This is a tribute thread to the woman who was one of the first voices to contribute to the so-called "Motown Sound" of the 1960s. Funniest thing is that while she continued to produce slamming cuts after her departure from Motown in 1964, she never got the same attention that she had gotten so much in Motown but she managed to sneak in some groovy R&B joints and even a funk hit in the early 1980s before sadly dying of lung cancer in 1992 at the age of just 49. Hard to believe this grown-sounding woman was only 17 when she signed with Motown.

Here's a string of Mary Wells joints to start this tribute off:

Bye Bye Baby:



(This song added in background vocals when the song was issued on her "Greatest Hits" LP; originally this song only featured Mary on vocals; this was her first Motown hit, it reached #45 pop, #8 R&B in early 1961 and was released in late 1960)

Prove It:



(This song was intended for a 1963 album, I forget the name, but the album was shelved for unknown reasons)

You're My Desire:



(From her 1962 album, The One Who Really Loves You)
[Edited 11/28/08 13:25pm]

Here's the original version of "Bye Bye Baby" w/o the background vocals:



Strange Love



The One Who Really Loves You:



(One of her first big hits, released in 1962. She was still barely 18 when this song became a top ten hit on both the pop and R&B charts.)

You Beat Me to the Punch:



(Motown's first Grammy-nominated joint)

Two Lovers:



What Love Has Joined Together:

I don't know much about her but I love that voice!

Cool thread.

Cinnie said:

Thanks, man.

I'll post more later on tonight.

Timmy84 said:

Do you have that 20th Century Masters comp? Is it only Motown stuff on it?

Cinnie said:

Yeah.
[Edited 11/28/08 14:37pm]

Her version of Smokey's "What Love Has Joined Together" is pure heaven

SoulAlive said:

Ain't it?

Here's her cover of Smokey's "You Can Depend on Me", by the way thanks for bringing this back up, I had forgotten about it!

(You Can) Depend on Me:

Like a Clock (featuring the Supremes in the bg vox):



"And only your KISS can wind me up and make me get started..."