https://variety.com/2021/...234903764/

Wow! Sad to hear this. She was part of the most iconic female r&b group of all time.

She had a video on Youtube 2 days ago announcing some upcoming things she had

going. She will be missed. RIP Mary Wilson

Such a terrific voice, RIP legend

[Edited 2/9/21 2:24am]

Rest in peace Mary. Thank you for all the great music.

SO SAD!!

Wished there could have been a nice reunion with Diana, Cindy, Jean and former Ladies of Supremes..

She really kept the legacy alive.

She was lovely.

Gone too soon--Loved her voice.

I was at a store today and they were playing the Supremes, it made me feel like crying, so sad.

Seeing that video she recorded just 3 days ago, this is hard to believe. She still seemed so young and vibrant and healthy. Got to see her in concert in 2001, when I was in New York to see Michael Jackson and it was awesome. Played all the Supremes hits. Yeah, it really is a shame that there never was a real reunion.

Very sad and hugely unappreciated, years I ago I read a book about her and one on the Supremes, seems she was always in Diana's shadow and she was annoyed how Florence was treated.

.

She also did not like that the others and Berry looked down at her as Diana and Flo were better off than her, her mother Johnnie Mae Wilson was apparently illiterate and Fred Ross was a teacher with a degree etc. Also because she was very dark and Flo was light whilst Diana was seen as very beautiful.

.

Also when in 1970 she was passed over as lead singer for Jean Terrell and later Sherri Payne and others.

.

To me she was an original from being in the Primettes in 1959 aged 15 right through to the end of the Supremes in 1977. I loved her voice and I loved their songs even the later ones "I'm going to let my heart do the walking".

.

A tragic loss, RIP Mary - now at least she can be reunited with Florence.

Purplegarden said:

Very sad and hugely unappreciated, years I ago I read a book about her and one on the Supremes, seems she was always in Diana's shadow and she was annoyed how Florence was treated.

.

She also did not like that the others and Berry looked down at her as Diana and Flo were better off than her, her mother Johnnie Mae Wilson was apparently illiterate and Fred Ross was a teacher with a degree etc. Also because she was very dark and Flo was light whilst Diana was seen as very beautiful.

.

Also when in 1970 she was passed over as lead singer for Jean Terrell and later Sherri Payne and others.

.

To me she was an original from being in the Primettes in 1959 aged 15 right through to the end of the Supremes in 1977. I loved her voice and I loved their songs even the later ones "I'm going to let my heart do the walking".

.

A tragic loss, RIP Mary - now at least she can be reunited with Florence.

That's funny, because I always thought that Mary was the prettiest of the bunch. I liked her eyes and smile.

Purplegarden said:

Very sad and hugely unappreciated, years I ago I read a book about her and one on the Supremes, seems she was always in Diana's shadow and she was annoyed how Florence was treated.

.

She also did not like that the others and Berry looked down at her as Diana and Flo were better off than her, her mother Johnnie Mae Wilson was apparently illiterate and Fred Ross was a teacher with a degree etc. Also because she was very dark and Flo was light whilst Diana was seen as very beautiful.

.

Also when in 1970 she was passed over as lead singer for Jean Terrell and later Sherri Payne and others.

.

To me she was an original from being in the Primettes in 1959 aged 15 right through to the end of the Supremes in 1977. I loved her voice and I loved their songs even the later ones "I'm going to let my heart do the walking".

.

A tragic loss, RIP Mary - now at least she can be reunited with Florence.

So sad how those early, unfair experiences color your life.

looby said:

Purplegarden said:

Very sad and hugely unappreciated, years I ago I read a book about her and one on the Supremes, seems she was always in Diana's shadow and she was annoyed how Florence was treated.

.

She also did not like that the others and Berry looked down at her as Diana and Flo were better off than her, her mother Johnnie Mae Wilson was apparently illiterate and Fred Ross was a teacher with a degree etc. Also because she was very dark and Flo was light whilst Diana was seen as very beautiful.

.

Also when in 1970 she was passed over as lead singer for Jean Terrell and later Sherri Payne and others.

.

To me she was an original from being in the Primettes in 1959 aged 15 right through to the end of the Supremes in 1977. I loved her voice and I loved their songs even the later ones "I'm going to let my heart do the walking".

.

A tragic loss, RIP Mary - now at least she can be reunited with Florence.

That's funny, because I always thought that Mary was the prettiest of the bunch. I liked her eyes and smile.

I think she was too, Diana looked garish then, too much make up and her smile was quite toothy with those tiny lateral incisors. Mary had a more natural and sweetish look. Her smile exuded more warmth.

.

