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Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar
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.
330 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
52 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Peter Benjaminson
16 books8 followersBorn in Washington, D.C., Peter was a reporter and City-County Bureau Chief for the Detroit Free Press from 1970-76.
While at the Free Press, he wrote the book "Investigative Reporting," with Dave Anderson (Indiana University Press, 1976 and Iowa State University Press, 1990), the first how-to book in that field. It was in print for 20 years.
In 1979 he wrote "The Story of Motown," and from 1979 to 1981 he was a reporter for the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He taught journalism at Binghamton University, New York University, and Columbia University from 1981-91.
In 1984, he wrote "Death in the Afternoon: America's Newspaper Giants Struggle for Survival" (Andrews, McMeel), the first and only book about the death of afternoon newspapers in America's big cities.
In 1992, he wrote "Publish Without Perishing" (National Education Association and National Writers Union); and in 1997, he wrote "Secret Police" (New York: Barricade Books).
From 1991-1994 he was the spokesman for the NYC Department of Investigation. He was Assistant Editor of the Chief Leader Newspaper in New York City from 1994-1998 and the spokesman for the NYC Correction Officers Benevolent Association from 1998-2003. In 2003 and 2009 he was the spokesman for Members for Change in NYC Teamsters Local 237.
While at the Free Press, he wrote the book "Investigative Reporting," with Dave Anderson (Indiana University Press, 1976 and Iowa State University Press, 1990), the first how-to book in that field. It was in print for 20 years.
In 1979 he wrote "The Story of Motown," and from 1979 to 1981 he was a reporter for the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He taught journalism at Binghamton University, New York University, and Columbia University from 1981-91.
In 1984, he wrote "Death in the Afternoon: America's Newspaper Giants Struggle for Survival" (Andrews, McMeel), the first and only book about the death of afternoon newspapers in America's big cities.
In 1992, he wrote "Publish Without Perishing" (National Education Association and National Writers Union); and in 1997, he wrote "Secret Police" (New York: Barricade Books).
From 1991-1994 he was the spokesman for the NYC Department of Investigation. He was Assistant Editor of the Chief Leader Newspaper in New York City from 1994-1998 and the spokesman for the NYC Correction Officers Benevolent Association from 1998-2003. In 2003 and 2009 he was the spokesman for Members for Change in NYC Teamsters Local 237.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 3, 2015
Enjoyed reading the story of Mary Wells
This was a good book
This was a good book
October 7, 2013
WOWWWWW! I tell you, WE really don't truly know anyone, now do we? This book clearly demonstrates that about the appropriately-named title Tumultuous life of Mary Wells. I've been a fan of Mary's music for most of my life having grown up listening to it. The Motown sound is something that you cannot escape.
She was such a talented person with a troubled soul. I wonder sometimes if these special types of gifts God gives us is a "gift" or a curse. I suppose it's all in the way you handle your blessing. Unfortunately, Mary had so many demons, she couldn't escape herself.
From leaving Motown and Berry Gordy, The Chairman, as he is penned, to going to Twentieth Century to several other record companies, Mary just couldn't find her way. She did, unfortunately, find her way to too many cigarettes and drugs. All of this was of Mary's doing in some ways, especially the guilt she felt for what she did to the Womack family, whom being the most well-known R&B legend, Bobby Womack. What she does was almost Jerry Springer-ish of sorts. I had to go back and reread some of this section because the relationships got so muddied.
I could not put this book down! I learned so much about this famous singer and all her money troubles. Again, many of her problems were due to her own accord. Peter did an outstanding job bringing Mary to life, and it was also great that Mary, while on her deathbed, decided to come clean and tell her story the way she wanted it to be said. No one can dispute that she was a troubled soul, but at least, before her death, she became whole, in my opinion.
This is a great story and sad at the same time, but one worth adding to your list, if you're a reader who loves biographies and memoirs, such as myself! Well done!
She was such a talented person with a troubled soul. I wonder sometimes if these special types of gifts God gives us is a "gift" or a curse. I suppose it's all in the way you handle your blessing. Unfortunately, Mary had so many demons, she couldn't escape herself.
