Mary Wilson (album)

Mary Wilson is the debut solo album by the founding Supremes member, Mary Wilson, released on the Motown label in 1979.

Mary Wilson
Studio album by
Mary Wilson
ReleasedAugust 1979
Recorded1979
GenreR&B, Soul, Disco, Funk
Length32:00
LabelMotown
ProducerHal Davis
Mary Wilson chronology
Mary Wilson
(1979)		 Walk the Line
(1992)
Singles from Mary Wilson
  1. "Red Hot"
    Released: September 1979
  2. "Midnight Dancer"
    Released: September 1979
  3. "Pick Up the Pieces"
    Released: March 1980
  4. "You're the Light That Guides My Way"
    Released: March 1980
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The album was Wilson's first album recorded after she left the last line-up of the Supremes which included herself, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene. The Supremes had released their 29th and last studio album, Mary, Scherrie & Susaye, in October 1976, just nine months before they officially disbanded as a group. During June 1977, Wilson decided to leave the Supremes (who were managed by her then-husband Pedro Ferrer at the time). Prior to her husband becoming the manager of the group, Wilson and Berry Gordy had an argument backstage at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas in 1970 (the same night Diana Ross made her farewell performance with the group to start a solo career). The argument started when Gordy had wanted to replace Jean Terrell (who was already chosen to take Ross's place as lead) with Syreeta Wright. Finally deciding to put her foot down against Gordy, Wilson refused to let Wright take Terrell's place, leading Gordy to state that he was washing his hands of the group, leaving Wilson and her husband to manage the group and keep the group's career alive.

Upon leaving the Supremes, Wilson became involved in a protracted legal battle with Motown Records over its management of the Supremes. After an out-of-court settlement, she signed a solo record deal with Motown negotiated by her husband. Her contract required her to record two LP's per year for the next five years. Originally, Marvin Gaye was scheduled to produce the album. However, Gaye was preoccupied with his divorce from Berry Gordy's elder sister Anna Gordy at the time, thus leaving her to work with Hal Davis who produced some of The Supremes earlier material as well as having worked with The Jackson 5 and with Michael Jackson on his early solo albums for Motown.

The album was a commercial failure and did not chart on the Billboard 200 but charted for a week at #74 on its R&B albums listing. Cashbox magazine however charted it for five weeks on its pop albums chart, peaking at #168. Its lead single, "Red Hot", squeaked into the Billboard R&B singles chart at #95. Another single, "Pick Up the Pieces", failed to chart at all. An extended version of "Red Hot" was made available as a 12-inch single and reached #85 on the disco charts in October 1979.

After the release of Mary Wilson, Wilson began working on her second solo album for Motown with English record producer Gus Dudgeon (who had already produced 4 new tracks for the new album). However, midway through the production of the album, Motown dropped Wilson from their roster in 1980.

Wilson's next album, Walk the Line, would take some 13-years before finally seeing a release in 1992.

Track listing

Side A
  1. "Red Hot" − 6:06
  2. "I've Got What You Need" − 5:08
  3. "You Make Me Feel So Good" − 5:51

Side B
  1. "(I Love A) Warm Summer Night" − 4:07
  2. "Pick Up the Pieces" − 5:01
  3. "You're the Light That Guides My Way" − 3:18
  4. "Midnight Dancer" − 3:08

Singles history
  • "Red Hot" b/w "Midnight Dancer" (Sep 1979)
  • "Pick Up the Pieces" b/w "You're the Light That Guides My Way" (Mar 1980)

Expanded Edition

Two days prior to her death, Mary announced on her YouTube Channel that she was working with Universal in re-releasing her solo LP; expanding it with the four Gus Dudgeon tracks. [2]

Personnel
  • Arranged By [Rhythm, Horn & String Arrangements] – Art Wright
  • Art Direction – John Cabalka
  • Backing Vocals – Billy Woodruff* (tracks: B3), Clydene Jackson, Gloria Scott, Julia Waters Tillman*, Maxine Waters Willard*
  • Bass – Eddie Watkins, Jr.
  • Design – Ginny Livingston
  • Drums – James Gadson, Melvin Webb
  • Engineer – Dennis Moody, Kevin Wright
  • Engineer [Assistant] – Bob Smith, Boris Thompson, Frank Nadasdy, Romme Lovrich
  • Guitar – Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson
  • Keyboards – Willard Alan Oldfield*, Reginald "Sonny" Burke*
  • Management [Product Manager] – Brenda Boyce
  • Mastered By [Mastering Engineer] – Jack Andrews
  • Mixed By [Mixing Engineer] – Russ Terrana
  • Music By, Lyrics By – Frank Busey, John Durate*
  • Percussion – Emil Radocchia, Gene Estes, Melvin Webb
  • Photography By [Cover] – Claude Mougin
  • Producer – Hal Davis

Chart history
Name Chart (1979) Peak
position
"Red Hot" US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[3] 95

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. https://variety.com/2021/music/news/mary-wilson-dead-supremes-singer-original-member-1234903764/
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2005). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research.
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