. Shes concentrating on them as it would be real unproffessional of her not to. The audience deserves the best show a performer can put on and want the hits. More words for him to chow on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSqhN-U0pN8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHa1csPKGUY
The people that buy tickets won’t pay for Teardrops Nancy Wilson songs and Mary’s jazz songs - they are paying for Baby Love and Stop in the Name Of Love - no matter what they sound like because Mary was a Supreme
Yes! While I do think with the right producer[[s) Mary could have recorded great contemporary r&b/pop, I'm starting to lean more and more to the opinion that she really should've pursued a jazz career. She may have had an easier time of moving out of the shadow of the Supremes.
Did you really see that as a dig at Diana? Gee whiz, who doesn't know that Mary, and as you point out every former Supreme, still sings one of the group's biggest hits? That doesn't negate the truth that a pushing 80 year old woman sounds a little silly singing such a juvenile song, whether her name is Mary or Diana.
You really think so? I'm not so sure. I actually contemplated starting a thread about this a short time ago and never got around to doing it. I've actually thought for awhile that "Baby Love" in particular is a song that Diana and Mary just seem much too mature for...of course I'm glad I didn't start the thread or y'all would've taken my head off. Anyway, where Mary is concerned, I do agree that a lot of people go to see Mary because she was one of the original Supremes, but I'm not convinced that they go to specifically hear her sing lead on songs that the public doesn't associate her lead voice with those songs. Diana, yes. But Mary, I've always figured that the attraction there is to say one saw one of the original Supremes in person. And of course there are those who have seen Mary multiple times before and know how well she puts on a show. The vids I've seen of Mary singing Supremes hits don't typically do anything for me. The songs don't fit her. "Someday We'll Be Together" is the exception. I love to hear her do that one. But I've always thought she'd be better served to do songs she sang lead on while in the group and if she's going to do the hits, restructure them to fit her voice and style.
I also feel similarly about Diana. Her voice at it's best these days is great for the jazzier type stuff. It doesn't really work on the hits. But if she restructured them, I think an audience would be in for the time of their lives. Of course no one goes to either lady's show expecting her to sound like back in the day, I'm sure. But some songs spotlight the passage of time and they'd do better to rework the songs to fit their current capabilities.
Mary has to sing Supremes songs, that is her legacy [[Come See About Me, Reflections, Stoned Love, etc.), I especially love her singing "My World Is Empty Without You". I also love when she sings ballads and Jazz numbers just as much. Just like she knew when it was time to drop Disco songs from her act like "Red Hot", "Don't Get Mad". She kept one, "Last Dance" by Donna Summer, but she uses it as her encore most of the time so that it makes sense.
You beat me to it.... I would also imagine that there are far more peeps that go to see Mary perform live owing to her status as an original Supreme then to hear her sing “Baby Love”. As you mention, Joe public does not associate her voice with those songs at all.
I also believe word of mouth comes into play as well. Anyone who has ever attended a Mary Wilson concert know that they are in for a treat. She always delivers.
Diana has adapted to some degree as she has lowered the key on most of those hits which sound much better. Agree though that she really comes into her own on the jazz numbers. Some new arrangements to those now very familiar songs would add some much needed variation to her set list. That aside it would also be fun for her fans.
Fair enough, but my point about restructuring the songs still stands. Other artists have sung Supremes songs in their acts too. I just saw where Aretha sang "My World Is Empty" in a medley and she tailored it [[along with the other Motown songs she sang in the medley) to fit her style. That is what Mary should do when she sings songs that Diana, or even Jean and Scherrie, sang lead on. I'm betting Mary could do wonders with a Mary-ized rendition of "My World" or even "Reflections".
I think Diana's approach to shows is a bit lazy. I'm always hearing [[err, reading) complaints that she's doing the same show year after year. I think she takes for granted the fans who pay to see her year after year. Give them something fresh. Although I'm guessing this new tour was supposed to do just that, but...
I think the one time people might- MIGHT- go see Mary to hear stuff like "Baby Love" is when she's doing the oldies shows with other legends. Whenever I see vids of her in those shows the audience always appears to be Boomers who are reliving their youth, and so I can imagine they might take whatever original Supreme they can get singing those oldies but goodies rather than listen to her sing "You Are the Heart Of Me" or "Walk the Line".
I guess that's why i never really go to those shows as they attract a crowd that only want to hear the familiar. Hearing only the hits constitutes a good night out which is absolutely fine, just not for me.
It would be a very special treat indeed if Diana did just one concert alone for the die-hard fans only. Issue a pre-statement that she would NOT be singing any of her hits, but other songs that are personal to her covering the entire spectrum of her amazing career. Now that would be a show worth seeing.
This reminds me of the time when the Supremes were book to play Richard Nader's Oldies Show at MSG in 1977. The crowd was expecting only to hear the oldies, the hits. When the Supremes began performing music from their current albums, half of the crowd erupted, showed out and walked out.
E It’s a massive shame the tour had to be cancelled as I imagine she probably would have included at least a couple of songs from the proposed album and perhaps a small clutch of songs not heard for a while. What makes it even worse is that she was in such good vocal form...... Let’s hope 2021 is happy and healthy for one and all.
Mary should consider doing an album of her favorite songs by her favorite artists. This one is a definite.
Yeah, that was a stupid situation. The Supremes were still a contemporary recording act. They never should've been on an oldies bill in the first place. But if you take the gig- and the money may have been a factor- you do not get in front of an audience that is there for "Baby Love" and "I Hear A Symphony" and start singing "You're My Driving Wheel". Yikes!
This is actually a good idea, if it's done right. She could record some of the ones that she does so well live and add some things she's never sung before, maybe even some originals. Give her a tight jazz band and an arranger that understands her voice. Mary already does a lot of TV, so booking her on a bunch of daytime shows to promote the album shouldn't be a problem and she might very well have her first solo hit with it. She deserves it. Someone should pitch this idea to her.
I’m guessing fear prevented Mary from distancing herself from the Supremes machine which is perfectly understandable.
Being a successful singer is as much about luck and timing as it is about talent. There are a lot of people out there with excellent voices that no one has ever heard of. Mary had her legacy as an original Supreme going for her at least.
Had she perhaps devoted a large section of her shows to jazz and mor and made a point of performing such songs on tv appearances it’s possible that a label such as Blue Note might just have been interested in signing her. Then she could have give up singing Supremes songs entirely had she so wished. Musical direction and consistency were key.
Rock & Roll should certainly been given a wide birth imo.
She may not be a superstar, but is a survivor and and continues to do rather well when all is said and done.
I could easily hear Mary doing music similar to Anita Baker, Sade, and Brenda Russell.
I find Mary’s version of Brenda’s “Piano In The Dark” to be pleasant but nothing more. Anita’s material is more jazz influenced so would suit her voice better.....me thinks.
would LUV to hear her sing “Lead Me Into Love” or if not that anything from the Compositions album. Has she ever performed an Anita Baker song?.
Last edited by Ollie9; 04-01-2020 at 04:11 PM.
I know I've said it before, but this is really how I feel: of the original Supremes, Mary was the one least likely to take risks. She almost always went for the easy road and never the risky one that might have had a higher reward. You mention luck and timing, and I agree 1000 percent. Talent is only a small part of the equation, unfortunately. But it's hard to make luck when you refuse to roll the dice.
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