From leaving Motown and Berry Gordy, The Chairman, as he is penned, to going to Twentieth Century to several other record companies, Mary just couldn't find her way. She did, unfortunately, find her way to too many cigarettes and drugs. All of this was of Mary's doing in some ways, especially the guilt she felt for what she did to the Womack family, whom being the most well-known R&B legend, Bobby Womack. What she does was almost Jerry Springer-ish of sorts. I had to go back and reread some of this section because the relationships got so muddied.
I could not put this book down! I learned so much about this famous singer and all her money troubles. Again, many of her problems were due to her own accord. Peter did an outstanding job bringing Mary to life, and it was also great that Mary, while on her deathbed, decided to come clean and tell her story the way she wanted it to be said. No one can dispute that she was a troubled soul, but at least, before her death, she became whole, in my opinion.
This is a great story and sad at the same time, but one worth adding to your list, if you're a reader who loves biographies and memoirs, such as myself! Well done!
August 6, 2013
By constructing his narrative primarily of stitched-together (and not particularly involving) quotes, Benjaminson never manages to provide a distinctive voice or give any real flavor to Wells' rather sad life story. The writing is both disjointed and flat.
An early chapter on the Motown Revue provides a perfect example of a missed opportunity. With so many young hungry acts crammed into one bill, the shows must have been electric. But the author captures none of the magic, focusing instead on pedestrian backstage machinations -- and the oft-told story of these black youngsters encountering the segregated south. Most egregiously he never even mentions that Wells, as the headliner, closed most every show. This is her story, for God's sake, how could you not include that? And where was the editor?
In the late '80s I saw Wells perform in L.A. She had no band but rather performed her Motown classics to a pre-recorded soundtrack. After only a few seconds my friends and I realized that her voice was totally gone. It was the saddest, most pathetic performance I ever saw.
While the author mentions this period in her life, it's in his rote just-the-facts style. The book gives you the facts but no insight, no spark. It's all surface. A missed opportunity.
An early chapter on the Motown Revue provides a perfect example of a missed opportunity. With so many young hungry acts crammed into one bill, the shows must have been electric. But the author captures none of the magic, focusing instead on pedestrian backstage machinations -- and the oft-told story of these black youngsters encountering the segregated south. Most egregiously he never even mentions that Wells, as the headliner, closed most every show. This is her story, for God's sake, how could you not include that? And where was the editor?
In the late '80s I saw Wells perform in L.A. She had no band but rather performed her Motown classics to a pre-recorded soundtrack. After only a few seconds my friends and I realized that her voice was totally gone. It was the saddest, most pathetic performance I ever saw.
While the author mentions this period in her life, it's in his rote just-the-facts style. The book gives you the facts but no insight, no spark. It's all surface. A missed opportunity.
June 19, 2019
Well this book was a quick read and very sad. I didn't realize she was only 49 when she died. I've been reading a lot of books about the Motown artist, so I want give anything away!!! I will say she lived a full life, but was cut short, it's a very intense book!!!!!!!!!
