Mary Wilson

Wilson was born on Mar. 6, 1944, in Greenville, Mississippi. Soon after her birth, her parents moved to St. Louis and then Chicago for better opportunities but separated soon after. At the age of 3, Wilson was sent to Detroit to live with her aunt and uncle. At the time, Wilson believed her aunt and uncle were her biological parents until her mother arrived in Detroit when she was 10.

While living in the Brewster-Douglass projects, she met fellow singers Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Betty McGlown. By the time Wilson was 15, she helped form the group The Primettes, but the group could not sign a record deal with Berry Gordy and his Motown Records label. Despite no deal, the teenagers stayed in touch with Gordy, who allowed them to appear on other people’s records as backup singers.

Singer Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1961 when the group finally signed a deal with Gordy’s Motown Records label as The Supremes. Martin left the group a year later, and the group carried on as a trio, releasing its debut album, Meet the Supremes, in December 1962.

Under the Motown Records label, the group earned 12 No. 1 hits with songs like “Baby Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go” and “Stop! In the Name of Love,” which still remains influential decades later. They went on to become Motown’s most successful group of the 1960s.

In 1967 the group changed again, as Gordy replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong and renamed the group Diana Ross & The Supremes. Just three years later, Ross left the group to pursue a solo career, and the group was once again known as The Supremes, with singer Jean Terrell added to the lineup. Wilson was the only original member left.

The group split in 1977 and Wilson pursued a solo career.

The Supremes were later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

In addition to music, Wilson was an instrumental advocate for the Truth in Music Advertising act, which is now law in at least 35 states. The legislation she helped create ensures that a group of performers cannot use a name or a famed legacy musical group unless it includes at least one member of the original act.

Additionally, Wilson was instrumental in passing the Music Modernization Act in 2018, aiming to modernize copyright-related issues for music and audio recordings due to new forms of technology such as streaming.

Wilson is survived by her daughter Turkessa, her son, Pedro Antonio Jr., as well as 10 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.