Dreamgirl and Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme

This is a lengthy but very interesting roller-coaster autobiography revealing the complex psychology and inner struggles, hopes, and dreams of a then beautiful young Black woman. It's well written and hence the books themselves a very positive reflection on Mary's abilities to write and organize content. These conjoined books pull one along due to the unique and fascinating course of events, broad range of localities, as well as the very famous cast of characters. The details were facilitated by Mary's habit since her teens of keeping journals and numerous provided entries give example of their content. The books progress from her early childhood as little Mae Mae to a very pretty teen in central Detroit, the incredible whirlwind of success and glitter with Motown, followed by the travails and increasingly desperate adjustments of waning fame, a horribly abusive marriage, and then a slow but eventually effective restabilization. Unfortunately there are explicit and implied sordid sexual aspects to this tale that reveals and insinuates more than many of us would have wanted to know, makes laughable in its hypocrisy the elegant ethereal charm of the Supreme's carefully crafted image, and certainly tarnishes any pristine notion about what Mary herself was as a young lady. But regardless, overall, she was a good, kind woman who kept her dream alive and ultimately prevailed over a great deal of adversity and depravity.The books in this compendium shows Mary to have been fundamentally a very sound, gentle, and even-keeled personality. (Paradoxically although she mentions that she never would have wanted to be a nurse, she had the personality to have been an excellent physician - smart, observant, calm, perfect demeanor). However it also reveals her vulnerabilities which were normal and understandable but as indicated below nearly ruinous in their consequences. Mary was like an innocent docile doe, proud and beautiful but vulnerable to the cunning heartless hunter stalking her in the shadows . Photos and video show what an amazingly beautiful young woman she was, yet due to her hectic meteoric life of fame she surprisingly struggled to find a well suited supportive mate, her best match probably would have been Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations who was personable, tall and handsome, and had a nice smile very similar to hers; together they certainly would have had a mutually supportive happy life and beautiful children; she liked Eddie but it is not clear why it did not evolve any further.We see Mary going from free-spirited aspiring teen in the Brewster-Douglas housing complex of central Detroit to sudden international fame. The changes were jarring and the requirements exhausting, but she was very adaptive and very much enjoyed the limelight. Mary was all in on the legendary Supreme's charm, grace, and beauty that was such an important aspect of the Gordy production. She does provide a fair amount of detail into her life as an international star with the innumerable parties and associating with famous men. Mary makes it clear from early teen years she was very much interested in boys/men. Certainly and understandably due to her exceptional attractiveness she likely was promiscuous but to what extent is left as a tantalizing question, that she never mentions venereal disease (in an era where it was rampant with much higher rates than today) or unintended pregnancies suggests possible moderation. At any rate her busy life paradoxically caused emotional isolation and loneliness that she filled partially by caring for an adopted problematic child as well as numerous pets at her Hollywood Hills home. Mary had a kind gentle heart. However, there was an inevitable sexuality to Mary and one bit that stands out because of its obvious potential salacious implications and seeming so unusual for a woman to ever suggest it as to beg its veracity is the infamous issue of proposed bedroom ceiling mirrors for her initial house in Detroit. But in this book she actually corroborates that this issue did come up. Berry in his autobiography mentioned it and strongly advised her against it for obvious PR reasons, but in neither case is there elaboration as to whether such an idea was actually hers or rather from one of her then 'boyfriends'. What in the world was that really about? Was it lascivious indulgence or did she just like mirrors and wanted to see her beautiful self from the moment of awakening? She does mention having a mirrored hallway in her subsequent Hollywood home.Mary elaborates on relationships with other Motown stars and staff and associated conflicts especially with Dianna Ross and Berry Gordy. That gradually predominated and posed very difficult challenges for her and she struggled to find a good solution. Berry Gordy did not think her voice was star quality and this naturally wounded her pride and self-confidence as singing was at the very core of her psychological support. She tried various measures to improve herself. Berry Gordy eventually set her and the remaining Supremes adrift in pursuit of movie production with Dianna Ross where he again achieved remarkable success. As a reader it is not clear what Mary should have done. However, it was a rapid, dramatic, and painful decline from the heights of fame which disequilibreated her and without a loyal capable confidant left her vulnerable to at least one foolishly very bad decision.Mary's book goes into the interesting, very difficult, and obviously critical issue of how to most effectively reconstitute the Supremes with special emphasis on the lead singer to replace Diana Ross. Mary's choices did not work out well. Barry Gordy's revised selection for lead (the beautiful well-endowed Syreeta, Stevie Wonder's first wife) most likely would have been better at least for stage performances, and perhaps, although not overtly considered probably because she was not contractually available, one of Mary's other friends, Nancy Wilson (even more beautiful in appearance and voice), would have been by far the best choice for lead.Aside from the later traumatic highway death of her son, the most tragic and inconceivable thing which Mary elaborates on was that Pedro guy she met in Puerto Rico that she ended up marrying against her better judgement. His violent physical assaults commenced almost immediately in their early relationship and then perpetuated by him perversely actively searching in his interactions with her prior friends and aquaintences for reasons to stir his sexual jealousy into a frenzy. This emerges for her out of the blue as there is nothing in this or any other book relating to Mary and Motown that in any way suggests that Mary would have provoked or in any manner deserved the irrational violent attacks Pedro dished out.Regardless of what Mary might say about Pedro, it is clear per his criminal attacks on her (including putting loaded guns to her head) that he likely had a sociopathic personality disorder, was at various times using stimulant drugs such as cocaine, and as for his supposed IQ of 150, that certainly was ridiculous bombast because, although Newton, Euler and other extremely gifted mathematicians might have been in that range it otherwise would be extremely uncommon (5 SDs from the mean!) and Pedro as far as I have been able to ascertain had nothing but at best a mediocre mind, he was not even