The Supremes (Mary Wilson)

0:03Well, we're good now. No, that's all that matters. How are you? I'm just a little tired because we flew in this morning quite early. Oh, really? I didn't you know get here to 12 So we were up late at the show there and but it was good. Where were you last night? I was in Winnipeg. Okay up here in Canada. Very nice. Mm-hmm. How's the tour going? Oh, it's going really well Good. Yeah, but just sometimes you know these type of things they get a little Tiring you know Security, yeah, no tell the check it in check it out. But anyway, it's it's the shows have been just tremendous Awesome. Well, what's a set list like for you? I mean you have so many hits you couldn't possibly go through them all well No, well, you know, it's not really good to do all the hits I mean, I don't think you know because people need other things from you

0:50So I do a quite a sizable amount of the hits, you know, stop baby Love love child reflection. You can't hurry. Love you keep me going. So I do, you know a good number of them But then I did sing a lot of other Contemporary songs, you know by people like Sting. Oh, no way what songs are you doing? Oh, I can't give it all away But I did do some of King's thing and some Rolling Stone sometimes Stevie Wonder, you know I know it is a very varied kind of show. That's cool You must play some of the old some of your old hits as well Not the hits though, but you must have favorites that were never singles that you know kind of B size No, I don't do a lot of B size. No, do you have any favorites that are though that never really, you know became one of the massive tunes

1:35Oh, I don't know. I don't really think about it No, I mean, you know, it's amazing because people assume that you sit around listening to your songs. I listen to everybody else I don't really listen to Supreme because I sing them every night, you know, it's that kind of thing very nice Has dream girls help boost ticket sales? Have you noticed that is that kind of tied into things? I don't know I don't I Know there is a heightened awareness because of the dream girl situation, but the audiences have always been fairly nice You know, so it probably has gotten helped a little bit Okay. How did you feel about the movie? Do you think it purchase? I know it wasn't exactly it was not it was not the story Other siblings, let me say that out up front. Okay, you know, it really wasn't they they kind of used our image and

2:25Legacies and things of that nature to to you know to make the movie and the play But it wasn't really the story of the Supremes that is yet to be written It's still yeah my book as well, but it still was a good movie, you know It's just that if it was supposed to be on the Supremes there were you know, it really wasn't I mean it was about it was Kind of they did use our You know image but it was not the story let's put it that way. Okay. I heard you said Eddie did a great Wilson picket though Yeah, yeah Well, I mean he did a great job of seeing Like those guys those R&B singers, you know, not just Wilson picket, but Wilson was one of them, you know, he was he could have been

3:13Any of those R&B singers of that day he just did a tremendous job I thought he was great I'm wondering about the show tonight and and your tour in general I know you did the dare to dream lectures as well. Does that come out in the show or is it just all music? Well, it's all music but I mean I still have the show filled with my sort of my Just my my essence, you know what I mean? So you get you do get when you walk away I think people leave feeling that they've gotten a well-rounded sort of Show that gives a little uplifting as well as the music, you know as well as a visual with the gowns, you know And it's it's people have said that they've likened it to You know, the Las Vegas show on away. Yeah, but you know what?

4:00I also notice that there's a dinner theater around here called stage West Yeah, and I was here in Calgary many years ago And I did at the play here there at stage West called beehive. Okay. Yes I just it just dawned on me. I've been in this area before How long ago was that it was I think it was like in the late 80s because my I it was doing the holidays I brought my my sons here for the New Year's and we went to Lake Louise and we skied and all that kind of That's great. Yeah, I have fun memories up the area. Nice. Are you touring with any of your family right now? Or is it just just my band and I got four guys and two singers with me. Okay Do you have a horn section to well, you know, usually we pick up the local local horn

4:50Oh nice. Yeah, so we have some local musicians who have a percussion and the horn section But the rhythm is all my guys that travel with me nice and guys from the old Motown days No, no, no, they're not from that. Okay, and but I did just work with the funk brothers. No way. Yeah It was great. I'm working on some new material. No, no, no, no, I did a show with them Oh and it was great great because they you know, they're older guys. Yeah, and they still play Play the music just like like they did on the record. So it's just a wonderful I did about eight songs in the middle of their set with them That's amazing and they so it's always a pleasure to work with them because it just brings back so many memories I can imagine it must have been just amazing back in the day to recording everything at the exact same time

