Mary Wells

The stunning, incredible Mary Wells, was in my opinion the true darling of Motown soul. With the production assistance of Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells released a string of hit singles during soul's golden era. This new singer, sometimes referred to as 'The first lady of Motown', brought forth an irresistible, aggressive charm, a quality shared by greats (and personal favorites) such as Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.

Beginning with her first release, the 1960 single 'Bye, Bye Baby', the 17 year old Mary was introduced to the world as a promising new addition to the Motown cast. Featuring a uniquely gritty production quality, 'Bye Bye Baby' shows Wells as a brazenly powerful singer, who though not yet in her prime, would never again quite capture the raw energetic feel of her early singles. There are moments when her voice unexpectedly elevates into such a soulful howl, that it shakes you down to the very core, brings you to your knees, and as Little Richard says "Makes ma' big toe shoot up in ma' boot!"

It was only a few years later in 1964, that her most well known hit 'My Guy' was released, displacing the Beatles number one spot in the charts. Mary's voice had found it's place, and though a great song, 'My Guy' was miles away from the energy of her first two singles, lacking that certain charming, innocence of naivety that the more experienced individual often loses in their search for perfection. As usual, when an artist becomes associated with one particular hit, the rest of their output no matter how good, becomes overshadowed. But Mary Wells, was no one hit wonder. I'll take a great tune like the Martha Reeves-esque 'You Lost the Sweetest Boy' or 'Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right' over 'My Guy' any day of the week.

There is an 'Ultimate Collection' disc available that includes almost everything you need to hear. Though there are a few worthwhile b-sides you might have to get the actual singles for. That punchy, exciting r&b sound really comes through best on vinyl, and seems to lose it's impact, and original magic when in digital form. So, start digging for those Motown labels! - Joe Western