Mary Wilson - Supreme Faith (1990) | OOP Audiobook

[Music] in January 1988 I stood on the stage of Waldorf Astoria hotels grand ballrooms proudly accepting an award for The Supremes we were being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the Drifters the Beach Boys Bob Dylan and the Beatles for the past two decades I had made it my job to keep the legend and the memory of The Supremes alive Florence Ballard had died tragically a dozen years before and my other singing partner Diana Ross was far too busy to acknowledge the group that had made her a household word Motown Records and his founder Berry Gordy Jr thought they could just sweep The Supremes under the rug and the world would forget us but the world did not whatever happened to the Supremes what went wrong what killed the promise and the group these are questions I've been asked time and time again but which I've never been able to fully understand or answer until now contrary to the popular belief or Motown's version of the story The Supremes didn't just wither after Diane left I became the group's manager the sole original member and along with several talented young ladies I kept the group alive in 1979 I took the long overdue plunge into my quote-unquote solo career I said about discovering who I was both publicly and privately my discovery process hasn't always been pleasant while I strove to keep the Supremes on top I faced other personal challenges enduring a physically abusive marriage raising my adopted son Willy and my three natural children regaining my self-esteem being a working mother I realized that not all my enemies were external there were insecurities and fears that for years my success had eclipsed and repressed but never erased through all my trials and endeavors one thing has never faltered what I call my supreme faith I prayed to God for a life filled with challenges lessons and Happiness and I have gotten just that what turned everything so sour in the 70s did Motown actively conspired to kill The Supremes were all the company's efforts centered so totally on Diane's career that it felt compelled to destroy my group in reality the dream that was The Supremes began to unravel the very night that Diane left I'll never forget that emotion filled evening on January 14th 1970 an eye that really put my supreme faith to the test Diana Ross and The Supremes final farewell performance took place at Las Vegas frontier hotel on January 14th 1970 coincidentally January 15th also marked the 9th anniversary of the original Supremes signing of our first contract with Motown yes Diane's leaving signal to end of an era no one could deny that but after having spent the last several months working whenever possible with her replacement Jean Jarell and Cindy birdsong I felt optimism and hope toward the end of the last show Diane officially introduced Jean as the next supreme everyone cheered tears was shed and we were presented with huge bouquets of roses then it was over a huge crowded party was held in one of the hotels private lounges and while I was sitting at the blackjack table I gave one of my greatest performances of my life I'd left the farewell celebrations because it was really Diane's moment inside it hurt me more than anyone knew everyone who was anyone was still inside toasting Barry and his star Diane congratulating them on their success and wishing her the best in her solo career and then my friend Marvin Gaye who always had that shy sexy smile touched my shoulder gently and gave me a kiss that night Marvin had song a chorus of let the Sun Shine in with us so beautifully that I like every other woman in the room thought we just died in the last dozen years I've lived two lifetimes the first between 1958 and 1964 when Flo Diane and I became friends we started singing together and and our homemade stage costumes set our hearts on a dream this was a happiest time of my life in 1964 when where did our love go went to number one another life began for us one of promise wealth and security like most young people we lived for today and thought it would last forever when Flo was replaced by Cindy I began to grow up I started to see that the world wasn't always good life wasn't always happy yet I did not really understand that the supreme success was about much more than simple dreams there were also unchecked ambition hard work money greed and company politics once I knew for sure that Diane would go I experienced a whole range of emotions anger hurt sadness and finally thank God acceptance motel officially announced Diane's plans in late 1969 and everyone wondered who would take her place fan magazines ran contest asking readers to nominate singers for the job Sarita right a singer under contract to Motown seemed an obvious choice Mary passed over Sarita for a singer he'd happened to hear in a Miami showroom in mid-1969 Jean Terrell Motown had made Diane's leaving a grand occasion this was what Diane wanted and what Barry wanted but amid all the hoopla Motown was the star in Very's mind no single member was greater than any act and no act was greater than the label not Flo not me and in the very end not even Diane that night at the blackjack table I flashed back in time to Hitsville the original motel building on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit and I saw three young girls tumbling out of the studio laughs and hugging one another now Flo was gone and soon Diane would be too when I couldn't stand smiling anymore I left the casino and went up to my suite with my best girlfriend Margie Hebert I had champagne and ice and we set up for hours and hours drinking and talking and laughing and finally I fell asleep around 4:30 in the morning a few hours later I was startled awake by the shrill ringing of the telephone it was Barry Gordy didn't this man ever sleep it always irritated me that he called very early in the morning to discuss important matters I don't like gene Tyrell he stated up properly I voted up in bed pushing my hair out of my face was this a nightmare he wanted Sarita right in the group he said I couldn't believe he was saying this we were booked to make our national television and live concert debut with Gene in just weeks I was speechless feeling angry and betrayed with a wave of his hand Barry threatened to destroy everything no way I answered gene stays for a few seconds Barry was quiet probably as surprised as I was to hear me stand up to it all right he replied then I washed my hands of the group he owned up I looked around my luxurious hotel suite and I began to cry I left Las Vegas certain Barry would call any minute to say that gene Jarell had to leave the group oddly neither he nor anyone else at Motown ever mentioned the subject again just days after the farewell show in Vegas we were in the studio recording as the new Supremes gene Cindy and I were recording a good ladder to the roof our first single together as the three of us listened to the instrumental tracks over the huge studio monitor speakers we beamed with happiness we'd spent part of the past six months working with several great producers but only Frank Wilson had created a sound as fresh and well suited to us as this with Cindy sitting beside me we listened as Jean glided through the harmonies we just put down she made one vocal run so Gloria said when I closed my eyes I thought I was back listening to a soloist at the First Baptist Church in Detroit Michigan how gene came to The Supremes is a Cinderella story for sure it was early 1969 and Barry and our manager Shelly Berger were in Miami one evening they wandered into the Fountainbleu hotel and caught a show by the boxer Ernie Terrell and his heavyweights the lead singer was his 21 year old younger sister Jean that April very cold Jean and asked that she come out to Hollywood and there the following month she signed with motel genes contract was a solo contract and from this point on Motown signed each successive supreme individually in effect with this new development the label was subletting memberships which would create problems for us in the years to come this was another variation on motels divide and conquer method of control Jean was Diane's complete opposite in her conservative outfits medium length afro and minimal make-up Jean was anything but a kittenish glamour girl instead she projected strength and confidence everything about her the way she spoke and carried herself seemed to say I am proud to be a black woman now The Supremes were a real group again three equal partners all committed to a goal not only did we work well professionally but personally we got along beautifully sandy had been with The Supremes for two and a half years an original member of Patti LaBelle and the bluebells she knew me Flo Diane from our days while touring the black chitlin circuit cindy was always the consummate professional a hard worker cooperative and flexible everyone loved her in the beginning some people thought she was trying too hard to be like Flo but Cindy eventually found her place in the group and became one of the public's favorite Supremes cyndy helped so much with gene showing her the dance steps taking extra time with her drawing her out like every young woman who would join The Supremes gene was both excited and all by her new position to be suddenly thrust to the top was a little disconcerting now everyone would be watching every move she made both on stage and off but anyone could see that gene Terrell had a mind of her own having worked all my life with strong outspoken women like Diana and Flo I respected that our fans finally got to meet gene when we appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show Sunday February 15 1970 having been on this program with The Supremes approximately 20 times since late 1964 I'd come to think of the CBS studios in New York City as home away from home gene had never done Network television and was nervous as we all were but I believe our true fans and the public would love us dressed in identical red sequined pants suits Cindy and I stood in the wings while gene took a place on stage and began singing we joined after the first few lines of the medley which included nothing can stop us now and fell into the routine as if we've been doing it together forever next we lip synced to the pre-recorded track of up the ladder to the roof set for release the following day even before the rapturous applause swept over us I knew we'd won them over by week's end we were opening at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas this engagement was important for other reasons besides it being our live debut The Supremes now were regarded as more than a mere pop act we have become what our detractors called a Vegas act a term that didn't bother me back then there were a few venues for black artists outside the chitlin circuit with greater success we moved up and show business and that meant moving into better clubs by nature club acts are extravagant and showy glamour and The Supremes were by then synonymous so we had no qualms about the sequined gowns the elaborate caught wigs and the glittery chandelier earrings I loved being a woman and a star and I loved all the dazzling trappings now that's not to say it wasn't a lot of hard work some of those gowns weighed up to 40 pounds each and you could fry under the wigs and stage lights fans expected all the glitz and we happily obliged from the start it was the Supremes who wanted the gowns not Motown we wouldn't have had it any other way honey because it was opening night the crowd was dominated by show business people and writers we were a little nervous to some industry people believe that Diane was making a big mistake by leaving us and others felt that we were making a big mistake by going on without her but from the moment we swirled on stage the audiences loved Jean as we took our boughs to a standing ovation I saw Jean smile and I felt her anxiety about comparisons to Diane dissolve in those two hours the supreme seemed to have stepped out of Diane's shadow but during our second show that night the emcee announced please welcome miss Diana Ross a spotlight found her Diane rose from her seat in the audience and the crowd applauded wildly apparently Diane had checked into the hotel that afternoon under an assumed name inexplicably she never contacted me or anyone else in the group the only time we saw her was during the show a couple of months later our first album with Jean right on was on its way to a solid number 25 wasn't the best show in The Supremes ever had but better than our last releases before Diane left the next big date looming for us was New York's Copacabana where in 1965 The Supremes had broken racial and stylistic barriers Dionne Warwick a good friend for many many years Glen Campbell and Flo Wilson who might begun dating now we're among the celebrities attending our opening night over the next few weeks we appeared before sellout crowds in Washington DC and San Francisco in only a few months we had proven ourselves on television on stage and on the charts up the ladder to the Ruth was on its way to number 10 here and number six in England I felt stronger every day no I thought nothing not even Barry can stop us now New York City and Los Angeles are the centres of the entertainment world and as the Supreme started doing more television work we often found ourselves on the west coast for weeks at a time in 1965 when Diane Flo and I each bought our first houses on Detroit's West Side I never imagined that I wouldn't live there for the rest of my life but as much as I hated to leave my hometown I knew a whole new world await it for me in Hollywood my mind was made up we were stars and I was going where the star has lived though I had to leave my family and friends I happily packed all my belongings and watched the van as it disappeared down the street heading west in Los Angeles I discovered a whole new community of people who did the same kind of work I did who understood this lifestyle I loved it from the beginning driving up and down Sunset Boulevard shopping on Rodeo Drive and basking in the Sun year-round and if I had been the local party giver in Detroit I really blossomed in LA people flocked to my parties in the Hollywood Hills to see what the supreme glamour and glitz was all about probably the single most important thing I did was to start taking vocal classes my first teacher was Seth Riggs with whom I made great great improvements in a short time but Giuseppe balistrari is responsible for turning my voice into the strong instrument it is today less than six months after moving west I found my dream home tucked away in the Hollywood Hills on a clear day you could see all the way to Catalina Island it was truly a dream come true I particularly loved my gigantic swimming pool between that the fireplace and the sauna I was sold I set about designing everything in the home to suit my casual personality it was a fantastic house and at first I filled it with dogs and cats and friends now that I had security I needed to share the life I build with the husband and children at the time my cousin Christine's son Willy seemed to need more attention than her other children I asked Chris if I could perhaps have Willie come live with me so that I could give him the attention that he needed although I never adopted him legally Willie was and is my son I believe that I could really help him through the sheer force of my love when I was growing up I had always heard about Wild Hollywood parties I started frequenting popular exclusive private clubs in Beverly Hills such as the candy store at the Daisy and the pips we're on any given night you could run into Peter Lawford news teller Tom Jones Joe Namath's and countless others soon my house was filled with people like Diahann Carroll the Dells the Pointer Sisters the temptations The Four Tops Smokey Robinson just to name a few I first met Flip Wilson in the 60s when we were playing Leo's casino a popular Cleveland club and chitlin circuit landmark Barry threatened to cancel our dates there if didn't tone down his sexually explicit material flipped ear clean up his act enough to finish the gig but Barry kept us away from him as much as he could our paths crossed the thousands of times over the next few years and various warnings aside we hung out with Flip whenever we worked together you wouldn't necessarily look at Flip and say hey he's sexy but I can tell you he really was terribly romantic loved women not just for their bodies or their feminine qualities but for their intelligence that was something I always liked in my male friends and to have it in a love relationship made it even more special after I moved to Los Angeles flip and I spent more time together we took long quiet walks and I loved cooking for him flip and I had finished dinner one evening when he became very serious and said will you marry me though I care for him deeply I had to say no there was real love between us but but not the kind I thought went into a marriage when I told flip that I didn't think we should marry he became very upset I thought then that only a passionate all-consuming love could make a marriage today I know differently unfortunately I didn't convey my thoughts to flip as clearly as I might have eventually we got to be friends again but not without some awkwardness on May 24th 1970 Cindy became the first supreme to marry while still in the