5:39It's not like it is now. Oh, yeah, exactly. We all in the studio at the same time so much fun Yeah, I can imagine how did um Holland dozier and Holland bring songs into you guys was it was there a lot of stuff that was scrapped or was it all just This is it songs that were you know, not major but those songs What what the company record company does is to put them out now in compilations, you know So you'll see a lot of songs that we know were recorded back in the day But just didn't make it and then you kind of understand why Yes, yes, yes, are you working on anything new I know the last solo record is what about 15 years ago Yes, yes, but I really am working on CD right now Okay, and I don't have a name for it, but it's all original material. Nice. It's all me

6:26and It's not people that what kind of music is it it's really hard to describe it But it is contemporary and I would say kind of adults music too as well, but still Very wonderful music. So I'm very happy about it should be out later in the year Oh great. I can't wait to hear it And so at the show though I I have some CDs and DVDs that I've made Throughout my career and I usually usually sell them at the concerts and all but they're kind of cute, too That's great. Is it gonna sound I know you toured with chubby checker. Well, I do I do shows with other people You know, they're not really tours, but you know, it's one off dates. I work with chubby Sometimes sometimes I work with the four tops. Sometimes I work with the temptations

7:14I've done some shows with Martha and the vandalism. So but they're just usually one off. Okay I was just thinking cuz chubby has a new record. He called in not too long ago talking about it in that Have you heard his new one? It's amazing. It's it's it's on rack. I could not pull it doesn't even sound like him It's check it out sometime. Yeah, okay I know you're big against bands stealing bands names and you mentioned the temptations and the four tops It can't be the original members anymore though. Can it? Oh, well, yes, as long as there's one member in it Okay, you know and so with the temps it's Otis Williams who actually formed the group I mean he actually okay. He is the guy who put them all together So I mean, you know, but sometimes it's not necessarily the guy who sings out front the lead singer So, you know, it's that way and with the four tops used to have Duke Faker

8:01Of the original band. Okay I'm wondering now your plans for the summer. I know you you're basically playing every day in June. I notice that on your website I know remind me at least it's in the same city though. So you're not flying around right? Right? It's New York City I'm going to be performing at Great hotel called the Regency Hotel. Oh, yeah Stein's and what's great about this particular show. I'm there for two weeks. I'm doing my my jazz saloon set Oh, wow, so I call it up close. It's unlike the show that I'm doing here in Calgary It's more of the standard material ballots and things of that nature So I don't have a you know, it's not gonna be a rock and roll show. Yeah, just you and a piano maybe something like that

8:47Yes. Yes. Okay. Do you play anything? You doubt you're in there. No, I don't okay. I just bought a piano. So my grandchildren and I are going to take piano lessons Oh, that'll be nice. Yeah, that'll be nice. Yeah, how old are your grandkids? Well, I'm living with three better two and a half. Oh, wow, really young Yes, yes young young guys that's all boys No, I actually have more girls and that they're eight. Let's see there. I think there's seven. No, there's six girls Oh, wow another two of boys. That's crazy. Yeah, we have very few boys in our family Hmm, they must be so proud of you that you went back to school. How can you decided to well? I I went back to school because Actually had lost one of my my son's I heard a car accident

9:36Yeah, and and you know what I did I just needed to Needed to kind of get to do something feel my life or something and my mom had always wanted me to One of her children at least to go to college. Mm-hmm because she couldn't read no, right? Oh, wow, and so it was something I thought at that time I needed to feel that void of might lose in my baby so I went back to college and I got my associate's degree and It was really great. I went to what is it New York University NYU? Yeah, it was great Gorgeous campus have been there once. Yeah, it's really wonderful So that was really fun and you know, it just helped me get through a really rough rough time I can imagine I have to lose my son in a car accident So but you know having to study for all those exams

10:24Read all those books and all that stuff and I actually learned how to to use a computer while I was in college Oh, you know, it really was a good thing at that time in my life I was in my 50s and it was really a great great time. What's it? What's your degree? And what would you say? Well, it was John came to think now It was across the board art. Oh, all right. So like history geography. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes I mean, I kind of studied everything. Yeah, it's got me nice Yeah, different perspective on things. It was truly yes. Did people in your class know who you were? No, they were all fairly young I'm young. I know your music. I know but you're in the business But no that a lot of them didn't and a lot of them were you know foreign students students, you know different things