It was tragic her talent was ignored in a group with an ego like Diana's and the fact the boss was in deep lust with her, granting her every wish. I don't need to start how Motown treated most of its artists, especially the non lead artists and backing singers. Martha Reeves was a good example, as talented and great as she was, she was overlooked next to Diana. Then again BG learnt that Diana Ross and the Supremes were the golden goose, the fact Diana went solo took his full interest off them and the post Diana Supremes, still had great songs - but no more #1 hits and definitely not the promotion and support Diana Ross and other 1st tier acts like Stevie and Marvin got.

Purplegarden said:

looby said:

That's funny, because I always thought that Mary was the prettiest of the bunch. I liked her eyes and smile.

I think she was too, Diana looked garish then, too much make up and her smile was quite toothy with those tiny lateral incisors. Mary had a more natural and sweetish look. Her smile exuded more warmth.

.

It was tragic her talent was ignored in a group with an ego like Diana's and the fact the boss was in deep lust with her, granting her every wish. I don't need to start how Motown treated most of its artists, especially the non lead artists and backing singers. Martha Reeves was a good example, as talented and great as she was, she was overlooked next to Diana. Then again BG learnt that Diana Ross and the Supremes were the golden goose, the fact Diana went solo took his full interest off them and the post Diana Supremes, still had great songs - but no more #1 hits and definitely not the promotion and support Diana Ross and other 1st tier acts like Stevie and Marvin got.

Yes, Motown did treat their artists horribly, or at least the ones that Berry Gordy wasn't sleeping with. I've read that he treated Flo really bad, I felt so sorry for her, and how hard of a time she had in life. I don't think he treated Mary all that well either, just the one he wanted to make a star, Diana.

This is sad people, a R&B legend here has passed away and this thread has not even reached 1 page. I bet you if it was Cardi B or Minage, this thread would be on its 20th page.

.

Do people no longer care about the legends? Even if it was Diana Ross I doubt more than 3 pages would come. Even when Aretha Franklin passed, the thread had 2 days with her name spelled wrong to look like a word for a Womans genital before it was finally corrected.

.

When the soul brothers die, we get long threads, but not for the soul sisters.

Okay I know some of you are like 21 years old and never heard of Motown or the Supremes, but a lot of us are not.

Purplegarden said:

This is sad people, a R&B legend here has passed away and this thread has not even reached 1 page. I bet you if it was Cardi B or Minage, this thread would be on its 20th page.

.

Do people no longer care about the legends? Even if it was Diana Ross I doubt more than 3 pages would come. Even when Aretha Franklin passed, the thread had 2 days with her name spelled wrong to look like a word for a Womans genital before it was finally corrected.

.

When the soul brothers die, we get long threads, but not for the soul sisters.

Okay I know some of you are like 21 years old and never heard of Motown or the Supremes, but a lot of us are not.

Unfortunately, I don't think that people no longer care about anything anymore. We have become a world of hate, and seem to have very little love for others anymore. I noticed that people talked about Mary Wilson's passing for about one day, then nothing. It seems like people these days get over stuff real quick, and then are looking for the next thing that they can twitter about, always looking for something to jump on the bandwagon about, that excites them for the moment. The bible speaks of this very thing, that in the end times, that people will become lovers of themselves, and that surely is true, because that's just how some people truly are these days.

[Edited 2/15/21 17:48pm]

Purplegarden said:

This is sad people, a R&B legend here has passed away and this thread has not even reached 1 page. I bet you if it was Cardi B or Minage, this thread would be on its 20th page.

.

Do people no longer care about the legends? Even if it was Diana Ross I doubt more than 3 pages would come. Even when Aretha Franklin passed, the thread had 2 days with her name spelled wrong to look like a word for a Womans genital before it was finally corrected.

.

When the soul brothers die, we get long threads, but not for the soul sisters.

Okay I know some of you are like 21 years old and never heard of Motown or the Supremes, but a lot of us are not.

It's the same thing I say about BET. No tribute whatsoever when Natalie Cole passed or Maurice

White but if a rapper like Nipsey Hustle passes there is a week long tribute. No disrespect to him but I didn't even know he was a rapper. I thought he was a comic.

As for the Supremes I think Diana gets a bad rap. So she had a relationship with the boss of Motown.

Is that any different than what has went on in the music industry the last 30 years with producers

and record label execs having an entanglement with their artists?

phunkdaddy said:

phunkdaddy said:

It's the same thing I say about BET. No tribute whatsoever when Natalie Cole passed or Maurice

White but if a rapper like Nipsey Hustle passes there is a week long tribute. No disrespect to him but I didn't even know he was a rapper.

