Founding member of the Supremes, one of the greatest groups to come out of Motown
Although she had to wait more than a decade before taking the lead on one of their hit singles, Mary Wilson was the force that held the Supremes together through the episodes of tragedy and internal strife that marked the history of the most successful female pop group of the 1960s. Having endured the removal of one original member, the troubled Florence Ballard, and the defection of another, Diana Ross, to solo stardom, Wilson – who has died aged 76 – worked with their replacements to keep the group’s name going.
Often stationed in the middle of the original three on stage, Wilson had a radiant smile that stood out even when she was singing background parts. But she was also forming a buffer between the ambitious, upwardly mobile Ross and the earthier, more homespun Ballard. It was a rivalry sharpened by the knowledge that while Ballard’s powerful, gospel-trained voice made her the group’s best singer, it was the sultrier delivery and slinky glamour of Ross that gave them their distinctive appeal. Their string of 10 No 1 hits on the US pop charts began in 1964 with Where Did Our Love Go, the million-seller that turned the Motown sound into an international pop sensation.
