Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar

by Peter Benjaminson

Book Overview

Years before Diana Ross, Mary Wells was the first Motown solo superstar, the internationally popular songstress who sang the megahit "My Guy." Her songs consistently and repeatedly reached huge... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569762481
• ISBN13: 9781569762486
• Release Date: November 2012
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Very Sad

Most of this book is written as a gossip script. Many interviews woven in with truth and half truths. Mary came from a troublesome and disturbing background and suffered severe illness as a child. I never knew that she had such a disturbing and complicated trouble problems. She was dysfunctional and had many issues but none of these issues stopped her for performing for more than 30 years and being the only breadwinner. There is no proof of the many men that she had affairs that she was involved with and Mary has her own recollection that has no validity. She always felt the need to have a man in her life for whatever reason and she allowed herself to be abused and use by many and the many that she helped to support. I believe that she never learned to love herself and had such low esteem. Her sad demise was leaving Motown and never finding success again. Her vigor allowed her to try many vehicles to reach the top again but it all proved fruitless. It was so sad to read how with her troubling sickness that she still found the strength to attempt to perform and could not. There was finally a light that started to shine when Berry Gordy stepped up and supported her prior to her death and afterwards. The ending is truly sad.