Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.
Judy Woodruff: And singer Mary Wilson, one of the original Supremes, has died. She helped power Motown in the 1960s.
Jeffrey Brown has our remembrance.
Jeffrey Brown: Mary Wilson was a key part of a legendary sound, a founding member, with Florence Ballard and, of course, Diana Ross of the Supremes. They were trailblazers with a string of hits for Motown in the 1960s, after coming together as teenagers in Detroit.
Mary Wilson: We came from a time when, as Black people, you didn’t dream about becoming a star. You didn’t dream about making money. It was all about being a human being, being respected, being equal.
Jeffrey Brown: The group would go through changes, most of all Diana Ross leaving to go solo. Mary Wilson remained until the end in 1977, before starting her own solo career.
Her 1986 memoir, “Dreamgirl,” documented those early years, including strained relations with Ross before the split. In a video shared Saturday, she said she was excited to celebrate Black History Month and the release of more of her work, timed to her upcoming birthday on March 6.
Mary Wilson: And we will see, OK? I have got my fingers crossed here. Yes, I do.
Jeffrey Brown: Wilson died Monday at her home in Las Vegas. No cause of death was given.
For the “PBS NewsHour,” I’m Jeffrey Brown.
Judy Woodruff: No other music like it.
Mary Wilson was 76 years old.
Sustain our coverage of culture, arts and literature.
He’s a writer who mines his own history to look deeply at broader currents of working-class American life. In his…
Food is a tangible and accessible way to understand and connect with different societies. One chef has led the movement…
The university had purchased the stained faded document for less than $30.
A powerful new work of fiction, rooted in real events, explores the role of the artist in times of crisis.…
Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Quentin Tarantino descended on the Cannes Film Festival as the French Riviera extravaganza got…
The case was widely seen as a key post-MeToo test of how French society and its film industry address allegations…
A federal prosecutor says the public knew Sean “Diddy” Combs as a larger-than-life cultural icon and business mogul, but in…
Photography is known for its power to capture a singular moment in one frame. But collectively, and as time passes,…
A rainy Met Gala got underway Monday with a tuxedoed choir and a lot of pinstripes.
Two-time Grammy nominee Sierra Hull has reached the pinnacle of bluegrass on her chosen instrument, the mandolin. But how she…
The New York Times showed its breadth with awards honoring reporting from Afghanistan, Sudan, Baltimore and Butler, Pennsylvania. Doug Mills…
Cinco de Mayo marks the anniversary of the 1862 victory by Mexican troops over invading French forces at the Battle…
Everett’s Pulitzer confirmed the million-selling “James” as the most celebrated and popular U.S. literary novel of 2024, and accelerated the…
U.S. prosecutors say that behind the scenes, Sean “Diddy” Combs was coercing and abusing women with help from a network…
This year, the dress code is about tailoring and suiting as interpreted through the history and meaning of Black dandyism…