Who is the main audience that watches BET today? Probably young adults & teens who are less likely to know Natalie or Little Richard but will know Nipsey. TV networks generally cater to a certain audience or age group. At one time CBS was called a channel for old people because they had shows like Murder She Wrote & Diagnosis: Murder that had older veteran actors as the lead. Major TV networks now usually try to have programming geared to the younger audience for advertising dollars. That's what happened to the main MTV channel when they mostly stopped showing music videos and replaced them with reality shows like Pimp My Ride & Teen Mom. Same for commercial hits radio stations.

phunkdaddy said:

Purplegarden said:

This is sad people, a R&B legend here has passed away and this thread has not even reached 1 page. I bet you if it was Cardi B or Minage, this thread would be on its 20th page.

.

Do people no longer care about the legends? Even if it was Diana Ross I doubt more than 3 pages would come. Even when Aretha Franklin passed, the thread had 2 days with her name spelled wrong to look like a word for a Womans genital before it was finally corrected.

.

When the soul brothers die, we get long threads, but not for the soul sisters.

Okay I know some of you are like 21 years old and never heard of Motown or the Supremes, but a lot of us are not.

It's the same thing I say about BET. No tribute whatsoever when Natalie Cole passed or Maurice

White but if a rapper like Nipsey Hustle passes there is a week long tribute. No disrespect to him but I didn't even know he was a rapper. I thought he was a comic.

As for the Supremes I think Diana gets a bad rap. So she had a relationship with the boss of Motown.

Is that any different than what has went on in the music industry the last 30 years with producers

and record label execs having an entanglement with their artists?

In the case of Diana getting a bad rap, that depends. "So she had a relationship with the boss of Motown" you said, but was the boss of Motown a married man with a family when she had a relationship with him, and how did her having a relationship with him affect the other members of the group? Were they treated differently after, with Diana being favored over them, getting top billing while they were pushed aside? Just because that sort of stuff "went on the music industry" for however long, does not make it right, not in the least.

Purplegarden said:

This is sad people, a R&B legend here has passed away and this thread has not even reached 1 page.

I don't think these kinds of threads usually get many responses, except maybe Michael Jackson. Here's some starting from January 2020 to now and most don't have more than 1 page. The only ones that go over 1 page are Little Richard, Eddie Van Halen, & Bill Withers.

Lindsey Renee Lagestee
Toni Smith
Andy Gill
WOMAN CLAIMS JAMES BROWN WAS MURDERED! GOES TO D.A
David Roback
John Prine
Joe Diffie
Vaughan Mason
Betty Wright
Ellis Marsalis

Hamilton Bohannon
Kenny Rogers
Bill Withers
Little Richard
Charley Pride
Ennio Morricone
Peter Green
Andre Harrell
Charlie Daniels
Brian Howe

Tim Smith
Erick Morillo
D.J. Rogers
Frankie Banali
Mac Davis
Johnny Nash
Eddie Van Halen
Helen Reddy
Spencer Davis
Buddy Banks

Bruce Swedien
Rance Allen
MF Doom
Leslie West
K.T. Oslin
Phil Spector
Tim Bogert
James Purify
Ecstasy (Whodini)
Shabba Doo
Chick Corea

RJOrion said:

phunkdaddy said:

It's the same thing I say about BET. No tribute whatsoever when Natalie Cole passed or Maurice

White but if a rapper like Nipsey Hustle passes there is a week long tribute. No disrespect to him but I didn't even know he was a rapper. I thought he was a comic.

As for the Supremes I think Diana gets a bad rap. So she had a relationship with the boss of Motown.

Is that any different than what has went on in the music industry the last 30 years with producers

and record label execs having an entanglement with their artists?

BET isnt Black Entertainment Television anymore...they could care less about preserving the legacies of iconic black groups, bands or artists.. when Robert Johnson sold BET to Viacom, it stopped being true Black Entertainment, and became another media vehicle intent on dumbing down black culture and portraying us as thugs, dealers, pimps, whores,promiscuous flamboyant homosexuals, and miscreants...BET has been a shit show for several years... remember Donnie Simpson, Sherri Carter, Teen Summit?... all positive programming...all gone and replaced by ignorance and coonery..

This. You are correct. TV1 does a much better job at this than BET

fred12 said:

[Edited 3/5/21 13:00pm]

RIP Mary Wilson I remember I saw her perform at a small club with the "new" Supremes after she and Diana had yet another falling out. LOL This was around the time her book came out. Very odd line-up. The late writer Tennessee Williams gave a reading of his latest poem... He was so drunk or ill you could barely hear him mumble...

Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame: Remembering Mary Wilson (March 22, 2021)

Celebrate the legacy of Mary Wilson of The Supremes during a special evening with archival footage of her past interviews and performances, hosted by Rock Hall’s Chief Curator Nwaka Onwusa with members of the Rock Hall staff sharing personal memories.c