Iconic American singer, Mary Wilson, died at her home in Henderson, Nevada, on Monday February 9.
According to her long time publicist, Jay Schwartz, the singer died suddenly in her home. The cause of her death is yet to be revealed.
Motown founder Berry Gordy released a statement following the news, saying: “I was extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of a major member of the Motown family, Mary Wilson of the Supremes.
The Supremes were always known as the ‘sweethearts of Motown.’ Mary, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, came to Motown in the early 1960’s.
After an unprecedented string of number one hits, television and nightclub bookings, they opened doors for themselves, the other Motown acts, and many, many others.
“I was always proud of Mary,” he continued. “She was quite a star in her own right and over the years continued to work hard to boost the legacy of the Supremes. Mary Wilson was extremely special to me. She was a trailblazer, a diva and will be deeply missed.”
When the group signed to Motown in 1961, Mcglown left the group and their name was changed to The Supremes.
The trio went on to land 12 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and even when the group was disbanded in 1977, Wilson went on to have a successful solo career.
In 1986 she released her memoir: Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme. It was a New York Times Best Seller for months, and remains one of the best-selling rock-and-roll autobiographies of all time.
Three days to her death, Mary Wilson had uploaded a video on her YouTube channel revealing plans to release new recordings with Universal Music as well as the unreleased album “Red Hot.”