group her husband was a debonair white businessman named Charles Hewlett I was so happy for Cindy and believed in my heart that I would find that same happiness for myself throughout that summer everything looked right for the new Supremes primetime variety shows were still a staple of TV programming and we appeared regularly on most of them Flip Wilson show The Ed Sullivan Show Glen Campbell's goodtime hours and later the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour we now knew that the early enthusiastic reviews weren't just flus one critic wrote The Supremes with Diana Ross were great without her they're just as good sometimes better I put all my hopes on our second album new ways but love stays the performances were uniformly strong especially our top ten hit stoned love in those days Motown always recorded us on the run we made our first records with Frank Wilson in the little time we could grab between shows today I regret not always being more involved with the planning of our records especially our album's Cindy Jean and I posed for the album portrait and Naturals scant makeup and black turtleneck sweaters it was simple and classy when Motown put out instead was a hodgepodge of little round pictures of us in various stage costumes the baby pink background with hot pink girlish type looked outdated the wrong image at the wrong time even worse Motown decided the album couldn't be titled stoned loved yes albums were important but it took smash singles to draw public attention to them the country was in the midst of an anti-drug hysteria with self-appointed experts discovering drug references wherever they looked strangely Motown didn't hesitate to release the single stoned love into this hysterical climate yet worried about an LP with the same title I still maintain this album should have been the record to put the Supremes back on top I think that through its neglect and carelessness Motown squandered our big chance new ways settled at a very disappointing number 68 a poor showing for an album bearing a gold single my dismay with the label was eased by the top 20 success of River deep Mountain High which we recorded with our friends The Four Tops as 1970 ended we could look back on our first year with pride two gold singles four top 25 hits and a tour schedule fully booked until 1972 no matter how enthusiastically The Supremes were received on stage or how many records the group sold in the eyes of the corporate powers at motel we were employees plain and simple whenever we were billed for concert or television appearance it wasn't The Supremes but Motown presents The Supremes or Motown's Supremes by the early 70s Motown began its transition the local label where everybody was family - an impersonal business motels west coast move didn't become official until 1972 but our home base was already being dismantled not all those who worked and made motel their life were invited alone many were left in Detroit where they had to find new jobs after years of service some stayed behind by choice but for the most part the Motown family as we'd known it was over the biggest changes in Motown however were taking place behind closed doors once on the west coast Barrie began turning over the day-to-day operations to hand-picked assistance such as Suzanne deep as you would Abner Bernie ales and Michael Raskin Mike was a very effective executive who knew how to get things done and with very gradually abdicating his role as Motown's leader the company badly needed someone like Mike tall and distinguished looking Mike like many of Barry's upper echelon people was white in the early 60s you always saw Barry around his field and could call him on the phone now if you needed to reach Barry you had to go through Mike it was becoming increasingly difficult to get the simplest thing taken care of not only was a family feeling gone but the artist had to deal with strangers and a whole new set of rules we'd come off a three-week tour and go straight from the plane to the studio only to find that someone in charge was too tired to work or didn't feel like it that never would have happened at Hitsville true to her word Jean Terrell maintained her individuality and was always completely honest and forthright with the press motel had abandoned its long-standing policy of overseeing basically controlling press access so we were freer to say what was really on our minds and Jean did she knew that joining the group meant conforming to our image on and off stage being a supreme really was a 24 hour a day job at first Jean found our whole glamour fascinating but it wasn't long before its thrill wore off she referred dressing simply which was fine it just wasn't what people expected I saw no contradiction in being proud of my blackness and being glamorous Jean did she had a special friendship with Cindy and I came to rely on Cindy and our wardrobe mistresses chandeliera and Marge wooden to communicate with Jean with the start of 1971 I resolved to take greater control of my life when I finally hired outside accountants to look into my personal business and Supremes I was shocked to discover that hundreds of thousands of dollars Barry and Motown had repeatedly assured me wearing my account actually amounted to one hundred thousand and when I asked that it be released to me I was told I needed very signature I remember all the times journalists asked how are your girls set for the future I smile and proudly say Oh Motown is investing for us plus all our taxes are paid on time we're being well taken care of I guess The Laugh was on me when I think about our 12 number ones more than anyone in our time except the Beatles and Elvis Presley plus the hip albums the television specials and appearances the sold-out concerts and then I see what I have to show for it it makes me sick I hired a young English woman named hazel bethke who became my personal assistant hazel brought order friendship and spiritual love into my life that endured for many years with Hazel's help I could really begin to direct the Supremes career and oversee business details that would have been unthinkable otherwise in February we began to work on our last album with Frank Wilson touch-touch probably was our most rock-oriented work and I think our best this album was the first Supremes album ever to be reviewed by Rolling Stone as much as I've always taken critics with a grain of salt the you showed me that we could reach a new wider audience quote touch is an unqualified success and the final proof that The Supremes will continue without Donna Rose John Mandel wrote The Supremes releases began having trouble just as black music was entering a state of flux in the late 60s album-oriented progressive FM radio drew away millions of a.m. listeners while the new FM rock stations might play records by Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder most of Motown's current singles ax us Diane the Jackson 5 the Four Tops suddenly didn't fit the reviving force of black radio would be disco which it turns out was another nail in the coffin for those of us who believed there was more to black music then dance music another more insidious reason behind this was that Motown stopped promoting our records the way it had in the past people assume that hits just happened but that's not true not even for the biggest stars record promotion to radio stations is so integral to artists careers that the government investigates instances in its abuse paola or play for pay a record without promotion is like the proverbial tree that falls in the woods without Motown's clout behind us we began to drift in 1970 flow became the first Motown artist to publicly break rank she found an eight point seven million lawsuit against the label charging among other things that are firing from The Supremes was part of a conspiracy while the press focused on Flo's provocatively worded Church that Diane had secretly subversively and maliciously plotted and planned to run her out the suit raised another point that would be of increasing interest to me as a years past the issue of who owned the Supremes named an earlier settlement forbade her to even identify herself as a former member of the Supremes in addition to the 8.7 million flows suit called for The Supremes name to be taken off the market throughout the summer we kept up our frenzied pace Criss crossing the country but because The Supremes lacked a monster hit initial enthusiasm for us started to fade we depended more on touring to make up the money we weren't earning from records it was a vicious cycle with just one way out a number-one record if we had that hit it would be like getting sprinkled with fairy dust one opening night we made our standard fake exit and then waited in the wings expecting the applause that would bring us back for the last number nothing after a few seconds we returned to the stage and stepped into the performance nightmare the audience was out of their seats heading for the door it was a painful mortifying moment in November we embarked on a triumphant tour of Great Britain our stateside lack of the elusive big hit did not dimension with British fans love for us in fact our records always charted higher and hit much better in the UK than they did in the United States we played sold-out houses everywhere which was very heartening the highlight was a show at the Royal Albert Hall before Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon when we returned to the States in December it marked the end of almost eighteen continuous months on the road gene became very critical of Motown she declared that she would no longer record whatever she was given but would veto and refused to seeing material she did not like when gene first came in she made it very clear to everyone that she was not about to be one of the three singing puppets perhaps this was why Barry wanted her out of the group but instead of insisting that we replace her or just firing her outright which he could have done he played it cool he seemed to know that if he gave the Supremes enough rope we hang ourselves without realizing it gene grabbed it and ran Cindy Jean and I were recording our fourth album Floyd joy Floy Floy Floy Floy with Smokey Robinson smokey came up with some beautiful sexy close harmonies especially for Floyd joy and the album really sparkled surprisingly all floyd joy became a top 20 hit in spring 1972 and remains a perennial favorite among our fans few people know that it was a duet between me and gene because it was the first time I'd been in the studio with smokey since the early 60s we did a lot of talking we're making good records and working hard but Motown isn't giving us a push I told him smokey thought for a minute then said why don't you talk to Barry about it I'm sure if you do you'll take care of it smokey meant well but he was like Diane totally blinded by Barry's razzle-dazzle because Barry always treated smokey and Diane differently than the rest of us they see him differently than we do Cyndi was expecting her first child in the fall and so once again we had to find another member one evening in Washington DC the three of us caught Stevie Wonder's show and noticed a great singer in his backing vocal group wonder love Linda Tucker Linda then came to audition for us in Detroit the three of us had an instant rapport Linda was very outgoing and lively and she told reporters afterwards she was thrilled to be a supreme we began rehearsing her immediately and she worked every day with Charlie Atkins our choreographer to learn the steps Linda came to our shows in Windsor and studied tapes of us the shows in Windsor went well and many people came out to see us including Barry Flo lots of the old Motown acts I was very happy that Flo was out though because she'd started withdrawing from the world ever since the judge threw out her lawsuit against Motown in 1971 back in the dressing room very remarked I'm really pleasantly surprised at how good your show it is as he spoke promptly about his future plans I recalled playing blackjack with him years before we were playing a game called Bid Whist once we stopped the game he owed me $4,000 and I let him go telling him Oh Barry it's just a game it was all in fun a few days later when I was in the hole for 6200 Barry said okay pay up I ended up paying him every cent of the six thousand two hundred over a period of time around this time we started recording with Jimmy Webb though Linda wasn't yet officially in the group she sang on this album Jimmy was The Supremes first non Motown producer and it struck some people as an unusual pairing while we worked out all the musical details beforehand like most Motown producers Jimmy encouraged much much more of our input he taught you the melody but then expected you to do your own thing however the result in LP The Supremes produced and arranged by Jimmy Webb was radically different from Floyd joy once again we were back to being a lead singer with two backup vocalists although I did sing one song I keep it hid it was really a great disappointment when the album became only the second in The Supremes history not to enter the top 100 we hadn't yet set a definite date for Cindy's departure but proceeded with our schedule we were looking forward to the upcoming April tour of Australia the day we were to leave my housekeeper broke the news that Jean was in the hospital her doctor was emphatic that she was not to work for as long as eight weeks after a couple of minutes the magnitude of the crisis seeped in I started crying it seemed that when I thought everything was fine another problem arose our manager Wayne Weis part had already left for Australia earlier assuming we would follow when we finally reached him I said even without Jean we should do the tour Linda's been recording with us knows the show and she can step right in after talking to the rest of the staff and to Linda I became excited I knew we could do it I phoned my Kroshka who agreed it was best to go ahead and promise to get right to work on the details yet shortly after that someone else called and said Mary Mike has officially cancelled the tour I was devastated and confused the idea that people who did not have my best interests in mind were controlling and making decisions about my life bothered me they weren't paying my bills anymore who were they to say whether we would perform or not I knew I had to take more control I couldn't no longer delude myself that Motown was on my side in June we switched managers and started working again with Shelley Berger who'd managed Dinah Ross and The Supremes in the 60s during the meeting to discuss our upcoming summer tour with the temptations the managers and motel people talked around Linda Jean and me as if we weren't there not only were the Supremes the opening act but we were built under the temps they had some big hits recently like just my imagination and superstar but still this was really a blow to us after we saw the itinerary the only conclusion was that Motown was trying to kill us off by working us to death we opened with the temptations at the now Grove in Los Angeles two great reviews many people from Motown attended the shows and afterwards very invited us all to a party at his home but I declined at the time he and Diane were making Lady Sings the Blues the movie about Billie Holiday hey Barry suggested why don't you come down to the studio and see the rushes so I accepted the whole time with Barry I couldn't help but feel that he was doing more than just sharing his new work me his whole manner seemed to say I told you so you should have stuck with me that summer and fall nothing could distract me from the sadness and emptiness I felt since Floyd joy earlier in the year our singles had fared progressively worse Motown had let the Supremes become a road act without a hit I felt like I was on a treadmill running and running and running but getting nowhere I went back to Detroit to see my mother as I did almost every fall it was so nice to sleep in my own bed after moving to California I'd given my mother my house in Detroit and Willie's family and my aunt mineva moved into her old home whenever I'd walked through the old neighborhood I'd recall how Diane Flo and I each had bought houses on the street and didn't even know it until after we closed our deals that's how much alike the three of us were then when I rang Flo's doorbell she came flying down the stairs to open the front door her fair complexion was red as it always was when she was excited we hurt each other tightly Flo was so proud of her children and they loved her with the kind of accepting love Flo had never never known before when she held her babies it transformed her still I sensed Flo's fear of where her life was going and so she didn't want that to happen to me - I don't think Flo ever understood that while it was very easy for other people to say leave the group marry I fully understood that there was no place for me to go just as there had been no place for Flo in October Lady Sings the Blues premiered in New York it was the culmination of Diane and Barry's dream though they were no longer an item he was as dedicated to her career as ever if not more so Diane was Berry's vehicle to his next conquest Hollywood that fall we played an all-star benefit for Reverend Jesse Jackson's operation push taped in Chicago and later released as the feature film saved the children the