Co-Founding Member of The Supremes(Singing group), Mary Wilson has died at the age of 76 at home in Las Vegas. No cause of death was given.
Wilson’s publicist said she died suddenly at her Las Vegas home. The Motown founder, Berry Gordy, said he was “extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of a major member of the Motown family”.
“The Supremes were always known as the ‘sweethearts of Motown’.’ Mary, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, came to Motown in the early 1960s. After an unprecedented string of No 1 hits, television, and nightclub bookings, they opened doors for themselves, the other Motown acts, and many, many others.
They added, “I was always proud of Mary. She was quite a star in her own right and over the years continued to work hard to boost the legacy of the Supremes. Mary Wilson was extremely special to me. She was a trailblazer, a diva, and will be deeply missed.”
The Supremes Co-Founder Mary Wilson Died At 76
Musicians including Questlove and Kiss’s Paul Stanley paid tribute to Wilson. Stanley tweeted: “I was just on a Zoom call with her Wednesday for about an hour and never could have imagined this. So full of life and great stories. Absolutely shocked. Rest in Supreme peace, Mary.”
In January 1961, Gordy signed the group under the proviso that they change their name. At first they failed to make an impression on the charts but in 1964 their version of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s Where Did Our Love Go topped the US charts and reached No 3 in the UK.
Wilson was born in Greenville, Mississippi, on 6 March 1944. Her family moved to Chicago and later Detroit. At primary school in Detroit, Wilson met Florence Ballard while singing in a school talent show.
