365 Days of Song Recommendations: Jan 9 (Mary Wilson edition)

Where Did Our Love Go—The Supremes

We bid fare thee well to a true music icon yesterday, as Mary Wilson left her body on earth to let her spirit soar.

That spirit sat right at the heart of one of the greatest musical acts the world has ever known—The Supremes.

Mary Wilson may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of The Supremes—we can probably thank Diana Ross’ unbridled ambition for that—but in terms of constancy, it was always Mary Wilson. Mary from the start, Mary who brought Ross in, Mary who stayed after Ross was gone.

I can’t count the ways I am grateful to Mary, and to The Supremes. That The Supremes A’ Go-Go toppled Revolver from the top of the charts is but one example of the joy The Supremes have brought to me over the years.

It all started, of course, when I was a kid. My parents were very young when I was born—they were pretty much tail-end hippies. They were also essentially midwest kids running as fast and as far away as they could from all things midwest. Music was a haven for them, and our record collection in the house was accordingly outstanding.

There was a bit of a schism in the vinyl spread. My mom favored rock n’ roll from across the pond—The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, in particular. My dad, on the other hand, revered “the girl groups.” While I failed to inherit my mother’s affection for The Beatles, I loved and still love the Stones, and as to the girl groups, yeah, I was hooked. I loved The Shangri-Las, The Ronettes, The Shirelles, Martha and Vandellas, The Crystals, The Chiffons, you name it, I dug it.

But The Supremes loomed large above them all. And it all started with “Where Did Our Love Go,” written by the immortal team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, and performed by the equally immortal Funk Brothers.

Ironically, perhaps, given the history that would ensue, the song was originally written with Mary Wilson’s voice in mind, but it would ultimately be Ross that would sing it. But as compelling as her vocal was, the song really doesn’t come to life until that 35-second mark, when the background vocals fly in with that plaintive, “Baby, baby, where did our love go?”

Just as that “go” floats off into the reverb, so went the great Mary Wilson on February 8, 2021, and with her went all our love—for her, for her voice, for her music, for her spirit.