show included Gladys Knight & the Pips the temptations Marvin Gaye the Jackson 5 Curtis Mayfield Isaac Hayes Smokey Robinson and Roberta Flack everyone working on the film said we were great yet for some reason our sequence got cut out something we didn't really discover until the movie's release I was really crushed why did there always seem to be obstacles in our path and who was placing them there the realization of where we might be headed if I didn't keep my eyes open hit me when we arrived to play six days at a small Canadian Club it looked exactly like a Ramada Inn dining room with a little portable stage it actually cost us more money to play dates like this when that time should have been spent at home refining the act cutting some good records and by our absence creating a demand our contract with Motown was coming up for renewal for the first time I didn't automatically assume we would resign money was getting tighter we never knew what we were going to find and the unpredictability of it all began wearing on us gene took it the hardest there were nights on stage when she just wasn't into it and the fans knew it people remarked to me that she seemed cold and distant every once in a while a wise guy in the audience yelled hey where's Diana Ross which would shake her confidence people still do this to me today gene Linda and I began talking about what to mean was unthinkable leaving Motown I admit I was very reluctant they didn't really appreciate the value of The Supremes name which we might lose if we left in the meantime we arranged a meeting with you and Abner since I'd always regarded Abner as one of the company's executives with some compassion for the artist Abner agreed with everything I said yes they had to get us the right writers and then Motown had to put the push behind us whereas Mike skin would simply say we've done all we can do and that's it Abner assured me it would be taken care of earlier that year Linda had asked Stevie to write us something he accepted immediately and gave us bad weather thinking what about into bad weather Stevie had come a long way from a little boy who played harmonica on our bus rides in the 60s at 21 he demanded Motown grant him full creative control or he would go to another label he also became eligible to receive money's Motown was holding and Trust for him the company turned over an astounding 1 million in royalties and advances I can only imagine what went through Barry's mind as he wrote out that cheque and Stevie taught us the song I thought he really is a genius when we heard its first few chords with it's unusual progressions and African beat I knew this was our ticket all Motown had to do was get behind it I tried to get Linden gene to do some informal promotion but they refused further driving me apart from them was their recent conversion to the Jehovah Witness faith the two of them often closed themselves off and studied the Bible I was tired of being left out opening night in Puerto Rico in 1973 I looked out from the stage of the flamboyant hotel and spotted the most handsome black man in the audience after the show the phone rang and Linda answered Mary she said it's for you it's a Pedro he says he met you in Las Vegas but that he was at the show tonight - then I took the phone he asked me to have a drink with him and at first I hesitated Jean and Linda both seriously dating their future husbands egged me on I can't go out with a man I don't know I protest it yet for some strange reason I said yes okay and as I wrote in my diary several days later he took me out and that was it we were together ever since Pedro Ferrer told me that he came from a very wealthy politically powerful dominican family and that his father a mr. Roy was a banker in Puerto Rico Petro dressed impeccably and was intelligent and articulate all the friends he introduced me to were obviously from privileged backgrounds the next couple of weeks Pedro and I were together almost 24 hours a day I thought I was fairly sophisticated when it came to men but a total stranger was sweeping me off my feet having always read fairy tales as a child I suppose I have been waiting for my knight to carry me away on his white steed by the time I left what Rico for New York Pedro was talking about our getting married in two years from the very first moment I believed that being with Petra was my fate and I was so tired and feeling so beaten down and defeated I wanted I needed to believe in something whether this was going to be the love of my life something permanent I still didn't know I just wanted to be happy [Music] falling in love with petrol made me so happy but I still had the group to deal with Charlie Atkins had been Motel staff choreographers since the early days we were rehearsing one day when Charlie said look baby people are starting to talk about Linda saying she's too bossy and outspoken now you know you're the leader of the group you got to take charge he was right I knew that people inside and outside the group were taking advantage of me and in my heart I hated it I resented people for forcing me to be something I was not I never wanted to be meanwhile I thought about petrol every moment I couldn't help it he phoned me at all hours of the day but I was still shocked when one day he showed up in Jersey so we discussed it it was still unexpected we spent six days together and while the romantic aspects were wonderful I was relieved when he went back home to say the least this romance was whirlwind I looked forward to our upcoming month-long tour of England on which I plan to take my Willy England is my second home and I had so many friends there that it wasn't long before the phone was ringing off the hook David Frost invited me to join him for drinks we had a great time together catching up on all the latest news but it was hardly the big romance columnist tried to make it however after that we did see each other briefly gene and Linda still tried to convince me to leave motel the failure of bad weather was the last straw despite glowing reviews the record went nowhere even Stevie was upset but I knew an impulsive break from Motown would surely fail Jay and to a lesser degree Linda read my caution as indecisiveness but I knew the big problem which would haunt me for years was that the name Supremes and who really owned it Jean and Linda couldn't have cared less about the name both the lead we would do just as well if not better without it ironically 15 years later Linda and Jean would be touring with another 70s supreme Cherie pain as the Flo's former ladies of The Supremes my worst fear was realized when Jean announced I want out of the group it became a race against time which would come first a new deal or jeans leaving shortly thereafter Linda revealed she was expecting a baby I thought I was too impulsively I called Diane to tell her I thought I was pregnant but she had changed her number an hour later she called we hadn't talked each other in over 10 months Diane was really upbeat and happy as if we just opened yesterday we went shopping in Beverly Hills and the whole time just making small talk then we talked about Motown and how poorly it was promoting The Supremes it was like we were girlfriends again you know Diane I said I'm glad we got together today I feel that we're better friends now than we ever were before Diane turned to me her large brown eyes wide with disbelief Mary we are not she said I don't know how you could say that stunned I felt she'd taken what I've said the wrong way I knew our relationship wasn't going to be the real friendship of our teams I just hope we could be friends today years passed before I would stop reaching out for Diane that June Petro visited me in Los Angeles and I wore a beautiful dress to the airport and was all smiles until I saw Petro come through the terminal with loads of luggage and a huge Saint Bernard named sky it looks like he's doing more than coming for a visit and I thought to myself it looks like he's moving in I was right after just a couple of weeks however we ran into trouble he was a little too ballsy with Willie and possessive of me one day he announced he was going back home to cliches pretty well some of our relationship love is blind and oil and water don't mix the more Pedro stayed around the less sense it made I saw his shortcomings but I believed I could help him and that together we would make things work out between motels abandoning The Supremes and the press virtually ignoring us I felt like a failure it had to be something I could succeed it it would be love in July 1973 Jean called to inform me she was about to ask Barry for her contract back within the hour who should call but Barry we hadn't spoken in months in the sixties he and I had been buddies now that The Supremes were no longer his girls we rarely saw each other Mary its Barry he announced chip early Billy Davis told me you were getting married I just wanted to say congratulations and I'd really like to give you away at your wedding so that was it Barry probably thought I was going to Wed retire and get out of his hair he had to have heard that I had taken over much of the group's business that I was looking for an independent manager that I was making demands at Motown in each of our contracts since the very beginning motels position was clear they said they owned the name Prem's and could replace members at will I wondered does somebody own a name just by virtue of saying they do and getting you to agree with them does that mean a company like Motown or anybody can just say whatever it wants and make it so even if it's a lie this was something I needed to think about but before I knew it Pedro and his things all of them arrived from Puerto Rico I was too surprised to protest one day after an argument I told ed ro he should go back home and when he tried to convince me otherwise I lost control and slapped him I'd never slapped anyone he slapped me back and I stood there stunned for those moments I felt like a stranger standing outside my own body watching it all happen when it was over Pedro wrote me a long note saying he was sorry and wrong he wrote let's try one more time almost every day he brought me flowers or pins sweet little love notes in fact most of the time was remarkably gentle and thoughtful he really believed in me too it bothered him that I feared so many things including at the times him he showed me that my contribution to the Supremes wasn't like die Ansel flows but what I had uniquely contributed to the group was my gentleness my love as strange as it sounds Pedro helped me to reclaim that part of myself motown had beaten down on august 25th we appeared on a TV special it was broadcast live from the old Ed Sullivan Theater in New York the sight of jeans television debut three and a half years before I was pretty sure this might be genes last appearance but I didn't know it would be Linda's as well no matter what happened I decided that the Act should be revamped a on me it was getting harder to keep a consistent lineup and I was the only original supreme left and the only person I could count on while we were in New York weren't leaked out to the press that Linda was pregnant and planning to leave with gene on her way out not knowing what Linda was going to do threw me off balance I understand where they were coming from perhaps too well but I couldn't go on letting other people run my life the next week Pedro and I will go into Santo Domingo to meet his parents the night before our trip he told me the truth about his parents identity he had contrived an extravagant fantasy about who he really was in truth Pedro was raised by his mother and stepfather a politically powerful Dominican Pedro's family belonged to the professional class had made possible the country's first free election in almost four decades in 1962 the few days we spent with his mother stepfathers sister and brother were pleasant but awkward Petra was the island boy who'd come home and made good after all I was a great catch a wealthy singing star for the first time I really got to see the man I was engaged to in his society men and women observe strict social codes the man was the undisputed leader the boss the provider and while the woman was the queen of the house in public she always deferred to her husband I was an independent single woman as my career consumed more time and energy I longed for a man to be strong to fight for me I loved being in my home cooking entertaining and taking care of Willie and our many pets Pedro completed that picture after several months of waiting for promised jobs to come from friends Pedro finally decided to finish his law education in the nighted States Willie then 15 years old was trying to establish his own identity and rebelled he didn't want me to marry Pedro when it came to Willie Pedro's ideas were almost completely opposite to mine he was raised in an old-fashioned Latin tradition where the father ruled hedgerows family had explosive often violent arguments an hour or so later they would go on as if nothing had happened had I looked carefully I'd have seen the first signs of Pedro's violent nature instead all I could see was a man who needed my help a man I could love and to becoming the person I thought he should and could be for all its glamour Hollywood is basically a small town I knew everybody and when my name came up guys I knew however casually usually said something to Pedro if a man said he thought I was nice or pretty Pedro assumed I'd slept with him one evening he stormed in with his brown eyes flashing and I knew immediately someone had said something to set Petra off still there was no way I could be prepared for what happened next after screaming obscenities Pedro slapped me several times hard across the face then tore my clothes and shelled me outside to the pool area locking all the doors I was crying so hard I could barely breathe I looked out across a shimmery pool and down on the lights of Hollywood as I said in the cold lounge chair hugging myself against the autumn breeze I kept asking myself why is this happening to me but oddly enough my problems faded into the background as Pedro and I prepared for our engagement party we threw it at my house and over 200 people attended with just a few weeks left before our next dates the pressure to replace gee intensified on a whim I called Lamont Dozier and he recommended Cherie pain as one of the holland-dozier-holland team Lamont had produced hundreds of hit records and if he thought Sheri was great she must be a few days later she auditioned and I was sold she was pretty easy to get along with and her voice was phenomenal Cindy had agreed to come back once she heard Linda was pregnant and unhappy with her position in the group once we accepted Sherri Cindy and I began rehearsing right away in my living room because Cindy had put on a little weight her gowns had to be altered we had only a handful of days to get ready but I was hopeful and confident I hired an outside lawyer David Williams David was one of the very few popular black attorneys coming up then I could no longer ignore the ominous signs that Motown was abandoning us I had to fight back a week after Sheri joined the group David and I met with Motown's lawyers Abner and bill Loeb my new manager to review the supreme situation when Abner heard that I had hired Sherri on my own he went through the roof Mary he said firmly you have overstepped your bounds besides it's impossible for you to hire a new supreme when none of you are Supremes it was then that I knew I was right to instruct my attorney David Williams to have my new contract include a clause saying I was a supreme for life unless I was disabled in late 1973 The Supremes technically had no contract with Motown but because I didn't own the name we had to stop shopping for a new label I told David Williams my whole story starting from when Flo Diane and I signed with motel in 1961 we were 16 and each signed a recording contract with Motown Records and a management contract with very Gordy Jr Flo picked the name to Supremes which we didn't think was as pretty as our former name the Primus but Barry said look I don't like the name primates change it before you sign your contract and we did short of sleeping with him we'd have done anything very wanted if it would get us a record deal when we signed our contracts we didn't see the clause stating that Motown owned the trademark of Supremes Diane Flo and I weren't dummies we were three enthusiastic idealistic minors signing contracts without competent independent legal consult very and his sister Esther Gordy Edwards told us we didn't need legal representation and we believed them after all this wasn't some big bad company it was the Motown family this youthful act of blind faith would prove the biggest mistake of my life one that would haunt me until 1990 David Williams agreed with me that our first priority was to find out who owned the name he explained to me that it had to be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office in Washington David quickly discovered that Motown's claims to the contrary it had not registered the name this was my chance I filed an application and my claim would be published in the cassette if no one challenged it within a certain period The Supremes could be registered in my name meanwhile without contracts sherry and I along with Cindy hit the road another new