Mary Wells will always hold a special place in Motown’s distinguished history. The “Queen of Motown”, she was the label’s first bonafide superstar, becoming Motown’s first female artist to score a Top 40 single.
Wells had to overcome a tough childhood to achieve such success. Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1943, she contracted spinal meningitis at the age of two and battled partial blindness, deafness in one ear, and temporary paralysis. Aged 10, she contracted tuberculosis. Alongside her medical ordeals, Wells grew up in poverty. Her father was absent, and by age 12, she was helping her mother with her domestic cleaning work.
For Wells, singing represented an escape. Initially, she performed in church choirs before graduating to sing in local nightclubs. Despite her talent, Wells actually wanted to be a scientist when she left school aged 17. However, she was inspired by the success of fellow Detroit musicians, such as Jackie Wilson, and decided to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter.
Wells met Motown’s chief, Berry Gordy, at Detroit’s Twenty Grand club in 1960, presenting him with a song she had written. Wells had written the song believing it was perfect for Jackie Wilson, but Gordy asked Wells to sing for him instead. Suitably impressed, Gordy sent Wells to Detroit’s United Sound Systems to record the single “Bye Bye Baby”. According to legend, Gordy signed Wells to the growing Motown label after a reported 22 takes. The single was released in September 1960, reaching number eight on the Billboard R&B singles chart.
Wells achieved further success in the summer of 1961, cracking the Top 40 with the single ‘I Don’t Want to Take a Chance’. Wells’s success necessitated the release of an album, with her debut effort, Bye Baby I Don’t Want to Take a Chance following in the fall. It was another rushed effort from Motown, while commercially, it tanked. However, the album is lifted by Wells’s excellent vocal performance, with her raw, throaty delivery dragging some life into the songs. The record consists of the two singles and eight other tracks from Motown’s early songbook, including a cover of the Miracles ‘Shop Around’.
The catchy ‘Come To Me’ kicks things off, a gentle 50s-sounding doo-wop effort with its bouncing horns and a capella vocal harmonies. ‘I Don’t Want To Take a Chance’ follows, a bluesy, soul number with its juddering keyline, slightly scatty but very melodic. It provides an early indicator of Wells’s vocal talents, with her impassioned delivery giving the song power beyond the limited lyrics. ‘Bye Bye Baby’ has a much rawer R&B sound, Wells’s voice at its throaty best, contrasting nicely with the doo-wop harmonies in the background.
Sadly, her version of ‘Shop Around’ falls a little flat. The song doesn’t have the rock’n’roll energy of the Miracles’ effort, not helped by the strange background vocals. ‘I Love The Way You Love’ is the album’s most accomplished track musically; with its bouncy major piano chords and rhythmic drumming, it’s a fine take on Marv Johnson’s original. ‘I’m Gonna Stay’ has a mournful, nostalgic air, Wells’s voice conveying a sense of reluctance. ‘Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide’ suits Wells’s voice much better than Marvin Gaye’s smooth tenor, giving the track some much-needed life.
‘Bad Boy’ is another Miracles cover (with girl swapped for boy), but the doo-wop sound doesn’t really suit Wells. While on a sad, remorseful song, the trumpets that bounce in and out don’t capture the track’s mood, and it lacks the raw emotional energy Smokey Robinson harnesses in the original. ‘I’m So Sorry’ gently drifts along, while the closer, ‘Please Forgive Me’, is a slow, dirgy number with its organ-like keys.
The album typifies Motown’s approach at the time, rushing through albums to try and cash in on the success of their artists’ singles. However, Bye Bye Baby I Don’t Want to Take a Chance is one of their better earlier efforts, Wells’s powerful, raw voice elevating the tracks. Again, it suffers from a slightly confused sound, with several doo-wop numbers which don’t suit Wells. Overall, it’s a decent effort, providing an early showcase of Wells’s considerable talent.
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