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N0KFQ > TODAY 16.05.17 14:22l 58 Lines 2743 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 32535_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - May 16
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N9PMO<NS2B<N0KFQ
Sent: 170516/1221Z 32535@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ6.0.13
1964
Mary Wells gives Motown Records its first #1 hit with "My Guy"
In 1959, Berry Gordy started his first record label, Tamla
Records, running it out of a house he purchased at 2648 West
Grand Blvd. in Detroit, Michigan_a location better known as
Hitsville, USA. Over the next three years, Tamla made its
headquarters live up to its name, turning out a string of hit
records that included "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett
Strong (1959), "Shop Around," by The Miracles (1960) and "Please
Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes (1961) - which is why a young
aspiring songwriter named Mary Wells was so excited to be offered
a recording contract by Berry Gordy in 1962. The catch was that
Gordy wanted to make a record with Wells and issue it on a brand
new label that had no identity or reputation in the marketplace:
Motown Records. Not really in a position to argue, she signed on
as the fledgling label's very first artist, and two years later,
Mary Wells gave Motown its first #1 hit when "My Guy" reached the
top of the Billboard pop chart on this day in 1964.
Shortly after signing Mary Wells, Berry Gordy transformed her
from a songwriter to a performer of other writers' material. In
this capacity, she was one of the first singers in the Motown
stable to record a song by the now-legendary
Holland/Dozier/Holland songwriting team. That song, "You Lost the
Sweetest Boy" (1963), featured the Supremes and the Temptations
singing backup to Wells_an indication of where she stood in the
Motown hierarchy at the time. It was the songs of Motown Vice
President and chief Miracle William "Smokey" Robinson, however,
which brought Wells her greatest successes. In 1962, Wells earned
her first and Motown's first top 10 hits with the Robinson-penned
"The One Who Really Loves Me," "You Beat Me To The Punch" and
"Two Lovers." And then in 1964, she earned her first #1 with
Robinson's "My Guy."
Motown Records would go on to release another 32 #1 hits in the
next 10 years, but "My Guy" would be the last solo hit for Mary
Wells, on Motown or any other label. Three days before "My Guy"
topped the charts, Wells celebrated her 21st birthday by
exercising her right to opt out of her Motown contract. At what
would prove to be the peak of her career, Mary Wells became the
first significant artist to leave Motown Records, signing a large
contract with 20th Century Fox Records. Only one record Wells
made at her new label_1964's "Use Your Head"_managed to crack the
Billboard top 40.
Mary Wells, who gave Motown its first #1 hit on this day in 1964,
died of throat cancer at the age of 49 on July 26, 1992.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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