Mary Wilson may not have been the most famous Supreme, but she was the longest-reigning member of the influential Motown girl-band that delivered a string of hits in the 1960s, including “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Up the Ladder to the Roof,” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.”
Wilson, who died Monday night at age 76 in her home in Las Vegas (of as-yet-to-be determined causes) was part of first successful configuration of The Supremes along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard. The latter was replaced by Cindy Birdsong in 1967, and Wilson stayed with the group until it was officially disbanded by Motown in 1977.
When “Where Did Our Love Go,” the group’s first No. 1, million-selling song, was released June 17, 1964, Wilson said there was a moment when she realized 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.
“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.”