Mary wells biography imdbpro

Mary wells biography imdbpro: Detroit-born (in ) Mary Wells

That same year, reported People"the former heavy smoker learned she had cancer of the larynx, which later spread to the lungs. Singer Martha Vandella had toured with her in and told People that eventually Wells "had no voice at all" and "just whispered the lyrics. Radio stations stepped up, spreading the news, informing where donations could be directed.

Wells began what People called "a painful course of treatment that included radiation therapy and a tracheotomy that made even talking According to her daughter Stacy, Wells never complained — "She only cried By Karen Corday Sept. At age 10, Wells contracted tuberculosis. During her early years, Wells lived in Black Bottom and struggled with poverty.

By age 12, she was helping her mother with house cleaning work. Wells used singing as her comfort from her pain and by age 10 had graduated from church choirs to performing at local nightclubs in the Detroit area. Wells graduated from Detroit's Northwestern High School at the age of 17 and set her sights on becoming a scientist, but after hearing about the success of Detroit musicians such as Jackie Wilson and the Miraclesshe decided to try her hand at music as a singer-songwriter.

Though she was hailed as "the first lady of Motown", Wells was technically Motown's third female signed act: Claudette Rogersof Motown's first star group the Miracleshas been referred to by Berry Gordy as "the first lady of Motown Records" due to her being signed as a member of the group, and in late Detroit blues-gospel singer Mable John had signed to the then-fledgling label a year prior to Wells' arrival.

Nevertheless, Wells' early hits as one of the label's few female solo acts did make her the label's first female star and its first fully successful solo artist. Wells's teaming with Robinson led to a succession of hit singles over the following two years. The song featured a calypso -styled soul production that defined Wells's early hits.

Motown released the similar-sounding " You Beat Me to the Punch " a few months later. This helped to make Wells the first female solo artist to have three consecutive Top 10 singles on the pop chart. The track sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

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InWells recorded " My Guy ". The song successfully crossed over to the Billboard Hotwhere it eventually replaced Louis Armstrong 's " Hello, Dolly! The song became Wells's second million-selling single. To build on the song's success, Motown released a duet album recorded with fellow Motown singing star Marvin GayeTogether. Around this time, the Beatles stated that Wells was their favorite American singer, and soon she was given an invitation to open for the group during their tour of the United Kingdom, thus making her the first Motown star to perform in the UK.

Wells was only one of three female singers to open for the Beatles, the others being Brenda Holloway and Jackie DeShannon. Danny Tyrell accompanied her in live shows in Detroit. Wells made friends with all four Beatles and later released a tribute album, Love Songs to the Beatlesin mid-decade. InMary Wells was our big, big artist, I don't think there's any audience with an age of 30 through 50 that doesn't know the words to My Guy.

Ironically during her most successful year, Wells was having problems with Motown over her original recording contract, which she had signed at the age of She was also reportedly angry that the money made from "My Guy" was being used to promote the Supremeswho had found success with " Where Did Our Love Go ", just as "My Guy" was promoted, using the profits from another, earlier hit Motown song.

Though Gordy reportedly attempted to renegotiate with Wells, the singer still asked to be freed from her contract with Motown. A pending lawsuit kept Wells away from the studio for several months, as she and Gordy brokered the contract details, with Wells fighting to gain a larger share of the royalties she had earned during her tenure with Motown.

Finally, Wells invoked a clause that allowed her to leave the label, advising the court that her original contract was invalid, as she had signed while she was still a minor.

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Part of the terms of the agreement of her release was that she could not receive any royalties from her past works with the label, including use of her likeness to promote herself. Wells worked on material for her new record label while dealing with other issues, including being bedridden for weeks suffering from tuberculosis. However, the album flopped, as did the Beatles tribute album she released not too long afterwards.

Rumors have hinted Motown may have threatened to sue radio stations for playing Wells's post-Motown music during this time. InWells signed with Atlantic Records 's subsidiary Atco. Log In. Browse Biographies. Quiz Are you a biography pro? A Indra Nooyi. B Marissa Mayer. C Katharine Graham. People, August 10,p. Cancel or.

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I know that Ms. Wells was a beautiful person and god blessed her with the most beautiful voice I love her and I grew up with her songs I thank god that there was even more beutiful people like Mr. God bless Mr. Bruce Springstein, Mr. Rod Stewart and Ms. Diana Ross. I love you all. God bless Ms. Wells children. I have all of Ms. Wells music and play it often.

With Love, Jean'ee. Mary Wells Biography.