Supremes founder Mary Wilson brings Motown magic to Georgia

MACON, Ga. - With her childhood friends Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson made music history as a member of The Supremes.  And more than fifty years into her storied career, Wilson is still performing around the world, and plans to bring a little Motown magic to Georgia this weekend.

Wilson will perform at The Grand Opera House in Macon on Saturday, April 2nd at 7:30 p.m.  In a phone interview with Good Day Atlanta's Paul Milliken, Wilson said she's planning to perform many of the hits that made The Supremes worldwide stars in the 1960s, such as "Baby Love" and "Stop! In The Name Of Love," and expects the audience to help her out.  "I don't like people to come and just sit and watch," Wilson says.  "I like people to really, really sing along.  I even bring people on the stage sometimes."

Wilson, Ross, and Ballard signed with Motown Records in 1961, and spent the early years of their career struggling to get a hit record.  During that time, The Supremes toured the South with other Motown artists as part of "The Motortown Revue," which gave many of the young artists their first real exposure to the turbulent race relations outside of their hometown.  "We had not really experienced a lot of segregation in Detroit, Michigan, so coming to the South, going to the South and performing there, was a little strange, because you would have the audiences separated," Wilson remembers. 

In 1964, The Supremes finally got that elusive big hit, topping the charts with "Where Did Our Love Go" and following it with four more consecutive number one hits.  Wilson says she continues to take pride in the group's legacy, and the role Motown's music played in bringing people of all races together: "I'm very proud, you know, to say that I remember when it wasn't like this, but look at us now."

Having recently scored a dance hit with the song "Time To Move On" and currently finishing up a new album, Mary Wilson is as busy as ever and moving forward with her solo career.  But she says this weekend in Macon, she'll gladly take longtime fans on a trip down memory lane.

For ticket information and details about Mary Wilson's concert at the The Grand Opera House, click here.