11:11And which was good for me because I was able just to study and yeah worry about being a celebrity. Mm-hmm It was great. I Got a couple of names for you I'm just wondering if you can maybe give me a little story or you know The first thing that pops in your head when I say these names Smokey Robinson Well, Smokey Robinson great songwriter great great guy a real good friend and From Motown. Did he ever write for you? Oh sure. Okay. He wrote quite a few things for us. Yes any of the big hits No, not any of the big hits but he later in the 70s He did do a song for me called Floyd. Joy. Okay, I didn't know it was his Oh, yeah, and it was like a top. I don't know top ten top But early in our career he Smokey wrote a lot of songs for us

12:01Unfortunately, they were not hit but it was at the time he was writing for Mary Mary Wells. Mm-hmm So, you know, he was giving her all the good songs Well, you had everyone else Stevie Wonder well again, you know a brilliant artist a extremely creative guy and I think some of his songs in my show, too But Stevie is you know Stevie's one of those all all-round entertainers, you know, he he creates the music He sings the music it performs it and he's just great very Gordy Well, I'm very Gordy founding person from Motown Records. He was the one who had the big idea for the sound of America Motown was his company and you know his dream so we became his girls and he

12:52He was he's a man He's still around he's still around. Oh sure. Very good. He's still around doing very well I wonder on the topic of very Gordy I was talking to Bo Diddley not too long ago and he was talking a lot about how And I've heard this from many people a lot of people got screwed by record companies with with royalties and sure and But I've always thought Motown was it was a classier label that they would never have done that have you have you felt anything like that well, you know I To answer it in that way that way it's kind of you know Kind of hard for me because Motown really did give me my career, you know And it was at a time and I know what Bo was saying because I've written about it, too You know, yeah, is that a time when record companies, you know, they would take a sign up So on and and they had the lawyers they had you know everything so they would take the bigger piece of the

13:40Pie and give the artists a smaller bit because basically artists probably didn't even know I know we the Supremes Were too young to even know yeah that our percentage we were getting was kind of small But when we started we weren't big, you know, yeah, but I'm sure you weren't in it for the money either Yeah, we got we weren't so, you know when you look back on it, you say godly and we make gotten a bigger share of The profits, you know, maybe would have you know been richer, but you know those things are after the fact So you have to kind of let them go. Mm-hmm But no we were I love Motown, okay Martha Reeves not the reason of the Vandalas. Yeah, you can't say Martha Reeves without the Vandalas or dancing in the street But you know they were the Supremes were the first girl group at Motown, but

14:26Martha and the Vandalas and the Marvellettes actually ended up getting hit records before we did because I Don't know why but anyway, they did I Love the Marth and the Vandalas are just so soulful. I just love that group nice Diana Ross, Donna Ross was the lead singer of the Supremes and who knows without her voice up front We may not have had all those 12 million selling records. My sister is my sister Florence Ballard Florence Ballard my other sister Yeah, you know in fact, she's the she's the one who people knew very little about and that's unfortunate She died young and she also was extremely talented and so people really never got a chance to see how talented

15:13She was because she died so young. Mm-hmm. So there you go Cindy Birdsong Cindy Birdsong was the the member that actually came in to replace Florence and a lot of people when Didn't realize that Florence had left the group really and front Cindy was you know Replacing her because they looked so much alike Yeah, they really looked alike Brian Holland Brian Holland what about Holland and Holland group, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Well without him Brian Holland without Eddie Holland, you know We would not have had all those 12 million selling records in the 60s. Oh them my career. Oh Very good in my career to Hey

16:00And I'm sure they owe you there's yours as well. Hey, it's a group thing. Yeah Temptations. Oh My guys and and you know what's so sad about the temptations is that they've almost all left us Only the only member that's still alive is Otis Williams Eddie Kendrick has gone Paul Williams, you know David Ruffin my high school buddy Melvin was a he was a bass singer, you know, if you remember that deep deep voice and Melvin I went to high school together. I didn't know that's cool. Yeah. Yeah, so I just love the temptations We always said they were a brother group. Mm-hmm. Well, you even have the record out with them That's the first time I heard you guys was that my mom had the vinyl of Diana Ross and Supremes joined the temptation

16:46Oh really? Oh wonderful. Yeah, listen to this morning. Oh, that's wonderful. You can't listen. It's like the Beach Boys You can't listen to it and be sad. Yeah Exactly. That's what a way to put it