As always in such stories, there was a greedy husband. This one sued Motown to have Wells released from her contract, since she was under age 21 when the document was signed. The goal was to get her signed to another label.
Without a label armed with such an arsenal, Wells soon found herself making records that fewer people bought. As a result, she had condemned herself to a lifetime of touring and singing the same songs that she first recorded for the label she left. Wells died in 1992.
This set is divided into three parts. The first CD features 27 tracks—some unreleased and others never reissued digitally. All of these are divine and leave you wondering why they weren't hits in the first place.
Today, Mary Wells is Motown's forgotten first lady of song. In her prime, Wells had the label's warmest and most lovable female voice. After listening to this set about a dozen times, I think that still may be the case.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Mary Wells: Something New 1961-64 (Hip-O Select) here.
Here's (You Can) Depend on Me, from 1961, which covered the Miracles' song...
JazzWax pages: About a month ago, Mary Wells: The
JazzWax clip: My Guy isn't part of this rarity set, but Mary Wells performing her 1964 hit will give you a sense of her appeal and how great she was...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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