able to complete law school ( if he ever was actually enrolled which was more likely another aspect of his fraudulent persona) his actual IQ was undoubtedly much more likely 100 at best and Mary had at least as much and likely significantly more intelligence. If Pedro had earned a law degree by 16 or even 18 then an extremely elevated IQ of 150 would be plausible but he most definitely did not. Per his many years of remarkable and highly uncommon successes in differing venues, Berry Gordy established himself as a genius, he had capable very intelligent patents and sisters, Dianna Ross was very smart, a few others here and there by temperament and achievement projected above average intelligence but nothing of the sort from Pedro, quite the opposite, sorry Mary.Contrary to what Mary claims, she herself most definitely was NOT a good judge of men , to the contrary, the cunning experienced exploiters of female vulnerabilities were very good judges of her underlying submissiveness. Mary most likely understood men in terms of one dimension of analysis - sexuality/visual appeal and although a lot of boys/men are indeed that simple many other men operate in much more complex and as with Pedro sometimes dangerous additional dimensions. Pedro was clearly a violent, conniving, controlling misfit and Mary was indeed smart enough to note this very early on and had journal entries to prove it. Why then Mary permitted that ill-fated pathological violent relationship to proceed is impossible to comprehend except she was by nature submissive and passive and hence subject to exploitation by "confident" thugs experts at trickery and hiding their true selves. But also we see in her account the motivation that moved it forward embodying the very predictable biological destiny stereotype for young women - the deep seated yearning for getting married as a framework for children. That was at play with her in the context of approaching the dreaded 30 year mark which no doubt created a further sense of urgency , she was also under a great deal of stress due to the waning of her glamorous days as a part of the original Supremes, and under growing financial and professional pressures. This was compounded by becoming gradually isolated from prior social supports. She was certainly vulnerable, frightened for her future, and needed love and support, but to project hope for that in some stranger who was in reality a crafty thuggish imposter far removed from her normal more familiar safer social circles was certainly a very foolish and costly mistake. As a male reader this entire aspect of her life is incomprehensible in its avoidable stupidity, foolishness, and depravity. Compared to the many men who would have cherished and tenderly cared for her, to have ended up with a vicious idiot like blowhard perverted Pedro was truly a tragedy for her but also for the deserving man deprived of such a unique, incomparably beautiful, and special wife. Furthermore, one has to wonder given her accounts of his frequent assaults and outbursts that seemed per her descriptions to conflate violence and sexuality if her children with him actually represented the outcome of being repeatedly raped as integral part of his habitual forcible abuse. In this context she makes transient mention of pain which suggests that the sexual assaults very likely included sodomy. Had all this occurred a few years latter he likely would have transmitted HIV to her as he was constantly out and about and apparently using drugs. Intermixed with these descriptions are the nauseatingly ridiculous idiotic litany of excuses for tolerating him and is itself a head shaking deep dive into the often incomprehensible psychology of women and a glaring example of why women still struggle for credibility.That horrible stupid tragic episode aside, the book shows how Mary tenaciously held on to the memory of her glamorous days with the Supremes and with considerable difficulty forged a muted inconsistent solo career. But, to her immense credit, she gradually via innumerable interviews, guest appearances, her well written compelling books, and continuing efforts with singing strengthened her fame and improved herself financially in her later years where due to the exposure from YouTube and other new digital formats she and the Supremes were again brought to vivid life and herself remerging as from a time machine as that amazingly beautiful young woman from central Detroit.Her books of course also describe some of the social context of that era to include the painful experiences of racism, enforced segregation, and turbulent violent events that punctuated those years. It was strength of character and courage that got them all through those sad and shameful issues. Mary ultimately prevailed. It was a long journey for her, starting out as little Mae Mae in Greenville, MS , lively high school student from the Brewster-Douglas projects, to incredible international fame, then on the downslope a disastrous marriage with a very ill chosen mate, followed by a long fight back. But, all the while maintaining that beautiful characteristic Mary Wilson smile, enthusiasm for life, poise, and grace. Mary was obviously gifted by her amazingly good looks and the exceptional experiences as a member of the Supremes but she like us all made some mistakes and experienced losses that certainly brought her to tears but all that converged to make her a very special woman even though her book certainly does not force that upon us. Even as she grew old and eventually passed away she remained in part that sweet little Mae Mae from her youngest years.As for the book's shortfalls, despite lengthy and interesting exposition it still was not clear what Mary was like in her day to day personal life. Such mundane but revealing facts are absent. Likewise perhaps more details about her brother and sister as there is little about them. Her brother apparently was drafted and served in Vietnam but little detail. Likewise we end up knowing almost nothing about her sister Cat. And, unfortunately there are no photos of her homes in Detroit and Hollywood Hills, she was quite proud of them and it would have been interesting and informative to have seen pictures of them externally but also inside as she took great pride in how they were customized, decorated, and furnished. it seems that Mary liked a more modern or mod style.And referencing Pedro one last time, there is actually very little information on Pedro, not even his age (although he appears to have been 5-6 years younger), his upbringing, his academic record, his standardized test scores, whether he had any criminal history and absolutely nothing regarding his life after Mary kicked his sorry ass down the street. He just disappeared. This supposed genius shows up nowhere in deep internet searches. He certainly did not have any significant professional achievements, in other words it seems he never exceeded his true meager potential other than his criminal talent of seducing woefully vulnerable women then beating and raping them. But even in absentia he does get the last sadistic laugh as those ill conceived progeny have inherited Mary's hard earned substantial wealth.Finally, one would hope that her journals will some day be published, as to read them in their entirety despite having been vandalized by vacuous Pedro in his autoerotic fits of sexual jealousy and rage would undoubtedly still be fascinating to peruse.