group of The Supremes while cleaning out some papers a few months earlier Petra had come across a photograph of me and Tom Jones Tom had his arm across my chest so that although I was wearing a two-piece bathing suit it looked like I was it's without a word Petros stalked into the kitchen and swatted the tray of food from my hands he shoved the photo at me screaming up vicinities I was beginning to see a pattern Petra always caught me off guard then made outrageous accusations and carried on so wildly I couldn't think fast enough to answer him I knew he was wrong but each time he came at me I became a frightened little Miri afraid of everything despite his hateful words on his way to Mexico Pedro phoned from San Diego he wanted to know what I still marry him days later he was back instead of seeing what was wrong with Pedro or with our relationship I found myself more often looking for what was wrong with me instead of thinking about how to get away from Pedro I blamed myself for falling in love with him in the first place before long I was writing in my diary about how I should change how I should improve and how I should be more of a real woman one who sacrificed for her man in other words to be more like what Pedro wanted me to be I was really looking forward to Christmas this year the first in my adult life I'd be spending with my own family on a day off I decided I surprised everyone I went out and found my tree then I unpacked boxes and boxes of angel hair tinsel glass balls electric lights and other ornaments I collected over the years happily thinking how surprised petrol and Willy would be this would be the best Christmas ever predator walked into the living room and I stood there waiting for him to smile or reach out to hold me instead he began screaming what is this this isn't a Christmas tree is cheap and trashy Pedro had made his point Cris was in my house his house was to be celebrated not with the Gaiety of the southern black holiday traditions I knew but with the solemnity of his Latin Catholic upbringing that tree symbolized everything about me and my life I saw that who I was what I was threatened him I promised myself I would change over the past few years I had gradually set up and controlled a separate corporation that handled all the Supremes business Motown had no objection if anything and was probably relieved every expense meals gowns car rental salaries for musicians conductors road managers assistants and the required payroll taxes dry-cleaning storage wigs makeup recording sessions everything was managed and paid for through Motown but out of our pockets when I started going over the books I was amazed to see just how much it cost to work our big expense was our stage wardrobe our outfits were some of the most lavish in show business many of the sequins and beads were imported and all were applied by hand Diane once remarked to Johnny Carson little old ladies have gone blind trying to sew on all those beads some outfits cost over $100 each just to be cleaned the cost of shipping trunks of 30 to 40 pound gallons and suits all over the world were exorbitant we probably worked several weeks each year just to keep our costumes alive I decided that each supreme would receive a percentage of the Corporations income after all expenses were paid I learned more than I ever wanted to know about unscrupulous or undercapitalized promoters contract breaching and the natural tendency for money to mysteriously disappear on its way from the box office to The Supremes Inc bank account Motown still had not finished our contracts or reached a settlement with the Holland's on Sherry's contract or so it claimed I knew I was on my own and because I still felt so close to the Motown clan in those days I thought nothing about asking a few friends and the business to reduce us Marvin Gaye was one I approached over the years he promised he would write for us and produce us I believe he really meant it as he would mention it several more times over the years none of these plans were realized though because Marvin had enough problems of his own the name Supremes had become my obsession David Williams still had not received a reply from the trademark office but each time I asked he said not to worry it had been delayed in the meantime Motown decided that I must waive all rights to the name before I resigned in my recording contract I am NOT signing under those terms I said that's it fine Mike roschin replied we'll just have to get three other girls the velvet glove was off just like Flo had said it would be but I wasn't going to be beaten down you just try I said rising to leave goodbye that day in 1974 I drove home nearly blinded by tears all I could think was how can Mike do this to me by the time I pulled up my long driveway I was weeping uncontrollably it was over over everything I'd worked for was gone the one thing that had given Diane Flo and me the chance to make something of ourselves to have something more than what our parents had was gone dead taken when I calmed down I told Petro everything he read the contract Motown was offering and pointed out that it was essentially the same as the old one I'm now dependent on judgment in fact I began to feel that I could trust no one except him early the next morning Barry called I spoke with Mike roschin and heard about the problems he said quietly Mary just what is it you want without thinking I blurted out 50% of the name Supremes there was a second of silence then Barry said you got it as he spoke I said a silent prayer of thanks to God for saving me and my family at least now I thought I won't end up like Flo while all this madness was going on I was still touring mothering Willie cooking meals and planning for my wedding for a while I got so caught up in the happiness of picking out fabric for my wedding gown finding the right wedding chapel in Vegas making up a guest list and so forth that all fears were forgotten during this time Petro and I were like two lovebirds since I had allowed him to become more involved in my business affairs he was happier and the more I allowed him the more he took Shari Cindy and I had to work our tails off to get ready for Vegas for two days in mid-april we tried out our show at the Sahara in Lake Tahoe we got very bad reviews all driving home the point that we could not take the same old show to Vegas the constant pressure to be out working even to our reputations detriment was a sore point between me on one side and Motown on the other it couldn't have cared less what happened to The Supremes as long as they got their cuts with just six days before the Vegas opening we brought in Charlie Atkins and some other professionals to put together a new production when Cindy realized she had no solos she became very upset what bothered me though was her saying if I don't look out for myself no one else will I was crushed and for a moment quite angry all that time off showed she still hadn't lost the weight and she had stopped taking vocal classes with my teacher I was deeply hurt that my efforts on her behalf went unnoticed it made me think how things had changed the same day that Pedro and I got our marriage license David Williams gave me the bad news he told me he had finally heard from the trademark office and Motown did own the name apparently there had been a clerical error when they said no one else had claimed the name since getting 50% was better than getting nothing I signed in my new recording contract against Pedro's advice he told me that I would regret signing this deal and he was right Motown's giving me 50% ownership of the name came with so many restrictions that it was essentially worthless except in one case if Motown ever sold the rights to the Supremes name I would be entitled to half the proceeds I felt something was fishy about all of this Motown had been taking its sweet time with the contracts and hadn't recorded us for months suddenly the day of my wedding there was a big rush why couldn't it have waited a few days most of my family had flown in for the wedding and many of our friends were there too we were to be at the chapel at 3 o'clock but by to my gallon still had not arrived from Los Angeles at 2:30 my gown finally arrived it was made from a spanish-style pattern and trimmed in white lace and pearls I put it on and when I turn to look in the mirror I began to cry the gallon was perfect and there I was finally a bride Pedro and I left the reception around 4:30 and went up to our room where we opened our gifts and jumped to bed and 8:00 that evening we were awakened by the phone our show started in 15 minutes I got to the stage everyone was waiting and I was so embarrassed for holding up the show the weeks of work and travel took their toll on everyone but especially on my marriage I had been pretty much alone since leaving home at 17 now I had a constant domineering companion my husband the honeymoon was over almost as soon as it began one thing that bothered me was that petrol spent money as if it were his own paying for everyone's dinner and buying drinks on Pedro he was the big shot at least in his mind then he began openly ordering me around one night in Australia I was lying in bed when suddenly I felt a sensation that another woman was taken over my body she was all those things I fought so long to not be negative frightened suspicious all my courage and confidence disappeared in Hollywood nightlife still retained a certain stylish cachet and Petra and I went out on the town just like everybody else did I had grown accustomed to behaving in public so as not to arouse Pedro's jealousy but the tension of having to monitor my every move was too much around this time I pretty much stopped going out at all unless I was onstage I was at home nine months after Shari and Cindy joined the group they were still technically without contracts these delays caused us a lot of friction because Cindy and sherry were essentially working for Supremes Inc in other words me I didn't like the fact that our husbands were suddenly so active in the business either Charles and Cindy's baby David traveled with us also Petra had already pressured me into naming him road manager so we created a similar position for Charles before long though both were asking our manager about our business the meddling husband can be an occupational hazard for any female entertainer Diane was appearing in Los Angeles and I really wanted to go see her even though we didn't talk very much anymore I still enjoyed her concerts as I watched I n sing I thought of how far she'd come whatever X aspiration I'd have felt toward her had dissipated as a grown woman it was easy for me to see that many of the original Supremes problems simply grew out of her youth and the pressures of our careers flow Diane and I responded as best we could I've never seen Diane give a better show once the curtain fell I hurried backstage to compliment her as I walked towards the dressing rooms a guard stopped me and refused to let me pass several fans were standing nearby and one said but she's one of The Supremes you gotta let her go backstage when I finally got back to her dressing room Diane seemed really happy to see me but surprised hello Mary how are you we embraced talked about our families and and that was it Barry said hi Mary you sure look good I wonder what he really thought and then he and Diane turned away I held my head high but inside I I felt like nothing I wish to Pedro were there with me I felt so alone we began an eventful run at Magic Mountain one of my favorite places to play because it always attracted lots and lots of fans we had several special guests the first few nights free to pain Johnny Taylor Barry's mother and sister Gwen and Stevie Wonder Stevie came on stage and did a song with us which the crowd loved and then afterwards came backstage to visit a couple of days later Flo arrived from Detroit somewhere in the back of my mind I had been entertaining the idea that she might rejoin us realistically I knew it was a long shot every night Flo drank heavily and we talked for hours and hours but never resolved anything the trips one bright spot was the night she joins Cyndi sherry and me on stage at Magic Mountain the fans cried out we love you Flo we love you Flo she seemed very happy for that moment but a few days later she had to return to Detroit and I knew she was lost for me for ever having seen both Diana and Florence within a few weeks of each other I thought about how different their lives were and how much we had all changed if we ever sat down together and really talked I thought it would be alright in their own ways though Diane and Flo said something else Flo all but told me to give up on her and Diane seems so preoccupied with her own start on that I might as well not have existed Diane and Flo wanted to leave The Supremes far behind but I couldn't and it hurt after Magic Mountain there were no live dates no recording sessions nothing even though I was relaxing I felt very very tired was I depressed physically exhausted or what then one day my doctor herb called us said hey Mary I think you better start knitting those booties I hung up the phone and cried for an hour it didn't seem real to me I was finally going to have a baby then in September 1974 it finally happened Pedro beat me up at one point I couldn't believe that this was happening to me I thought of the baby especially when I fell to the floor I didn't want him to hurt me so I fought back the times before when Pedro broke the windows threw me in the pool I was afraid because I'd never been around anyone who completely lost control but this time with this physical beating I felt it was too much for me to handle I mean it's love worth all of this we remain on the road almost constantly through November Pedro wasn't always with us so his paranoia increased all through the night he would call to carry on about some some rumor he claimed to have heard about me after a night of this I would wake up feeling like like a zombie this couldn't have been good for my baby and now three months pregnant I worried more and more and more about my health by now Cindy and sherry knew that Pedro often beat me and like most battered women I said nothing about it Cindy held me as I cried on his shoulder neither of them mentioned Pedro's cruelty they just made me feel cared for and loved after this there problems with Petra escalated and sherry seemed to disagree with him on almost everything in December we finally started recording our next album The Supremes I sing lead on four of the nine songs and shared a lead with sherry on the first single he's my man he's my man he's my man Petro insisted that I be given more leads which actually created a lot of tension some people saw this as me just flexing my ego but it really was a matter of survival I finally accepted the responsibility to prepare myself for future personnel changes and possibly the end of the group as I prepared to sing my leads Cherie grew very quiet and Cindy acted strangely we'd rehearsed for days but wouldn't you know it once in the studio I lost my voice it was totally psychological I was scared to death and felt guilty of taking leads meant for sharing I felt I wasn't really ready to step out as a full lead singer now that we were officially signed and recording again Motown seemed to take a keener interest in our internal affairs I heard that Motown was secretly looking to replace Cindy I hated them for that but I was angry at Cindy for giving them an excuse sherry and I felt that Cindy could make herself great again and told her so often but nothing really worked we're not working I was getting things ready for the baby and trying to sell which our working relationship with moto not long after Dianne and Barry returned from Rome where they were filming mahogany she called me Diane knew that my baby was due soon and she promised she would come by the house to visit I could never figure out what prompted these calls I sometimes wondered if if she felt the way I did and that there was some some unfinished business we should address but I never knew I treasured my happy moments and could separate the good parts of my life from the bad for better or worse I tried to love those around me as as they were and help them but as my birthday approached I began to feel forgotten here it was just weeks before my baby was due and still no baby shower the weekend of my birthday Peter Lawford a good friend had invited us to a dinner when we got to the private club a woman at the door check the list and then said heartily that she wouldn't admit us I felt my temper rise and began to say of course our name is on the list we were suddenly I heard yields of surprise surprise there were all my friends including Peter Cindy herb and Waialua my best friend's Richard Roundtree the fifth dimension even Linda Lawrence and Jean Terrell were there I received so many beautiful gifts and and after the club closed the party moved up to our house that Sunday I went to a luncheon at Sherry's house and there was another surprise a baby shower Cindy my assistant hazel Jane Kennedy Dionne Warwick Natalie called Freda Payne Yvonne Ferrand and some other friends were all there more beautiful gifts and Happiness a couple of days later though I was back in a blue funk Pedro and I were fighting my mother was there she was waiting for a grandchild to arrive and when she wasn't