Sun | May 31, 2026

‘Mary Wilson was an icon’ - Longest-reigning original Supreme dies at 76

Published:Wednesday | February 10, 2021 | 3:26 AM
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The Supremes (from left), Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross, perform during a reception for them in a hotel in London on October 8, 1964.
AP
The Supremes (from left), Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross, perform during a reception for them in a hotel in London on October 8, 1964.
Mary Wilson, founding member of The Supremes, has died at 76 years old. Publicist Jay Schwartz says Wilson died on Monday night at her home in Las Vegas and that the cause was not immediately clear.
AP
Mary Wilson, founding member of The Supremes, has died at 76 years old. Publicist Jay Schwartz says Wilson died on Monday night at her home in Las Vegas and that the cause was not immediately clear.
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LAS VEGAS (AP):

In a recent YouTube video posted on Saturday, Mary Wilson said she was excited to celebrate Black History Month and her upcoming birthday on March 6. She even teased fans with the announcement that Universal Music had plans to release some of her music.

“We’re going to be talking about the Supremes, yeah, 60th anniversary, and I’m going to be talking a lot about that mainly because I’ve finally decided how to work with Universal, and they’re going to release new recordings, Mary Wilson recordings,” she said. “Yes! At last!”

One of the original members of the Supremes, the 1960s group that helped establish the Motown sound and propelled Diana Ross to superstardom, Wilson died on Monday night at her home in Nevada. She was 76. The cause was not immediately clear, said publicist Jay Schwartz.

The late singer, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard made up the first successful configuration of The Supremes, Motown’s first and most commercially successful girl group. Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong in 1967, and Wilson stayed with the group until it was officially disbanded in 1977.

The group’s first No. 1, million-selling song, Where Did Our Love Go, was released June 17, 1964. Touring at the time, Wilson said there was a moment when she realised they had a hit song.

“I remember that instead of going home on the bus, we flew,” she told The Associated Press in 2014. “That was our first plane ride. We flew home. We had really hit big.”

It would be the first of five consecutive No. 1s, with Baby Love, Come See About Me, Stop! In the Name of Love and Back in My Arms Again following in quick succession. The Supremes also recorded the hit songs You Can’t Hurry Love, Up the Ladder to the Roof and Love Child.

“I just woke up to this news,” Ross tweeted on Tuesday, offering her condolences to Wilson’s family. “I am reminded that each day is a gift,” she added, writing “I have so many wonderful memories of our time together.”

Berry Gordy, who founded the Detroit-based Motown Records, said he was “extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of a major member of the Motown family, Mary Wilson of the Supremes.” His statement on Monday night, according to Variety, said, “The Supremes were always known as the ‘sweethearts of Motown.’”

Wilson, Ross and Ballard were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

“The world has lost one of the brightest stars in our Motown family. Mary Wilson was an icon,” Motown Museum Chairwoman and CEO Robin Terry said in a statement.

Following the Supremes’ disbandment, Wilson released the New York Times bestselling book, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, in 1986. She released her second book, Supreme Faith: Someday We’ll Be Together, in 1990. Her last book, Supreme Glamour, was written with Mark Bego and was released in 2019.

Wilson also competed on ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in 2019.