TeachRock

people:
Mary Wells

(1943 – 1992) In the early 1960s, Mary Wells was one the first stars to emerge from the Motown label, helping to define the “Motown sound” with a handful of hit singles including the enduring classic “My Guy." Wells grew up in Detroit, Mich. She was raised by her mother who nursed her through bouts of spinal meningitis and tuberculosis. By age 12 Wells was helping her mother clean houses and singing as she worked. By her teen years she had graduated from her church choir to occasional nightclub performances and, encouraged by the success of local acts the Miracles and Jackie...