looking I cried that day my doctor an old friend herb Avery instructed me to go to the hospital the baby was coming I was so thrilled my elation lasted until I I got to the hospital room where the real of childbirth hit me right between the eyes i weathered six hours of labor and even though petrol had attended only a few of the natural childbirth classes he was supportive I ended up having a cesarean and it seemed like no time at all before her peered on the sheet and announced marry it's a girl her blade my baby across my chest and I knew what being blessed truly felt like Petra had brought me some beautiful orchids they were turquoise I asked him what is this called in Spanish - a case of he replied Spanish for turquoise so we named our daughter told a casa with all the euphoria came the physical reality of actually having a baby which every mother knows so after all this major surgery I needed plenty of bed rest I had to save my energy because Motown planned to release the LP The Supremes next month and in three weeks we were to tour Japan again having a baby brings many couples closer together but that wasn't the case for us I'd be breastfeeding together and Petra would dash in and dash out when we did talk we fought I'd become more worried about money even though Petros managers fee brought in a little money he'd long ago gotten into the habit of spending as much as he wanted Petra was now our manager he'd been pushing me for months and I gave in reluctantly I needed Petra because I felt he was the only person I could I could trust so I overlooked everything the flashy clothes the fast-talking Deborah Votto Barry and everyone else including Motown so right through it three weeks after two cases birth we arrived in Tokyo we kicked off our two-week tour Japan and the Philippines hardly any fans were waiting for us at the airport most of the shows were fine but some of the clubs we played like in Manila was small and dirty Pedro was out almost every night he insulted me when we were together in public he made me hate myself sometimes I saw my situation very objectively I'd made a mistake and it was my job to fix it at other times though my insecurities overwhelmed me in all I wanted was for petrol to love me and and care for me because petrol could be like two different people and I being a Pisces I began to think like two different people just to deal with them in June Motel finally released The Supremes first single in two years he's my man a sexy disco number the single and the album got very positive reviews and the renewed interest in The Supremes garnered us lots and lots of press and television appearances by summer all signs indicated that we really weren't going to have a hit he's my man wasn't out more than a couple of weeks before we could tell it wasn't going to receive adequate promotion despite all promises to promote us many key radio stations across the country didn't even receive the record much less get pushed to play it I took heart though because without any help from Motown the album and the single made respectable showings I'm still trying to figure out just what we did to motel I could only take perverse pleasure in noting the labels problems the Jackson 5 had just bled to go to epic Diane and Marvin were having trouble with their singles and Stevie Wonder was beginning another lengthy hold out for a better contract that summer we hired Fillmore and Geoffrey holder to redo our act Jeffrey was responsible for the Broadway hit the width and is the man in the 7up TV commercials extolling the virtues of Deon Cole or not it was a huge expense $60,000 coming out of our pockets but it was now or never [Music] [Music] our opening night in Athens Cisco basically went very well we got nice reviews and the new show the new gowns gave us a lift while we were there Flip Wilson was having a cocktail party I declined fearing what Petro would do he'd already torn up all my pictures of flip and destroyed my diary entries containing his name that night Petro came in and gave me the third degree he immediately assumed I had gone to see flip the next morning he announced now you and flip can be together I'm filing for divorce and I'll get custody of the Casa too silly as it sounds now I took his threat seriously then whenever Petro harped on how I was trying to attract men I reviewed by every word and gesture wondering did I really do that did it really look like that am i flirting soon the guilt about sex that society and my mother had passed on to me mixed with Pedro's archaic idea I began to believe I'd done something wrong I see now that the main reason I continued fighting a losing battle for The Supremes was that I felt alive only when I was with my daughter or singing having my career and her cousin gave me faith that my life would eventually work out right my heart breaks for women who are totally alone in an abusive marriage it's a hell you cannot emerge from unless you have you have some hope no matter how slight I thank God I had that like most abused women I protected myself by learning how to deal with my husband's insults and outburst I knew what upset him so I did all I could to prevent those things from happening with each abusive act however or cruel word I lost another bit of myself only after reflecting on the awful experience years later have I become clear what had happened to me and how it happened by late summer petrol had made headway with some of Motown's top people especially Suzanne de Paris who then headed the creative division of everyone there she seemingly put forth positive efforts on on The Supremes we have Suzanne saw to it that we got good material the best photographers and so on but she and Petro seem to work well together the company line one that many Motown historians and journalists have accepted unquestionably is that petrol caused the Supremes downfall in truth Motown had ruined the group before he came on the scene if nothing else Petro made it possible for us to continue though making many mistakes we still recorded some great music during that time he got us the best booking agents publicists accountants and attorneys part of Petros campaign to get around Motown included asking Diane to become takata's godmother growing up I'd always thought that each of my children would have two godmothers Diane and Flo but so much had changed I felt Diane would think I was using her because she was a star Pedro badgered me until I resented patching up things between Diane and me was important to him frankly I was surprised and very touched when she accepted the invitation to be to cast as godmother in early September we took our new act to England and even though the press roundly criticized us for being too slick and he's my man didn't even chart there our fans were out in droves after we finished the tour and we're about to leave for the states our European Motown affiliates asked us to stay over for an extra week or two to do radio and television shows by this time everyone's nerves were shot and some of our musicians even got angry and left Cyndi and Cherie complained bitterly that Pedro was disorganized and never told them anything until the last minute on which this I secretly agreed for example we were scheduled to perform at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles towards the end of the month and Pedro hadn't bothered to tell Cindy or Cherie that it was a benefit performance for which none of us would be paid they were obviously upset and understandably so it seemed everything was coming apart when I mentioned these problems to Pedro he always snapped sing and don't worry about the business the benefit was our first performance in Los Angeles in nearly three years so we were really psyched when we walked on stage to a half-filled house my heart sank we made well we made a few minor mistakes here and there but the audience still loved us thank God I needed The Supremes to be a group again but everything was working against that namely lack of money the real cream the only way any of us would make big money was to have a hit record as that possibility slipped away everyone started to become very edgy Cindy had changed since the last time she was in the group she was unhappy now divorced from Charles but I think she still loved him she couldn't seem to lose the weight she gained and on stage she appeared to be just going through the motions occasionally even flubbing with cues and lines Cindy felt we were ganging up on her staring at me she was snapping all right boss it hit me right between the eyes Diane how I hated feeling pushed aside by her ambition now the shoe was on the other foot my foot but it didn't fit it was getting harder for me to disguise my impatience with Cindy we had put off the decision to ask Cindy to leave long enough in late January 1976 Sherri Cindy and I played a small club in Toronto two wonderful reviews this turned out to be Cindy's last show with us and soon after we got home her departure was announced Cindy sherry and I had already begun work on our next album high energy for which Motown teamed us up with Brian and Eddie Holland Petro and I were driving through Beverly Hills and he was excitedly telling me about this great new singer he'd found Tuesday agreed a meeting was soon arranged with me Pedro Brian and Eddie Holland sherry and Susie I was really surprised at how short she was I mean it was shorter than sharing and at five feet four and a half inches I told over both of them my first thought was and I must admit it wasn't very nice all Cindy's gals will have to be cut down so they had been in show business most of her life she attended the professional children's school and High School for the Performing Arts this was the real-life setting for fame in New York City so they came with great credentials she first worked with Harry Belafonte and for a number of years she went or with Ray Charles as a real int more recently she's been a member of Stevie Wonder's wonder love just like Lynda Lawrence one thing the Supremes never wanted for was Talent ironically and as time passed and fewer people got to know the group we were actually better than ever technically and talent-wise although our latest LP high energy was already completed it was decided that Susie's voice would be overdubbed on two tracks high energy and the first single I'm gonna let my heart do the walking I'm gonna let my heart do the walking soon as a was the one who had that very high what is in it this made a great showing on the pop and black charts we were at Hazel's house sherry and Susie trying on some gowns that needed to be altered when hazel received a phone call she said Mary Flo has just died later I found she'd been drinking while on her medication the next day a blood clot blocked a major artery and her heart stopped I left immediately for Detroit where I went straight to Flo's house to see her family and children all Detroit seemed to be mourning Froese death the Detroit Free Press reported that the funeral would be held the following Saturday under such headlines as X Supremes to attend ballot rites and Diana expected the ceremony threatened to become a media circus so at the last minute it was decided to have the funeral a day early despite all attempts to keep the funeral plan secret word leaked out and even before the flowers were arranged around Flores coffin a thick line of fans wound around the corner and down the block within the next two hours over two thousand two hundred fans mourners family and friends feel the church to capacity the police presence outside was doubled and inside a dozen uniformed nurses stood by to help the overwrought it began to seem more like a show than a funeral around 2:30 someone announced from the altar the stars have asked you not to take pictures of them in the church which only fuelled the crowds anticipation when Stevie Wonder was led up the aisle to the front of the church a wild round of applause erupted suddenly Diane appeared surrounded by her bodyguards she started down the aisle then let out a loud sob dramatically swooning and stumbling until her bodyguards swept her to her seat now the crowd was on his feet hundreds of flashbulbs popping after nearly an hour of song prayer and sermons the Reverend said Diana and Mary would like you to join them in a moment of silent prayer I had had no idea that Diane had pre-arranged a tribute to Flo she took the microphone and said I believe nothing disappears and Flo will always be with us as I stood beside her stunned she passed me the microphone all I could muster through my tears was I loved her very much now over fourteen years later when I think about Flo's death I don't concentrate on the events that struck me so deeply that day the packed church the people tearing at the floral arrangements Dianne's grand entrance various conspicuous absence the sight of her three little girls michelle nicole and lisa so young not really comprehending the awful fate that their mother had met all those things remind me that Flo actually died and they become harder for me to focus on because Flo spirit is not dead for me I can still feel her now as I did when we were young together and that's how she'll always remain in my heart when I'm down all I do is think of her hearty laugh or imagine her rolling her eyes planting her hands firmly on her hips and saying honey like she's about to let me in on the greatest secret in the world to this day I'm totally mystified by the claims of some people including several of Flo's family that Dianne where I could have done something to save flow with money assuming I had it to give have saved her what Flo needed more than anything I now realize was a serious psychological therapy for her lingering after-effects of the rape at the age of 17 today this is such an obvious solution but it wasn't then the alcohol I have contended all along was to ease the emotional pain of that rape returning home to LA Pedro and I moved into our new home a beautiful mansion in Hollywood's exclusive Hancock Park District this was my dream house and although we probably shouldn't have bought it when we did Pedro and I fell in love with it it had 22 rooms seven bedrooms evany wood paneling throughout a large library and office a magnificent winding staircase that looked like something out of Gone with the Wind and a built-in three-story tall pipe organ this new home was more than a house to me like the first houses Diane Flo and I have bought in Detroit this one symbolized something inside the walls I felt safe and secure and I remember seeing it and thinking that this would be the house I'd raised my children in the house where I hoped petrol and I would settle our problems and grow old together Patrick however continued to come and go as he pleased while I stayed home decorating and cooking and planting a garden and playing with my baby together I've seen so many other women get themselves into this situation I remember looking at some of them and knowing what everyone was saying about their husbands thinking it could never happen to me but it had I decided to have one more go with this new group of Supremes if this didn't work I would take Pedro's advice and go solo Susie Green made her debut with us in April at the Royal Hawaiian hotel in Falls Church Virginia for the first time the supreme stage act was constructed as a trio of vocalists on an equal footing the reviews for our initial shows were very positive and it looked like we made the right choice in suzay we also appeared on lots of television programs but none of this could counteract the effects of Motown's lack of support there was again evidence that the label had not supplied review copies of the album and the singles to the industry in May we toured England again then went on to Germany Italy and France English fans and critics who'd found our last tour to Vegas II loved the new show so they drew notice for her voice and during the performance in London her rendition of he ain't heavy he's my brother got a 5-minute ovation one of the shows we taped was at the Jazz Festival in Montreux Switzerland right before the taping I decided I wanted to change my dress wear something different the one I put on was a sexy seed through number covered in all the strategic areas I mean nothing outrageous when paint or saw it he exploded beating me up and blackening my eye before I went on the stage I tried to cover it up with makeup and I pretended nothing had happened but everyone knew hazel sherry even the band the European tour was a success however when we got back to bachelors 3 in Fort Lauderdale ticket sales were so slow that some nights we did only one show instead of two why was I putting myself through this it was the same old story we needed the money about the only thing that cheered me up was to kesa she was beginning to walk and talk and she was so cute one evening Petra was up at motel and happened to run into Barry they went into the studio and Barry listen to some tracks from our new LP Mary Sheri and Sue say he seemed very pleased and told Pedro it was a very high quality that we needed the science seemed encouraging but it was always hard to know what very was really thinking Barry had recently told us that Motown wanted to manage the group again Petra was very hurt about this and I didn't know what to do the album our last came out in early fall initially it got more of a push than the others we