IN MEMORIAM

In the 1960s, the Motown sound was an American popular music phenomenon with that label’s biggest act being The Supremes, featuring Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, and the one member who was with the group their entire career from 1959 through 1977, Mary Wilson, who passed away on February 8 at the age of 76. The trio achieved a dozen No. 1 singles in the 1960s, surpassed only by The Beatles, beginning with “Where Did Our Love Go” in 1964 through “Someday We’ll Be Together” in 1969.

In a 2010 interview with , Wilson openly expressed her everlasting love for The Supremes’, “We were recording our hits in German and Italian, which we learned phonetically, recording new vocals over the original backing tracks, and were enjoying our fifth consecutive number one hit, ‘Back in My Arms Again.’” Mary, along with Florence, were mentioned in the lyrics, in the song written by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team. Lamont Dozier told , “Mary’s loss is so sudden and sad.”