Mary Wells, a black rhythm and blues singer who was part of the 1960s Motown explosion that broke the color barrier in American music, died Sunday of cancer at the age of 49.
Wells died at 9:56 a.m. PDT (12:56 p.m. EDT) at the Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital in Los Angeles, hospital spokeswoman Gail Sidney said.A two-pack-a-day smoker for much of her adult life, she had been in and out of the hospital since 1990 when she underwent surgery there for cancer of the larynx.
A Detroit native, Wells had a string of hits on the Motown Records label in the 1960s.
She was among a group of black performers, including the Supremes, the Miracles and Smokey Robinson, who helped build the Motown empire and propel black music into the American mainstream.
Wells auditioned for Motown at the age of 18, and she made the top 10 rhythm and blues singles list in 1961 with "Bye Bye Baby."
She collaborated with Smokey Robinson and made the pop charts in 1962 with "The One Who Really Loves You," "You Beat Me to the Punch" and "Two Lovers," which sold a million copies.
In 1964, she had her best-known hit, "My Guy," which climbed to the top of the pop and R & B charts. In the same year, she became the first Motown artist to travel to Britain, where she toured with the Beatles.
She also teamed with Marvin Gaye, recording the hits "What's the Matter with You, Baby" and "Once Upon a Time."
In 1964, on the advice of her then-husband Herman Griffin, Wells switched labels from Motown to 20th-Century Fox, pitting the two record companies against each other in a legal battle.
She continued making appearances on the R & B charts until 1970, but her career went into a slump from which it never recovered.
Wells was later remarried to Cecil Womack and moved to Los Angeles, where she collaborated with him on music projects. They divorced in 1977.