Mary Wilson cared much more about the Supremes then seemingly the majority of executives at Motown Records.And her two autobiographies - Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme (1980) & Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together (1990), with an afterward for this edition (1999) - cover the personal and professional triumphs & tragedies as she grew up in public.Dreamgirl opens with the group's reunion with Diana Ross that turned into an utter disaster at the 1983 TV special, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, with Wilson then chronicling her life as a young girl to the death of Florence Ballard in 1975.Wilson's writing style makes the reader an active participant of her life; feeling the euphoria of the formative years of her singing career with the Primettes, finally signing a recording contract with Motown Records and the teenagers becoming "overnight sensations" as the Supremes; as the early tours on a rickety bus with other groups gave way to events, such as being feted by royalty overseas, while charting a string of major hits.But there is the growing disenchantment with the direction of the group as it evolved into Diana Ross and the Supremes & how Motown was preparing Ross to launch her solo career at the expense of the other two singers. Wilson is candid about her feelings concerning Ross, a number of executives & artists at Motown Records and the relationships & affairs she had, including a highly public romance with singer Tom Jones.Wilson wants to keep the group together, which tests the faith she has in herself and others. She defies the odds and is moderately successful in her quest, for a time.The second book, Supreme Faith, picks up the career of the Supremes, without Ross. A drawback is it loses focus when Wilson and co-author Patricia Romanowski cover topics aleady written about in Dreamgirl, which include Ballard's death and the controversial and brief Ross/Supremes reunion.A major theme concerns her marriage, which turned into a nightmare of physical & verbal abuse from a controlling and jealous husband. Wilson had met him after a show - he was supposedly a fan - and the whirlwind romance had signs that something was dramatically wrong; he lied about the wealth of his family, showed outbursts of jealousy for pithy reasons and - before the marriage - had already physically and mentally abused Wilson.She writes about the fear and frustration of his violent outbursts - destroying memorabilia from her career, ripping pages out of her diary and forcing her to write down the names of every man she had dated - and the mind games he played to assert full control of every facet of her life, even convincing Wilson that he should manage her career and the Supremes. The chilling final months - whch found her husband shattering a glass on the side of her face - and the courage she demonstrated in finally breaking the cycle of abuse and getting a divorce, is very powerful.The oftentimes rancorous legal duels with Motown, the financial woes caused by trying to keep the Supremes going and the rough times in trying to launch a solo career are juxtaposed with the induction of the group into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame and Museum & regaining full control of her life and the lives of her children."I've reached heights few of us dare dream of. For that I feel blessed," Wilson writes.The afterward is a quick look at the 1990s, as Wilson joined other artists in fighting against bogus groups using legendary names - at the time of her writing, she says there were six groups claiming to be the Supremes - the deaths of her son and mother, her solo career and becoming a grandmother.The life of Mary Wilson and the Supremes is as much a cornerstone to pop culture as any group that became famous in the 1960s. But Wilson's story is one of survival on many levels and - for that alone - makes the two books an exploration into her heart & soul.