were even on the cover of the trade magazine billboard for example but after a promising start the single you are my driving will bow on the National disco chart at number 29 sales fell off after a lot of thought Pedro and I decided to move the supremes bookings to Willy Morris booking agency one of our new agents got us an opening in Las Vegas on a bill with comedian Alan King it was a great break it was also just two weeks away at Pedro's insistence Motown finally came across with money for a new stage act and we rehearsed furiously in our new home for a full week it was utter chaos from noon until night but we were very excited and happy to be working however in the middle of rehearsals Mike Ross can called demanding that Petro and I attend a meeting at Motown that afternoon when we arrived Mike was there with Suzanne deep-ass chief publicist Bob Jones company lawyer Lee Young Jr and Susie's mother who was also her manager the gist of the meeting concerned sherry and Susie's dissatisfaction with Petros management I brought these girls in and now they were conspiring against me they didn't come in to the Supremes as owners but as employees they knew that as I learned later Motown was promising Suzy and sherry that it would give them creative freedom and label support if only it weren't for Pedro and me our opening in Las Vegas which should have been fabulous was another all-time low from the minute the curtain rose we knew the set wasn't right George face on our choreographer and director had to make so many changes in so little time we looked and felt like amateurs then came our medley of Supremes hits with the three of us in one dress this was a parody from the Broadway play hair where there should have been laughter there was stony silence once the number ended we struggled to get out of the one big dress but we couldn't get it off before the lights came on what an embarrassment one night I was show was so bad that people got up and walked out in the middle we had rearranged the hits medley but it was worse than ever petrol came into the dressing room before their second show and announced Mary is leaving the group this is it sherry and Suze a seemed genuinely shocked Mary is that what you want sherry asked I think she was trying to see if this was my idea or Pedro's I told her yes I was tired of the constant bickering the pettiness the embarrassment of it all the rest of the run cut short because of poor attendance just dragged on and on one bright spot in the show was when no matter what we did we received a loud enthusiastic response from one corner of the room we had no idea who these rapid fans were until after the show when the pointer sisters came backstage to visit no that's what I call true friends we spent hours and hours backstage just talking and playing Bid Whist and being generally really crazy we spent most of early 1977 overseas by late March we had played places like Germany El Salvador San Juan Mexico and England ironically our shows were getting better all the time at last the contracts were signed for The Supremes final farewells show Sunday June 12 1977 at the Royal Theater in London soon after I began to feel really tired all the time the least bit of excitement and I'd have to sit down I'd also noticed that my stomach was getting bigger at first I just figured I was eating too much and sleeping too little I vowed to take better care of myself not realizing I was pregnant with my second child earlier in the year we had announced at our fan clubs monthly newsletter that we would be appearing at one of Richard Nader's oldies shows this was held at New York City's Madison Square Garden on March 4th 1977 when first offered the date I seriously considered what appearing on an oldies but goodies show would mean the audience generally viewed these events as opportunities to stroll down memory lane in concert our 70s hits rarely got the same wild response as our older things almost anywhere else in the world a performer is respected for his talent and accomplishments in America your past accomplishments can actually kill you here we see no middle ground between superstar and has-been you're either one or the other regardless of the artistic merits of what you're doing today the night of the show was very exciting when we got backstage at the garden that night we could hear and thousands upstairs screaming as Dion finished his set we were confident they would love us one of our more devoted fans whispered in my ear Mearing girl I don't think you should go out there this isn't the Copacabana audience don't worry I answered we're going to go out there and sing our wigs off for them and they're going to love it we're doing tossing and turning in all sorts of old songs we open with our current disco hint you're my driving wheel and when the crowd was on its feet cheering and hollering I believed we had won them over when Suzie began singing her slow version of The Hollies he ain't heavy he's my brother the crowd cheered at first but by the end some people were booing it was bizarre for the next 20 minutes the boos just got louder and louder and meaning mean fights broke out around the arena between the Supremes fans who loved what we were doing and the old rock and roll fans who disapproved we tried to redeem ourselves with the greatest hits mentally but it was too late finally suzay sherry and I looked at one another and realized we had to get off the stage before a riot erupted a group of security men and a few diehard fans accompanied us back to our dressing rooms a scene like that was every performers nightmare but I never imagined that it would cut so deeply sherry and Susie Blaine Petro however the fault was really mine I should have known better my leaving the group brought me head-to-head with Motown feder was planning most of my legal strategy and hired an attorney who just a year before had helped the temptations get out of there Motown contract with their name and move on to Atlantic Records he was confident he could handle Motown probably get me the name and persuade the label to give me either a generous settlement a solo contract or even both I realized now that there might have been different approaches to take in any case the wheels at Pedro and this manager set into motion in 1977 have created consequences and I'm still dealing with today then came the Supremes last world tour which was dismal and depressing in almost every way sherry and Susie were not comfortable with me and since I was on my way out they became more critical of Pedro after a gig in Australia while sitting in our dressing rooms the subject of Motown's plans was sherry and Susie came up Pedro wasn't on this particular trip so we were a little more relaxed I said sherry when Diane left Motown stopped doing anything for The Supremes with me out of the way they'll do nothing for you will marry sherry said they promised us a lot and even allowing both Susie and me to write our own songs but leave me I told them Motown has no intention of pushing another group of Supremes but neither of them listened it was now June 12th and we were at the Royal Theater in Drury Lane in London with this heavy red velvet curtains and gold leaf decor the old theater had a wonderful dignified atmosphere unlike in the states where The Supremes were all but forgotten the English tweeted this final farewell performance as every bit the event that the 1970 farewell had been we all had the usual flowers and champagne and our closest friends and fans were all there to be The Supremes goodbye it was heavily covered by the media plus the BBC broadcast the show live that very same night I felt so many different emotions I decided just to go with the experience it was only going to happen once during the first show I started my solo how lucky can you get and suddenly I don't know where I started crying I was so choked up with emotion when I opened my mouth to sing nothing came out I stood there silently through the first verse with the music fan being on afraid I'd sob all the way through it I came in on the second person and saying my heart out I got one of the most wonderful ovations ever right before the second and last show the whole backstage area got as quiet as a funeral I tried to cheer everybody up and but inside I was sad too then it was time to go on hazel help you to my dress came here big hug I was five months pregnant I was radiant this time I was able to sing a song for you how lucky can you get without crying everything seemed perfect suddenly it was just me and I did all kinds of things on stage I had never dared tried before after our conductor Teddy Harris made a little speech about me I felt like I was in a dream I called for my daughter to Casa who titled on stage and a beautiful white flowing dress petros mother had given her I held her in my arms and as I saying she set besides me and hugged and kissed me I felt like there were only the two of us out there in our own world the big difference was that this wasn't the same old tired scared Mary Wilson I was someone else someone I knew deep down all along I could be we did three encores each to a standing ovation and flowers carpeted the stage as the crowd pressed to the front of the stage Teddy handed me a beautiful bouquet and made another little speech calling this the end of an era I am priest Sheri I'm Susie for the last time I hoped my bass player kissed me on the cheek and I could see Teddy had tears in his eyes it was beautiful and sad too when it was all over I actually felt relieved it was just three months after the Madison Square Garden disaster and suddenly here I was the toast of London everywhere I went people congratulated me and wished me well on my solo career I was approached by lords and ladies barkeep Satana bales and tramps cashiers at boots and heroines after the last show motels EMI Affiliate threw us a party at the Swank London disco monk berries this was really it my grand fairy all was over The Supremes were gone we spent the next few days in London where Pedro and I bought some antiques for the house in Hancock Park and we drove a rented green Mercedes to San Remo Paris the French Riviera and Rome taking a trip like this had been my lifelong dream traveling around Europe so I treasured every precious moment one night in Monte Carlo we strolled out the Hotel de Peru and stood in the square right across from the palace where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace resided looking up at the clear star-filled sky I thought well I ever experienced this kind of life again before I knew it my Grand Vacations was over and I was back in Los Angeles getting ready for my new baby and my new career I left the Supremes assured that all the business was taken care of tourists which had been booked months in advance were to be handled by Motown and William Morris Agency however when our agent informed Petro and me that some dates in South America had not been canceled and the new Supremes weren't doing them we panicked I felt that if Motown wanted The Supremes to fulfill these previously arranged commitments it just send the new Supremes Cheri suzay and the third girl will come up with another solution if we didn't fulfill the contracts we would be sued I was told since we needed the money I decided to find two background singers and get ready to go I had two days sandy was really happy to go bringing her son David along - Reggie Wiggins our former employee we found a third member Debbie Sharpe she had sung professionally with Oral Roberts world action singers so we called her and she was working a temporary job she auditioned on her lunch hour and by the time she got off work she was in Hazel worked out the myriad details it would take a miracle to put it all together but good all red haze as we called her she really came through we flew to Caracas Venezuela the next morning dead on our feet but all during the flight Debbie rehearsed the songs Andy Debbie and I went over our choreography in the airplanes aisles we arrived in Caracas defined and our gals had made it and the musicians charts and music sheets had vanished fortunately they all knew the music and later the gowns did show up but every moment was nerve-racking I was still working on the terms of my new contract with Motown as a soloist Pedro who'd stayed home to attend to the contracts warned all the promoters and television people we worked with not to announce us as these Supremes but as Mary Wilson of The Supremes a crucial distinction obviously Motown and sherry and Suzie didn't want a competing group out there which I understood because neither did I at the same time the dead I had assumed on behalf of The Supremes and Motown through The Supremes Inc was now hanging over my head not theirs and there was another technicality both Cindy and I were still under contract to Motown as Supremes confusing you bet despite everything that went wrong with this tour even Motown trying to stop it the small clubs my first time singing all the lead vocals and forgetting many of the lyrics to our supreme songs one of the shows there proved to be the greatest performance I'd ever given it's hard to describe the magic when you're on stage and and know that every note every gesture every nuance this is perfect this particular night in Buenos Aires Argentina the theatre was full and the crowd was very receptive from our travels the band was a little irritable and as I noted in my diary all of us were ugly tired people on stage the magic took over and as usual didn't meet all the problems seemed unimportant my baby was very heavy and kicked all the time especially when I was on stage but I drew on the pain and my baby all of it to make it work somehow it did for the first time in years I could stand on stage without feeling I was cheating the audience the South American tour completed we gratefully returned home but our money problems were still looming larger than ever and because of the misunderstanding of why I took this last group of Supremes out now put me at odds with Motown a quick settlement with Motown was my best bet but we knew that the label wouldn't simply just roll over to prepare for the possibility that there would be trouble Petro and my new attorney Marc Turk went to work gathering up all the old contracts back to the very beginning and putting together a case against Motown my official complaint against Motown was lifting an extremely complicated boiling down to several crucial points that Motown had illegally acted as both my manager and agent that because of various aspects of my contracts the label could not record another act under the name The Supremes and that as the sole remaining original group member I should be granted ownership of the name there was also the question of whether or not my contracts with Motown were even legally valid because I was a minor in 1961 my mother signed my contract on my behalf Motown asked her to sign an addendum to that contract stating that she had read and understood the agreement and further guaranteed my performance under it despite the fact that everyone knew my mother was functionally illiterate and could not read the papers she was signing because all our subsequent Motown contracts were essentially extensions of the original if the original proved unenforceable for any the consequences for Motown would be great all through the talk that took place that spring between Motown and my attorney the issue of who owned the name Supremes was never settled back in 1974 you would Abner convinced me to sign the deal giving me 50% of the name now I still was entitled to 50% the catch was that even though I technically owned half the rights to the name Motown retained all the rights to exploit the name what Motown was trying to do make it impossible for me to build upon my past 16 years of my career by denying me any use of the name this was exactly what it did to Florence there was also the fact that regardless of Motown's claim it did not have another group of Supremes waiting in the wings a group whose reputation would somehow be compromised by my identifying myself as a supreme as a fall 1977 Sherry and Sue's a still had not found a third girl technically sherry and Suzy were still under contract to perform for my corporation Supremes Inc as with most legal matters there were endless postponement and delays leaving me in limbo for month says Motown knew I wasn't earning a great deal of money we suspected it was trying to wear me down Petro and I had lots of expenses on our new home record sales were very low there were no concert dates in sight and we were paying an attorney nearly a thousand dollars a day to pursue my case it's very easy for a large corporation like Motown to just drag things along knowing that eventually you will be bled to death financially by legal fees in his depression and desperation Pedro continues spending money feeling he had failed me and the group neither of us could really bear the thought of how far we had fallen one day my life was working and I was happy now that seems so long ago and worse I knew in my heart that part of it was my fault I wanted so badly to hate Motown for everything but I had to face the facts I was responsible for where I was I just hadn't had the right advisors and I didn't have all the answers now I was truly paying the price once the press began covering the complaint I'd filed against Motown people I hadn't