Mary Wells

With a seemingly innate balance of effervescent fervor and poised elegance, Mary Wells played an essential role in the early Motown sound. Not for nothing could she lay claim to the "original queen of Motown" title. She had just graduated from high school when she debuted on the fledgling label with the self-written "Bye Bye Baby" (1960), the first of her 14 Top Ten R&B hits, and her second one, "I Don't Want to Take a Chance" (1961), was the first Top 40 pop hit by a female Motown act. A subsequent partnership with Smokey Robinson brought greater success highlighted by the Gr...