Let me say I've never been a fan of Diana Ross, after hearing of some of the stunts she pulled, but thought I would read this to get verification on certain things once and for all.Seems like it was six of one and half a dozen of the other!For starters, I DO think that Diana was the best choice for lead vocalist of the Supremes. Her voice had an identity. Mary, on the other hand - fantastic a voice though she had - did not have a voice that was instantly recognisable as her. It varied so much, even within the same song! (I find the same in her solo stuff.)All Mary's "poor me" moaning wears thin very quickly. She claims people complained about her always being late. OK. So why not change your habits and make an effort to be punctual? She claims people complained about her taking too long to eat. OK? So why not change your habits and make an effort to easy quicker, or take smaller portions?When she got married and had money to burn, then she showed her true colours. Who needs houses that big? For crying out loud! She just came across as materialistic as the next "star", for all her bleats.As I say, it was never a case for Diana vs. Mary for me. Turns out, they're both just as bad as each other!

Mary. Don’t you remember? All those years hanging around the lobby of Hitsville until we got a break. And then the only way we were going to make it big was for me to sleep with Berry Gordy who was fourteen years older than me. I had to keep on doing that for all those years Mary so we could have our dream. Yes I was greedy, grasping and ruthless but considering your modest talent you’ve done very well out of it all. You had your opportunity after I left but were happy to let Jean Terrell listen to the cat-calls of ‘where’s Diana?’ If I let anyone down it was Flo. She could really sing, but in order for me to succeed I had to keep her in the background. Of course, you were such a friend to her, but seemed unaware when she had her house repossessed. Thinking back now, maybe Berry should have given Flo her own career.I have to admit that your book is a good read. I couldn’t put it down. Patricia Romanowski has done a great job in getting it all down for you.

Great read by the late Mary Wilson , couldn't put it down ,highly recommended for any Motown fan ,a true insight into the Motown story , told by the supreme lady herself ,r.i.p Mary 💕

The first part 'Dreamgirl' is very good, Mary tells the story very well but the second book 'Supreme Faith' seemed to drag on a bit. I got a bit fed up with Pedro's shenanigans and how Mary wanted to own the Supremes name, she should have just let it go gently but then I guess the book wouldn't have been as long as the publisher wanted! Supremes fans will love this though as I did, their story is one worth reading.

I thought it would have been more pictures and bigger writing. Disappointed to be honest.