Mary Wilson, co-founder of The Supremes, deceased at 76

Mary Wilson, co-founder of the legendary Motown “girl group” The Supremes, has passed away. She was 76 years old.

Her longtime reporter Jay Schwartz confirmed in a statement that she died suddenly on Monday at her home in Las Vegas. Her cause of death has not yet been announced and funeral services will be private due to COVID-19 restrictions, Schwartz said, but a public memorial is expected later this year.

Wilson launched the iconic pop and soul trio – famous for their silky layered vocals and chic synchronized choreography – with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard after signing with Motown in 1961 when she was just 15, at the originated as a member of the Primettes. The label’s founder, Berry Gordy, quickly renamed them The Supremes.

“I just woke up to this news, my condolences to Mary’s family, I remember every day is a gift,” Ross, with whom Wilson shared an often passionate relationship publicly. tweeted Tuesday morning. “I have so many wonderful memories of our time together” The Supremes “will live on in our hearts.”

Wilson, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 1988, was also legendary for staying with her groundbreaking group long after lead singer Ross left for a solo career in 1970 – and for fighting a hard-won legal battle for the artist royalty rights, which she detailed in her 1986 memoir, “Dreamgirl: My Life As a Supreme.”

Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong in 1967, and Wilson remained until The Supremes was officially disbanded by Motown in 1977.

“I was extremely shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of an important member of the Motown family, Mary Wilson of the Supreme,” Motown guru Gordy said in a statement Monday evening. “The Supremes have always been known as the ‘Motown lovers’. Mary, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, arrived in Motown in the early 1960s. After an unprecedented streak of # 1 hits, TV and nightclub bookings, they opened doors for them- same, for other Motown bands and many others.

Gordy continued, “I have always been proud of Mary. She was a true star in her own right and over the years she continued to work hard to strengthen the legacy of the Supremes. Mary Wilson was extremely special to me. She was a trailblazer, a diva and will be sorely missed.

Wilson posted a poignant video on YouTube on Saturday announcing that an agreement to distribute unreleased solo recordings was underway with Universal Music. She also teased upcoming interviews she had done about her early experiences of segregation in honor of Black History Month.

“Hopefully some of this comes out on my birthday, March 6,” said Wilson, who appeared on season 28 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and has published her fourth book, “Supreme Glamor”, in 2019.

Born March 6, 1944 in Greenville, Mississippi, she rebounded the country with her parents until she was sent to live with an aunt and uncle at the age of 3. She wrote in her autobiography that she didn’t learn her parents’ true identities until she was 6 – and she later moved with her mother to the Brewster-Douglass housing project in Detroit. at the age of 12.

It was in this humble environment that she would meet her future superstar buddies Ross and Ballard, with whom she formed a group that would serve as the “sister number” to the Primes, a male number starring Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, future stars. of Motown is the temptations.

The Supremes’ first No. 1 song, “Where Did Our Love Go,” was released on June 17, 1964. Touring at the time, Wilson said there was a turning point when she hit it. it had a successful record.

“I remember that instead of going home on the bus, we got on a plane,” she told The Associated Press in 2014. “It was our first plane trip. We went back home. We had really hit it big.

It would be the first of five consecutive charts, with “Baby Love”, “Come See About Me”, Stop! In the Name of Love ”and“ Back in My Arms Again ”follow each other quickly. The Supremes also recorded the hit songs “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Up the Ladder to the Roof,” and “Love Child,” all while breaking boundaries for women of color on and off stage.

Ross launched his solo career in 1968. The Supremes’ swan song with her at the helm, “Some Day We We Together,” topped the pop and R&B charts in December 1969. The single marked the act’s last appearance. at the top of graphic American pop.

Wilson married businessman and former Supremes manager Pedro Ferrer in Las Vegas in 1977. The couple had three children – Turkessa, Pedro Antonio Jr. and Rafael – before divorcing in 1981.

Rafael tragically died at age 14 when his Jeep rolled over on a road trip between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, injuring Wilson and killing his son.

Over the years, Wilson has had a public argument in the press with Ross – whom she always referred to by her birth name: Diane.

“I’m sure people will have their own opinion on this, but I really don’t care,” Wilson said, defending himself in a 1986 interview with Jet magazine. “My main thing is that when I was in the group, I kept my position and I didn’t take Diane’s place. I am no longer in the group now. I have my own position to defend and it is not in the background. “

A 2000 Supremes reunion tour fell apart dramatically after a long, ugly battle over Wilson’s paycheck, which she said was insulting to her bandmate “The Boss.” She publicly declared it “a fraction” of the $ 15 million Ross was receiving.

Still, Wilson kept it moving with regular appearances in Las Vegas and in concert halls nationwide. In 2015, she released her latest single, “Time to Move On”, which reached 23rd place on the Billboard dance chart.

At the time of his death, his publicist said Wilson had attempted to secure a designated US postage stamp for convict Ballard, his comrade Supreme and inspiration for winner Tony Jennifer Holiday and the award-winning character of a Oscar Jennifer Hudson in the musical and movie “Dreamgirls”, respectively.

Wilson’s activist efforts have included traveling to Washington, DC to lobby for the Music Modernization Act, which passed in 2018.

She is survived by her two children Turkessa and Pedro Antonio Jr, and her seven grandchildren: Mia, Marcanthony, Marina, Isaiah, Ilah, Alexander and Alexandria.

Instead of flowers, Wilson’s family asked fans to support UNCF.org and the Humpty Dumpty Institute.