July 6, 2015
I have been a Mary Wells fan since I first heard her voice on her Motown singles "You Beat Me to the Punch", "Two Lovers", "My Guy", and the rather laboriously titled "What's Easy for Two is so Hard For One" (which should've simply been titled "What Two Can Easily Do" since that's the hook of the otherwise delightful hit song). Since I write music, play piano, and have been a major music geek my whole adult life let me attempt to explain the allure of Mary Wells: 1. Her voice. Once she was directed (by Smokey Robinson) to stop trying to emulate the bluesy grit of Etta James and Mary's idol, Jackie Wilson, and find her "inner sex kitten", something altogether marvelous was revealed, a sexy sensuality that turned guys on and that girls emulated. There is indeed an "X-Factor" in the voice of Mary Wells's voice and it's simple: it's SEX. The Beatles adored her and radio loved her; she appealed to both blacks and whites and everyone in between. Check out the last few sung lines of "My Guy" and how she makes love to the bass.. 2. Her songs. To be honest, except for "My Guy", her songs were sometimes lyrically odd. They ranged from the almost too clever ("Two Lovers", nevertheless one of her best songs and a big hit) to the near-maudlin ("Laughing Boy") to the gospel-churchified "You Lost the Sweetest Boy" to the almost-too-sophisticated for teens "Punch" or "Your Old Standby". They were not exactly cotton candy.. except for "My Guy". So why such big hits? Therein lies the magic of the Motown sound: the drums, the congas, the
bongos and tambourines, the dynamic, sensual, distinctly Latino or island music effect that was actually inspired by artists like Harry Belafonte. Mary Wells was and still is legendary among Latinos for the sound of those early Motown hits; and everyone else pretty much dug her too. 3. The crown jewel smash hit of her recording career, "My Guy". That's when she got the whole world listening to her, appeared on Ed Sullivan (!),toured the world, and became a bona fide superstar. Unfortunately, the rest of her story was not as fairy-tale-like: after the boffo success of "My Guy" she got ridiculously lucrative offers from other labels, she wanted more money, and so she left the very songwriters and sound that had made her a star. (Big mistake, as it turned out.) She put out a few very cool singles post-Motown ("Ain't It the Truth" is, to my ears, good as anything she did on Motown, but wasn't promoted effectively and the rest of the album's material was lackluster in comparison; "The Doctor" was a little slice of lightweight, slinky Stax-style soul that sounded good, but failed to knock people out as the "love doctor" was clichéd and had been better worked in other songs before; "Gigolo" was a cool dance single on Epic Records, but was too familiar sounding by the time it came out amidst all the competition). Sadly, Mary's magic was best matched to Motown's writers and producers. Mary needed Smokey, but Smokey was not only an artist on Motown, he WAS Motown as much as Berry Gordy, so his allegiance was with Mr. Gordy.
This book is the portrait of a woman who had huge success in music at a very young, tender age and then had a mis-managed and misguided career after her first flush of success. She also had the usual man problems (boy, did she and they weren't all winners), the substance abuse (pretty much a cliché of musicians and artists from her era, but it didn't help matters), the touring (she opened for The Beatles, wow!),and the almost inevitable tragedy in the end. The fragility of success, the rise and fall of an artist who put Motown Records on the map... it's all in these pages. If Mary was undone by anything, it was men and menthol...cigarettes. Having realized she was pretty much a poster child for anti-smoking, Mary even went to Washington D.C. to make a case for increased cancer research funding; what a brave woman. That she ended up scraping by on the oldies circuit to support herself and her family and then lost her beautiful voice due to throat cancer and yet remained a fighter throughout makes for a really gripping read. To most people, Mary Wells will ever be known for one single smash record, "My Guy", but to her legions of fans she is loved for all of her Motown singles and a even a few of her gem-like post-Motown singles. Mary Wells, like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and even Diva Diana who took Mary's throne at Motown after a string of failed singles ( at least 7 duds before she and the Supremes rose to fame), will never die. If there's a world left in 200 years someone will still be playing "My Guy" or "Two Lovers" somewhere and marveling at the magic of that little record label that shattered the racial divide of its time: MOTOWN. Diana Ross may have been the supreme princess of that magical record label, but as this book makes imminently clear, Mary Wells was the queen that built the castle from a little hole-in-the-wall studio in Detroit, Michigan. Long live the Queen of Motown...
bongos and tambourines, the dynamic, sensual, distinctly Latino or island music effect that was actually inspired by artists like Harry Belafonte. Mary Wells was and still is legendary among Latinos for the sound of those early Motown hits; and everyone else pretty much dug her too. 3. The crown jewel smash hit of her recording career, "My Guy". That's when she got the whole world listening to her, appeared on Ed Sullivan (!),toured the world, and became a bona fide superstar. Unfortunately, the rest of her story was not as fairy-tale-like: after the boffo success of "My Guy" she got ridiculously lucrative offers from other labels, she wanted more money, and so she left the very songwriters and sound that had made her a star. (Big mistake, as it turned out.) She put out a few very cool singles post-Motown ("Ain't It the Truth" is, to my ears, good as anything she did on Motown, but wasn't promoted effectively and the rest of the album's material was lackluster in comparison; "The Doctor" was a little slice of lightweight, slinky Stax-style soul that sounded good, but failed to knock people out as the "love doctor" was clichéd and had been better worked in other songs before; "Gigolo" was a cool dance single on Epic Records, but was too familiar sounding by the time it came out amidst all the competition). Sadly, Mary's magic was best matched to Motown's writers and producers. Mary needed Smokey, but Smokey was not only an artist on Motown, he WAS Motown as much as Berry Gordy, so his allegiance was with Mr. Gordy.