seen or spoken to in months started popping by ginger ale was a bigger surprise it's the right thing to do she said supportively and I'm glad you're doing it not long after I learned that sherry and Susie were going to release an LP as a dual there would be no more Supremes my prayers had been answered and I had been right about Motown on September 29th 1977 my second child and first son Pedro antónio Ferreira was born I was overjoyed to have my little son and yet very sad once I regained my health after my second caesarean I had to get right back to work while Cindy and Debbie had been great on the South American tour I needed new girls for my solo act in the end I found two wonderful ladies Karen Jackson who was to be with me for the next eight years worked as a telephone operator and had song with a few local bands Karen Ragland was an act to his head singer from Virginia both were single attractive and dedicated by the time we stepped out I was a full-fledged soloist and they were great backups dates for my first tour were getting moved around and some were even canceled as Motown brought its weight to bear on promoters threatening who knows what if they build up as The Supremes it wasn't really hard to imagine what killing my solo career if this kept on much longer as always my English promoters Barry and Ginny Marshall stood by me every step of the way and we prepared to leave for a year and tour of Europe it was early December around 6 a.m. in the morning and I was asleep in bed when Petro came home after being out all night he opened the bedroom door then stormed through the lords room looking in the bathroom and in the closets like he expected to find someone there as I lay there taken aback by his bizarre behavior he came to the bed and suddenly toward the covers off me who was here he demanded angrily his eyes were wild when I didn't say anything he grabbed me and pushed me into the bathroom forcing me to look at myself in the mirror tell me who was here he slapped me hard across the face and I felt my eyes swell up immediately then I saw the gun Petra had kept it in the house for protection I'd never been more frightened in my life yet inside I was strangely calm in that split second I thought about how silly I had been all my life to be so afraid of everything else after several moments of me insisting that there was no one else there I saw his face change and he put the gun away I said to him then you will never find another woman like me and for the first time in my life I believed it after camouflaging my freshly black and eye with makeup I I went to stay with my mother now living in Los Angeles she was sad but asked no questions in the end a few days later I went home and prepare a dinner I just couldn't see how to get away from Pedro without him either hurting or killing me or or taking to Casa and Pedrito and still Pedro gave me something I needed I believe that their teachers and Pedro was a teacher I had not learned my lesson their divorce wasn't something I could deal with just then [Music] in early 1978 things were so desperate financially that we couldn't even pay our bills payroll taxes were due the musicians were again threatening to quit and everyone wanted a raise once again I was back on the road working just to pay the bills the only good thing about all this ridiculous touring was that I was gaining more confidence on stage Cindy had done a fine job of training both Karen's so we were really ready for our tour of Europe when we performed at officers clubs and a lot of Swank discos the tour was supposed to have gone on to England but Motown squashed that tour and caused a lot of cancellations in several other countries each cancellation dealt another financial blow but fortunately our loyal staff hazel and many other people who worked with us stayed on after Europe we went to Spain there an Englishman arrived at our hotel in Madrid with some legal papers Motown was suing petrol and me for among other things using the name Supremes we fought but eventually Motown prevailed and chose were abruptly cancelled we found out later that motels people not only said that we weren't The Supremes but that I was not the real Mary Wilson if I had ever wondered how long they might stoop I now knew one night in February in 1978 I found myself in a 15th century hotel in Wales called the Royal Oak in it was magnificent it had a roaring fireplace a pub and very friendly innkeepers there I started writing my first poke dream girl my life is a supreme I felt calm and relaxed and I recall it was it was sort of a magical place there I had a brief respite from petrol which I really needed I began to fear him more and more and as more and more things went against us he became irrational and more intent on hurting me one morning a telegram from our lawyer arrived it contained a strange reference to a lower price I called petrol in London and asked him about it he broke the bad news we had to sell the house in Hancock Park he and all our accountants and hazel saw no other way unless we filed for bankruptcy I tried to figure out a plan to save my beloved house but we simply couldn't afford it anymore on March 8 1978 just two days after my 34th birthday our house was sold I remember lying in bed in London and crying and crying and crying and would I always be fighting a losing battle while I was in England hazel had called to tell us that Motown wanted to sell and offer me a solo contract we were off on a six-week summer tour of New Zealand Australia and the Orient Petro stayed behind to try to finalize some of the business details we were fighting all the time and by now everyone who worked for us knew about the beatings meanwhile in the press writers and fans attacked petrol for butchering my career coming home from the tour in Australia and not having a home was one of the biggest donors I've ever felt petrol took an apartment in Westwood that cost $900 a month I hated it they didn't allow children but my dear mom loved having them with her until we actually found a place to live I stayed many nights at Mom's as petrol and I started having a lot of terrible fights it was over a year since I don't fish Lee left The Supremes bit by bit we were finally able to negotiate my solo deal with Motel one condition of the contract was that Motown and I agreed to drop our suits against each other by dismissing our respective charges with prejudice we each legally forfeited our rights to bring up those charges again ever in the future in other words Motown could never contest my using The Supremes name again and I could never bring them back to court on any of my charges years later I would learn that I had a stronger case than I knew but right then all I could think about was making a solo career work and strengthening myself emotionally and financially so that I could finally lead paint row and get on with my life all this was complicated by the fact that I was again pregnant with my third child for many women their abuse is a well known secret friends and relatives might suspect or even know what's going on but no one no one says anything or acknowledges the truth too many people find it impossible to understand the battered woman's plight they can't sympathize with her until she does what they think she should do leave her abuser by now Pedro seemed unconcerned about who might know that he was beating me he'd beat me up just before his show and I'd have to go onstage with a pound of makeup just to disguise the bruises he would go several days or weeks and not even touch me then the least little thing and he'd explode still on stage I projected an aura of cool confidence and control but offstage I was living a nightmare of total degradation finally in early 1979 Pedro my lawyers and motel came to terms and I got my solo recording contract the next thing I knew I was back in Motown Studios recording my first solo album with Hal Davis hell and all his staff of writers worked diligently just to come up with the right material to make my album a hint we finished the album just two weeks before I gave birth to my youngest son Rafael so rare the album Miri Wilson was released in August of 1979 and I was really pleased with it on August 28th 1979 I made my true American debut at Manhattan's hot nightclub New York New York the press came out in full force and the room was packed with celebrities and fans there were all kinds of stylists running around backstage helping me one came in obviously excited girl guess who just came in Miss Ross and I think she's on her way up here the minute Diane walked in the door she embraced me and was very warm and expressed genuine happiness over my debut that night she wasn't playing the star she stood back and allowed me to have the center of attention I sing a medley of Supremes hits and when I hit the final notes of how lucky can you get and heard the audience's applause I knew they really wanted me to make it you look so beautiful give me some of that glitter you got on your girl I said leaning forward to kiss Diane's cheek Diane would you like to sing the song with me please now remember I'm singing the background you sing the lead okay we trade it off a couple of lines of the songs sharing the microphone with that the house came down after the show everyone streamed stairs for a party that lasted all night long before I joined them Diana and I had a few minutes of private Girl Talk in the club kitchen this was one of those rare moments together she was really there for me as I've always known after a six-day engagement we left for England there we toured through October before leaving for the Middle East throughout this period I toured exclusively in Europe overseas I was recognized as a soloist instead of just an ex supreme and I could earn many times more money than I might expect in the United States I need a huge hit record in America to be booked in the kind of venues I'd played regularly everyplace else in the world in 1980 after having performed in Asia Poland Tunisia Italy and the Middle East the Far East with my husband three children and mother all in tow I started working on my second solo album my contract with Motown called for me to record two LPs per year over a period of five years Petra thought it would be good for me to work with someone from outside of Motown and he and Motown's English representative found Gus dudgeon the producer responsible for virtually all of Elton John 70s hits I was very excited about these songs Motown really didn't like any of them with that the company showed me the door giving me the tapes and dropping me from the label at the end of the year it seems that the label had given me a solo deal just to get me to drop my lawsuit against them leaving Motown was one of the saddest events in my life even though I had long since ceased being a member of the Motown family what foolish little girls we must have been to believe that Berry and Motown would always take care of us and my personal life things were changing too in late 1979 I had given Petra one year to clean up his act he made some attempts to change but couldn't throughout 1980 the abuse continued and his violent sexual aggression became unbearable I knew that if I could just hold on a few more weeks it would soon be over the sheriff was going to serve Petra with divorce papers on New Year's Day 1981 the week before the Petra had again beat me up so badly that my face was bruised and swollen beyond recognition in fact I couldn't even leave the house when little Pedrito first saw me he exclaimed mommy do you know who you look like no honey I replied The Incredible Hulk mommy you look just like the Incredible Hulk despite everything I had to laugh we both looked at my face in the mirror and the baby was right I mean it was horrible what a New Year's day I heard a knock at the door I stood in another room half relieved half terrified Petra said nothing until the sheriff left I stood a tense waiting get out he shouted I had started to gather up the children when he stopped me no no you're not taking my children he said I panicked and I started crying then I thought for a moment Petra wasn't the kind of man to change his ways for his children though he loved him very much I called my sister Catherine to come and get me it killed me to see my three babies standing against a sliding glass door waving bye-bye me crying I got into the car hoping and praying that I was right I was with my mother only a few days before petrol returned the children to me it was one of the happiest moments of my life despite everything I felt like the luckiest person alive from that moment on I wasn't really on my own now that I had filed for divorce I needed a home for me and my children I had to come up with a down payment on the house which I was buying from my friend Margie this was a dilemma because all my cash was tied up in my marriage I didn't want to stay in my mother's house for the rest of my life so I tried to come up with a plan when mom said why don't you just call Diane and ask her to loan you the money I thought to myself why not I was damn lucky to have a friend like Diane oh my god in a moment like this my timing was perfect Diane was playing at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas so I picked up the phone and I told her that I really needed to talk to her we made plans for me to come to Vegas and talk one night after her show she agreed to give me the loan and over the next two years I repaid the loan with interest as she hadn't requested my marriage over I turned my full attention to my career and my children without a record label and with the family to support I was back working all over the world my new backup singers now were Gloria Scott and Karen Jackson Karen Jackson was one of my most faithful background singers in fact she reminded me of myself when I was a young supreme several others came and went over the years including Robin Alexander Debbie Crofton Teddy Harris stayed with me as did bassist Duke Billingsley and drummer Jerome experiment I've always appreciated their loyalty in fact it made my job a lot easier when I saw Michael did it's Broadway play Dreamgirls I had no doubt that it was based on The Supremes I set motionless as I watched our life story unfold on stage I loved to play which I've now seen over nine times around this time someone at Motown figured that it would be a good idea to get the Supremes back together Susan depends and I talked about Motown's plans for a possible Supremes reunion there was never any plan to ask Diane to join it was out of the question if the group reformed it would be sending sherry and me however this never materialized the motel produced television special Motown 25th yesterday today and forever taped in April 1983 was a once-in-a-lifetime event billed as the night everyone came back it was truly magical the show's most talked about and eagerly anticipated event was a promised Supremes reunion it would be our first appearance together in over 13 years this event was a big feather in suzanne underpasses camera because she had done the impossible coaxed dozens of acts to return to Motown even those such as Marvin Gaye The Jacksons Michael Jackson Mary Wells the Four Tops the temptations Diane and I who had at one time or another left the label the details were finally settled when I arrived at the Pasadena Civic Center for rehearsal that day Dyanne greeted both Cindy and me with a cocktail party hug and quick pecks on the cheeks for the rest of the evening Cindy and I might as well have been invisible but because we had not had lots of time together she and I found a few minutes to go over a few of the final details of our performance I was given a brief speech saluting motels musicians and songwriters the minute I read the self-serving text prepared for me I knew what I had to do with the help of my friend Jim lobes I had to write my own the taping began and the show was magnificent Marvin and his last major television appearance of his life was inspiring the tips and the tops were fantastic together and Michael Jackson brought down the house with Billy gene for my speech I wore a tight black dress that glittered with long silver beads designed by Tony chase and ignoring the teleprompter I had lived my own heartfelt message I couldn't be here tonight without mentioning some of the people who are not with us I began and then named Paul Williams of the temptations Mary's parents mom and pops Gordy and of course Flo my speech was directly from the heart and I received a thunderous round of applause before the last number our final reunion I took Cindy aside and said remember this is our reunion and for once all three of us are going to get an equal play if Diane takes a step forward we step forward as well while I was waiting in the wings Diane started her song ain't no mountain high enough and then went directly into our number someday we'll be together she called Mary sending as if wondering where we were Cindy endured from stage right to a huge round of applause and and then I let her get to the middle before making my entrance when Diane announced this is Cindy birdsong I did my proud booster project struts and she says that's Mary Wilson the crowd went crazy at last The Supremes were together on stage again I never knew I could be so happy and so proud and thrilled and then attempting to distant herself from us she took two steps