About Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Signing with Motown at the age of 17, Wells's best-known hit singles include "The One Who Really Loves You", "Two Lovers" and "You Beat Me to the Punch". Her signature hit, "My Guy" (1964), was her biggest international single and her only number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100. During Wells's Motown tenure, she was nicknamed "the Queen of Motown". Wells's early success with Motown led her to become part of the era's surge in black music on radio stations and record shelves in mainstream America, "bridging the color lines in music at the time". Wells left Motown shortly after "My Guy" peaked at number one, and she subsequently struggled to release songs through big and small record labels until her death from cancer in June 1992. Wells was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and was later inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. Wells' early success with Motown led to her becoming part of the charge in black music onto radio stations and record shelves of mainstream America, "bridging the color lines in music at the time". Wells used singing as her comfort from her pain, first singing in a Detroit Baptist church at the age of ten. Wells eventually was discovered by Johnnie Mae Matthews in 1960, who signed her to her Northern Records label. Impressed by Wells' performance, he offered Wells a record deal with his recently formed Motown imprint, a subsidiary of his first label, Tamla.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.