This book is the portrait of a woman who had huge success in music at a very young, tender age and then had a mis-managed and misguided career after her first flush of success. She also had the usual man problems (boy, did she and they weren't all winners), the substance abuse (pretty much a cliché of musicians and artists from her era, but it didn't help matters), the touring (she opened for The Beatles, wow!),and the almost inevitable tragedy in the end. The fragility of success, the rise and fall of an artist who put Motown Records on the map... it's all in these pages. If Mary was undone by anything, it was men and menthol...cigarettes. Having realized she was pretty much a poster child for anti-smoking, Mary even went to Washington D.C. to make a case for increased cancer research funding; what a brave woman. That she ended up scraping by on the oldies circuit to support herself and her family and then lost her beautiful voice due to throat cancer and yet remained a fighter throughout makes for a really gripping read. To most people, Mary Wells will ever be known for one single smash record, "My Guy", but to her legions of fans she is loved for all of her Motown singles and a even a few of her gem-like post-Motown singles. Mary Wells, like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and even Diva Diana who took Mary's throne at Motown after a string of failed singles ( at least 7 duds before she and the Supremes rose to fame), will never die. If there's a world left in 200 years someone will still be playing "My Guy" or "Two Lovers" somewhere and marveling at the magic of that little record label that shattered the racial divide of its time: MOTOWN. Diana Ross may have been the supreme princess of that magical record label, but as this book makes imminently clear, Mary Wells was the queen that built the castle from a little hole-in-the-wall studio in Detroit, Michigan. Long live the Queen of Motown...
July 6, 2013
I know, you’re probably as surprised as I am that I read another book by Peter Benjaminson, based on my review of “The Lost Supreme.” They were part of Motown-themed Christmas gift from my partner, so what can one do but read them? Anywho, this was waaaaaay better than “The Lost Supreme.” The story is just as tragic, but I think Bejaminson relies less on quotes and more on his writing, which worked for me. I can’t get over the Mary Wells left Motown at age 21, signed away all of her royalty rites and never had another hit. For some reason, I found her more sympathetic than Flo Balard, probably because Wells found herself a star at 21 and didn’t know how to handle it. Despite her many problems, she did manage to keep working through it all – which speaks to her tenacity. A good read for the Motown fan.
April 8, 2013
Learn a lot about my home city, Detroit. I knew of Ms. Wells, but she passed away when I was only 11 years old. I only new about her music and her illness. I learned a lot about Motown, that I really had no clue about. I learned about this book and author by listening to NPR News. I am very glad that I read it. I would recommend to anyone who likes Motown music and wanted to learn more about one of the artist that helped shape rock and roll, and R&B culture as we know it.
Want to read
April 12, 2023A nickle a Jingle. What happened to her life? No one can tell if we don't find her people. Sister Souljah at least shared that in the life of the young girl in Coldest Winter Ever. What can you do with a purse and a dress? Not much unless you are headed to church. Tithe.
Chicago Review Press
An A Cappella Book
Mary Esther Wells, 1943-1992
Esther White Harrigan, 1921-1990
Elevated intracranial pressure and inadequate cerebral perfusion pressure may contribute to poor outcomes in hypertensive intraventricular hemorrhage. We characterized the occurrence of elevated intracranial pressure and low cerebral perfusion pressure in obstructive intraventricular hemorrhage requiring extraventricular drainage.