closer to the audience as agreed Cindy and I stepped two paces forward to Diane again moved forward we followed never a single inch behind her the third time it happened Diane turned and forcefully shoved me aside the audience gasped appalled Diane's eyes widened in shock at the realization that I wasn't about to back down and that all these people had just witnessed her little tantrum she got so flustered she lost her place in the song so I an attempt to save our spot I sang a line thinking Diane would compose herself and assume the lead again in a few seconds while I kept singing the lead she proceeded to talk to Barry who was out in the audience and and treated him to join us on stage so I said hey Barry yeah come on down I said all this while the music was still going on with that comment Diane grabbed my hand and pushed the microphone away from my face it's been taken care of she said the audience gasped and I was told later that Susanna de pez panicked and had to send Smokey Robinson out to defuse the crisis in seconds the stage was completely filled with all the other artists and The Supremes reunion was over Diane had given the media that catfight they were praying for and they licked their collective chops and delight I have never been so mad at her in my entire life just about 10 seconds of someday we'll be together was snipped out of the special and they build this debacle as the reunion of The Supremes what a sad travesty to further get my goat they also scissored out my entire speech then later that year I got a call from Motown saying that the Motown 25th special had been such a success they now wanted to distribute it as a video cassette at first I was excited that would be great they wanted me however to sign a release with a favorite nation clause meaning that all the artists would get a minimum scale for their appearances plus a tiny percentage the original performance had been a charity event to raise money for sickle cell anemia not motel doing a TV special is one thing but putting on a video for profit is another I felt the artists as well as Motown should profit after all it was we who had donated our services I said I wanted to renegotiate my agreement for the video they flat-out refused naturally I sued them and they in turn counter sued me after having spent two decades of being a supreme I was now a free person to do as I wished and the 1980s felt me constantly working doing all sorts of wonderful new things performing auditioning for Broadway parts and expanding into other areas that summer I sang the national anthem in the Disney film tiger town starring Roy Scheider and also at the suggestion of my good friend Bill Cosby whom I had opened for in Lake Tahoe I auditioned for the part of his wife on The Cosby Show this was also a time where I donated a lot of my services to charities as always I took part in celebrity charity events I have been able to lend my name and my time to a wide range of causes including substance abuse sickle cell anemia the homeless aids and such organizations as the Hart Foundation the Starlight and make-a-wish programs the United Negro College Fund the Bill Cosby illiteracy program and Dionne Warwick's AIDS Foundation and more recently one of my favorite charities Renee and recasts tennis tournaments to help hispanic needy children what I heard in 1984 that Diane was booked at Caesar's Palace the same week I was appearing at the sands in Vegas I became very excited her name loomed above the Vegas Strip and huge letters on her hotels Niel and Mark II and my name topped the massive marquee at my hotel Mary Wilson now appearing at the sands I was Mary Wilson headliner Diana and I had had no contact since the motown 25th special in fact our relationship had run hot and cold over the years and I never knew what to expect as odd as it might sound to most people though I still love her she and Flo will always have a special place in my heart regardless of the appearances one night however I said to my friends John Christie and Tony what the hell why don't we just go on over to the Caesars and see what's happening we were walking from my dressing room to the casino when I heard Mary Mary it was Diane out of wait to see me we embraced and she said that she and her dad mr. Ross and a friend of hers were on their way to a club restaurant that Dionne Warwick owned and would I like to join her my two friends and I went along and had a wonderful evening when the evening was over Diane and her father got into her limo while John and I rolled to the sands with her friend the car dealer in his car that was the last time Diane and I were together as friends shortly after this friendly evening Diane apparently decided long before my broke dream girl came out that somehow I was her rival in 1985 Motown produced a television special Motown returns to the Apollo a tribute to all the Motown and other R&B acts who perform there over the years The Supremes had played the Apollo many times Smokey Robinson Martha and the Vandellas Stevie Wonder The Four Tops and Diane were all invited back by Motown to relive the old days I however was not I guess it was because of my behavior during the Motown 25th I attended as a paying guest and when Bill Cosby the evenings master of ceremonies spotted me he said what are you doing sitting down there you should be up here but later in the show bill introduced Stevie Wonder he was performing his new single part-time lover also he was backed by what they they called an all-star backup group The Four Tops smoking and his background singers Plus Boy George was also singing to do it bill looked out over the audience and asked are there any more background singers out there as I was sitting in the front row he said how about you he came down and helped me on stage during one of the commercial breaks there I joined the other groups when it was over one of the top sex courted me back to my seat of course except for a teeny glimpse of my face and couldn't be edited out none of this appeared in the final show a friend of mine who works at Motown told me that they were going crazy trying to edit me out all together I wish I could have been there one thing that has kept me going is knowing that there are people around the world who love The Supremes and me and Diane Edie flow in terms of fans and friends I have been truly blessed I knew they were out there but the real proof came when my first book dream girl my life as a supreme was published in 1986 it was a thrill to see the name Mary Wilson and the word supreme back on the top ten only this time it was a book on the national bestseller list so much has occurred in the last couple of years and like in 1987 the old Hitsville building in Detroit was officially acknowledged with a State Historical Marker the Motown Historical Museum was finally a reality people fly from all over the world just to see what that building was like while appearing in a play called beehive in Windsor Ontario which is just across the water from Detroit Michigan I arranged to meet a local reporter a camera crew and several fans at the Detroit Museum this was going to be a great tour down memory lane for me but one of the first things I noticed was that The Supremes were conspicuously absent from the front window display as I walked through the rooms and hallways that had been my second home I felt hurt and and sad the tour guy heard - The Supremes as Diana Ross and her Supremes one displayed photograph other Supremes that was taken on our 1966 - of the Orient show just Diane and me in the original the three of us are standing side by side with Flo in the middle in October 1987 I received a letter it was announced that The Supremes were to be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the Beatles Bob Dylan the Drifters and the Beach Boys since The Supremes had never won a Grammy I wasn't about to miss this event as the date for the ceremonies drew closer I began to write my acceptance speech you know music history and the record business in general still a court the Supremes far less respect and I believe we deserve I'm sure part of it is because we were viewed as not being creative that is to say we didn't write our own songs like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder but another part of it I believe was Motown's doing for years and years Motown had sought to make the Supremes disappear and Diane shadow and I was sorry to admit it had nearly succeeded but on January 20th 1988 I flew to New York City and checked into my room at the Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue the whole place was already buzzing with excitement I ran into Little Richard the paparazzi were outside at the appointed hour my publicist chase Schwartz and date mark bingo ex courted me downstairs to the cocktail party there I was nearly blinded by the flashbulbs and dozens of paparazzi from every major newspaper and magazine in the country and since I was the only female inductee to arrive I was treated like the belle of the ball it's Diane coming this evening one reporter asked shoving a microphone in front of me I really couldn't say I answered I can only speak for myself and say that I am thrilled to be accepting this honor tonight and I really was the cocktail party ended and we all filed into the ballroom to find our places for the thousand dollar a plate dinner and ceremony J Schwartz ran to our table to say that Lisa Flo's daughter had arrived but the airline lost her luggage I excused myself and ran to help her she was standing in the hallway very upset aunty Mary what am I going to do I don't have a thing to wear I naturally was never at a loss for outfit so I said just come upstairs with me I have the perfect thing for you we rushed up to my suite I threw out everything I could find and she found this great dress she said I'll wear this aunty Mary she looked wonderful and a simple black dress I gave her she had Flo stacked us bearing long pointed chin and study gaze as I looked at Lysa I wished her mother could see her now all set now let's go back downstairs I said you're going to look great on stage your mother would be so proud of you we heard back to the table and as I was just sitting there looking around I spotted be recording making his way across the room as I watched him cross the room I thought right is right and there is no way I can let Barry go the entire evening without acknowledging me or paying respects to Lysa he's not going to get out of this ballroom without looking me in the eye so as he passed our table I reached out and grabbed his sleeve oh hi he said you look beautiful tonight he always said that I wonder what he really expected Thank You Barry I said this is Lisa Florence's daughter nice to meet you he said I wondered if he saw the resemblance after a few more words he returned to his table we did not speak again for the rest of the evening Lisa and I stood backstage as Little Richard began making his speech about The Supremes he was hilarious I had to laugh when he said I loved The Supremes so much because they remind me of me they dressed like me all spent dressing like me for years honey you all know that and they also do Mahalo whoo he had the crowd laughing and we were just dying back there but he also said some very kind things about the group and about us as individuals the first women in rock and roll are The Supremes to me he said there has never been anything like them and I don't think there ever will be I am proud to present to you Miss Mary Wilson of the Supremes the band struck up you keep me hanging on and I walked across the stage to the podium with Lisa stopping once to do the stomp gesture stop first of all I began I'd like to talk about the fact that I was really privileged to have song with two really wonderful people Diane and Flo I'm very proud that everyone has given us this honor and I'm very happy that Flo's daughter could be here to see how much we loved her it was my wish of course that Diane be here but we must all recognize that people have to live their lives and there comes a time in a star's life when you really have to assess what's important to you and I would say that perhaps says Diane has received so many many accolades in her life and had so much success she probably has felt that she's married she just had a child and this is something that is very very important to her and I respect the fact that maybe she saw fit to stay with something very personal a personal achievement more than a public achievement this is one of those rare moments in a person's life and in history that we all dream of and like I wrote in my book dreams do come true sometimes people have just to keep dreaming we all hope that the world is looking in when we receive our and that the world can share in the moments of happiness we each receive I'm told that in order to be eligible to receive an award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame you had to have recorded some 25 years ago while I was 6 when I started it's very obvious I'm sure it was because of one young man Barry Gordy who was there for us we had a place at Motown to go and I'm very happy to say he gave us that opportunity and we cannot forget holland-dozier-holland whose music still lives on today I ended my speech saying Florence Diane and I shared a dream a success that you were all looking in on throughout the world and I certainly hope that you you were able to see the hopes and desires that we had in that it helped you lives along the way I'd like to thank the directors of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for honoring us at this moment and we can all remember that rock and roll will never die as long as we we the people the artists are out there to make it I thank you very much Lisa Lisa spoke softly but with such dignity saying I would like to say that I'm very pleased to be here tonight representing my mother I'd like to thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for inducting my mother thank you she was a doll the photographers are all went wrong as we pose for photographs with Little Richard and Atlantic Records chairman Edmund Aragon then everyone sat down for the final induction the Beatles after that began a large and initially unorganized jam session among the dozens of people on stage in addition to the inductees Elton John Billy Joel Mick Jagger Bruce Springsteen Neil Young Nile Rodgers Jeff Beck Peter wolf Dave Edmunds and Julian Lyndon it seems so symbolic of the record industry and rock and roll in general that the only two women on stage were Yoko Ono there to accept her late husband John Lennon's award and me but the jam turned out to be the highlight of the evening for me I sing stop in the name of love would Benny King and Yoko helping on background vocals was hilarious I got her to join me in our traffic cop stop choreography making her a supreme for the night she was terrific then I did a lot of backup singing with Mick Jagger and that was really fun he is wild while it was a very special evening it was also one of the status in my life except for a few friends I known for many years such as Ringo George Harrison Elton Paul Shaffer and the Drifters hardly anyone else spoke to me that evening it drove home something I had always known which was that despite all my efforts and through all those years the record industry recognized only one supreme Diane maybe it's because I'm a Pisces that I can have two totally different reactions to the same situation that evening I felt like two different people one Mary Wilson was hurt and mad because of how she was being treated the other was happy thrilled and honored to be saluted what I felt that night was deeper and more important to me it had taken me a lifetime but I finally knew in my heart that no one no one could make me feel less than I was whatever hurt I felt I acknowledged and accepted the difference between it and so much of my life before was then I didn't let it push me or frighten me now I now knew who I was and what I'd done and at last I could honestly say that was all that mattered in the first days of 1990 I called Barry Gordy and said look Barry after nearly 20 years of lawsuits and arguments I'm tired of fighting over the Supremes name the fight had already caused me more than a million dollars and would probably caused hundreds of thousand more before it was over realistically I had to consider the financial needs of my family before setting off on what might have been another legal wild goose chase I made up my mind that on my birthday March 6 1946 1990 I would change the course of my life it was a hard decision but I made it we finally came up with a satisfactory agreement and I signed away my rights to the name Supremes forever yes yes I was sad but I was also relieved for the first time in my life I didn't have to fight anymore I'm still traveling all over the world singing and performing and meeting new people I tried new things all the time but I never tired of singing The Supremes songs there's always going to be a great place in my heart for The Supremes I stayed with the group through all the ups and the downs and as much as I often felt hurt and defeated I've reached Heights few of us dare dream but that I feel blessed and through it all my supreme faith has been put to the test yes dreams do come true [Music] you

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Published: Thu Sep 06 2018