Mary Wells The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar

by Benjaminson, Peter

• ISBN13: 9781569762486
• ISBN10: 1569762481
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-11-01
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Summary

Complete with never-before-revealed details about the sex, violence, and drugs in her life, this biography reveals the incredibly turbulent life of Motown artist Mary Wells. Based in part on four hours of previously unreleased and unpublicized deathbed interviews with Wells, this account delves deeply into her rapid rise and long fall as a recording artist, her spectacular romantic and family life, the violent incidents in which she was a participant, and her abuse of drugs. From tumultuous affairs, including one with R&B superstar Jackie Wilson, to a courageous battle with throat cancer that climaxed in her gutsiest performance, this history draws upon years of interviews with Wells's friends, lovers, and husband to tell the whole story of a woman whose songs crossed the color line and whose voice captivated the Beatles.

Author Biography

Peter Benjaminson is the author of The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard and The Story of Motown, and is the coauthor of Investigative Reporting. He has written numerous stories for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Detroit Free Press. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Little Mary Wells	p. 1
Twenty-Two Takes	p. 12
On Stage with Motown	p. 26
Herman Griffin	p. 31
Ambushed by the Girl Groups	p. 37
Smokey Robinson	p. 41
The Motown Revues	p. 47
David Ruffin and Holland-Dozier-Holland	p. 57
"My Guy"	p. 65
"The Girl Who Beat the Beatles"	p. 71
Trouble at the Top	p. 77
Fighting Motown for Her Freedom	p. 90
An Explosive Confrontation	p. 101
Moving to Twentieth	p. 109
Jackie Wilson and Carl Davis	p. 116
Singing for Twentieth	p. 123
Swimming the Wide Atlantic	p. 133
Two Brothers and I Ain't Ashamed	p. 141
The Years of Jubilee	p. 153
Curtis Womack	p. 160
Mary on Drugs and Booze	p. 173
Still on the Road, Still on Her Own	p. 183
Coming in from the Applause	p. 189
Kidnapped for a Song?	p. 201
On the Road Again	p. 205
An English Revival	p. 216
Last Cruise to Catalina	p. 221
Wells vs. Cancer	p. 227
Going for Broke	p. 236
My Heart Is Steadfast	p. 243
You Beat Me to the Punch	p. 250
Epilogue Some Further Doings	p. 256
Acknowledgments	p. 260
US and UK Discography	p. 263
Unreleased Mary Wells Tracks	p. 275
TV, Video, and Film Appearances	p. 276
1991 Suit against Motown Records	p. 278
Sources	p. 281
Index	p. 289
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