Chicago Review Press
An A Cappella Book
Mary Esther Wells, 1943-1992
Esther White Harrigan, 1921-1990
Elevated intracranial pressure and inadequate cerebral perfusion pressure may contribute to poor outcomes in hypertensive intraventricular hemorrhage. We characterized the occurrence of elevated intracranial pressure and low cerebral perfusion pressure in obstructive intraventricular hemorrhage requiring extraventricular drainage.
March 7, 2018
This book started out decent enough, but the author just spent too much time piecing together quotes from various sources and did nothing to make this book interesting. I really think that the life story of Mary Wells would indeed make a good movie though. I saw the Unsung episode of hers that he kept including quotes from in the book and I feel like this book did not shed any new light on her than what you would see in that Unsung episode. It was like a long-drawn out book based on wikipedia page. I had a hard time getting through this book and I I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
January 21, 2020
I enjoyed this book very much. There are a few erroneous descriptions or comments of the type that I occasionally see when an author who is not knowledgeable musically uses incorrect terms, but only musicians will notice that sort of thing.
January 14, 2020
Interesting book but sometimes timeline was all over the place.
March 3, 2020
It was an interesting book.
I received great insight on Mary Wells. She was a good Singer who appeared to make mistakes of who to listen to.
I received great insight on Mary Wells. She was a good Singer who appeared to make mistakes of who to listen to.
August 10, 2020
Good bio. Pretty straightforward. Sadly Mary's career is an oft repeated tale in show biz.
December 8, 2020
Pretty boring
I bought this book by mistake. I thought it was a book Mary Wilson wrote. There was a lot of repetition and overall, uninteresting.
I bought this book by mistake. I thought it was a book Mary Wilson wrote. There was a lot of repetition and overall, uninteresting.
August 30, 2022
Some pretty good moments in this book, but generally didn't quite gel. The first part of the book is good, but then it kind of fell away.
December 23, 2022
Oh, how lucky the world was to have Mary Wells and to have her immortalized through her timeless music.
May 11, 2023
#46 of 120 books pledged to read during 2023
March 19, 2024
Interesting
July 16, 2015
I liked the beginning of this biography but towards the end it was just whiney. I enjoyed reading about Motown and hearing another side to the Motown drama but to read about all her drama and how she kept saying how much money she deserved from Motown got old. I felt sorry for her at first but then it was like well you did this to your self because you kept making the same mistakes over and over. Especially with the drama of the men she was with. Its like what did you expect was going to happen. Same can be said for her smoking. It sucks she lost her voice but she smoked two packs a day for 30 years then didn't go to the doctor or take care of herself so what exactly did she expect.
I didn't think I would like how many resources were used because it felt more like a research paper than a book but I actually liked it because now I can go back and look for specific books or watch the episode of unsung that was referred to over and over.
On page 237 It was said "What caught Curtis's eye was a story reporting that singer Marsha Wash had sued for credit and royalties..." There isn't a Marsha Wash. Her name is Martha Wash. As soon as I read that I knew it was incorrect so I don't know if someone just missed that mistake or what happened.
I didn't think I would like how many resources were used because it felt more like a research paper than a book but I actually liked it because now I can go back and look for specific books or watch the episode of unsung that was referred to over and over.
On page 237 It was said "What caught Curtis's eye was a story reporting that singer Marsha Wash had sued for credit and royalties..." There isn't a Marsha Wash. Her name is Martha Wash. As soon as I read that I knew it was incorrect so I don't know if someone just missed that mistake or what happened.
Read
November 3, 2012One of my favorite singers. This is a well done book that is not an easy book to read, she had such a difficult life.
Read
January 8, 2013Click here to find it in the catalogue.
March 9, 2013
Mary led an interesting life. The chronology was hard to follow sometimes, but this bio was very well researched.
May 23, 2014
I've always liked the late Mary Wells -- she could have been a pop superstar were it not for the bad decisions that this book chronicles. The discography at the end is the most complete available.
September 7, 2014
I enjoyed reading a book about Motown`s first star, but they aired her stuff on Front Street a bit much. otherwise a good read.
September 11, 2016
A nice biography of Motown's first star.
June 7, 2016
So much information about this underrated talent!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews