My Mary Wilson (of The Supremes) Weekend Experience

(with Mary at the opening of the gown exhibit)

So for anyone who knows me, they know I'm a HUGE fan of The Supremes.  I've seen Diana Ross and Mary Wilson in concert quite a few times.  Unlike with Diana, I've been able to meet Mary every time I saw her, which including this experience listed here, is at 7 I believe.  She is one of THE nicest, sweetest women in the world.  Last year she was featured at Misericordia University in Dallas, PA.  They were doing an exhibit of her Supremes gowns and also performing at concert.  I was lucky enough to go to both nights and it was an incredibly time.  I wrote this last year and I rambled a bit and it's not done as a traditional review...it's just me talking about my experience.

 Friday July 22, 2011
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I got to Misericordia University Friday night to attend the opening of Mary's Supremes Gown Exhibit. The gowns are so beautiful and all the detail on them is incredible! Such a beautiful collection. I had talked to a woman named Brenda on the phone asking questions about the exhibit and this weekend and she was so helpful and I got to meet her last night and chat. Also a woman came up to me and we started talking-turns out her name is Nancy and she's head of security for the school and she was so surprised I was so young and loved the Supremes, she made sure that I had whatever I needed from Mary. She also introduced me to Sister Bernadette who is apparently a main person at the school and she was hilarious and just fun to be around. All of this before Mary even came out.

Mary came out and and Nancy made sure Mary got to see me right off the bat and she remembered me! It was my 7th time seeing her and she always looks so great and is so friendly. Mary and I chatted for a minute or so because she had to do photo ops with people from the school, then she settled in at a table and started signing, chatting, getting pictures taken. We talked a bit about the concert coming up, the last time she played Blues Alley and also "You see me all over the East Coast, where exactly are you from in PA?" and when I told her near Hershey she said she played there a lot over the years. It was nice to chat a bit and just be around her.

After I talked to Mary, I went and talked to Maxine Powell who was Mary's guest for the weekend. Maxine was the one who taught all the groups at Motown how to behave, how to act around people, manners, how to stand...she was a huge instrumental part of Motown's history. She has to be in her 80's and she is just the most adorable, sweetest little old lady. I got a picture with her and she signed my program.

 

(with Maxine Powell)

Mary had been signing for about an hour or so and needed a break so she went to get food and Brenda asked if I had eaten yet and I said no , so we all went into the reception area. OMG...caviar, sushi, prime rib, chicken cordon bleu, roast turkey, chicken teriyaki, all kinds of desserts...all included! Mary ate at the table next to mine and Nancy from security came to mine and we chatted about the school and her job a bit.

Mary came over and put her arm around me and asked if I was enjoying myself. I said definitely and she smiled. Next up we all went into an auditorium and Mary got on stage and gave a power point presentation and a half hour lecture on the Supremes, the power of pursuing your dream, her books, the movie and musical Dreamgirls, the gowns...and she closed with an a capella version of "Here's To Life" which was just so beautiful and full of soul.

While in the auditorium I struck up a conversation with the guy next to me, who’s name was Allen. He had been following The Supremes since 1965 and has been seeing them in concert starting in 1967. Very nice guy and we were chatting a bit. After the lecture, Mary went back to signing and I hopped back in line to say thank you. I went back to the gowns and Allen and I started chatting. Well, next thing you know it was the end of the night and time to go. He was so surprised I was so young and how much I loved The Supremes. He was glad that at least someone from my generation appreciated them. Mary came by us and said “I’ll see you guys tomorrow night!” and grabbed my hand. Allen and I walked out to the parking lot and he said about meeting up tomorrow night before the show around 5.



Saturday July 23, 2011
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 On Saturday my mom went up with me to Dallas, PA and she looked at the gown exhibit. Afterward we grabbed something to eat in town and then came back. We met up with Allen and his partner of 22 years, David. By this time, Mary had just arrived and she saw us sitting and invited us into the stage area for sound check. That was awesome! She did a bit of "Stoned Love", "River Deep, Mountain High", "Floy Joy"...such a treat!  We also got to reserve our seats for the general admission show. The floor was just for people of the University and donors and everyone else had to sit up so we got first dibs at those seats. Afterward, Mary invited us in along with a few other people who are followers of her as well (“I feel like a mama rounding up her children!“) and she got us all together for a “family” picture with her in front of me (“I hope my hair’s not covering you up baby!").  After the family pic, she gathered around with her band members for a group shot.

Next up we just had to wait to get in. Allen, David, my mom and myself all just sat at a picnic table and chatted until it was time to get in. The show started with an introduction by the man who put the gallery together and had all of us Mary Wilson followers stand up so he could thank us for traveling to see her and the school. Next up, Mary came out at 8:20 and performed till 10. It was an outdoor show and so incredibly hot out and I don’t know how she did it, but she just kept up the energy for the whole show. It was a great mix of 60’s Supremes songs as well as quite a few 70’s Supremes hits which I was thrilled about (she had done those during Soundcheck so to hear them twice was pretty cool). She also did a few covers and one of her solo songs. After the show, we said goodbye to David and Allen (who we eventually saw again when we saw Diana in Reading in October) and said we’d be in touch.


My mom went out to the car because she doesn’t really care about meeting anyone famous and I went up to have Mary sign the 2 70’s Supremes box sets I brought along and she asked if I enjoyed the show and I said it was great and how was it performing in the heat? “Well, it was pretty bad up there. That’s the hottest I have ever been but you know, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and they were happy and that’s what matters so I did my job” and then she asked where I was staying at. I said my mom and I are heading home and she goes “Where’s your mother?” and I said she went out to the car “You mean you brought your mother here and you didn’t have her come over and meet me and say hello? Naughty Naughty!”. I told her I could go get her and she said “yes!” so I went out and had my mom come over and Mary spotted us and waved us up in the line. She was so sweet and I think my mom really enjoyed that. Mary wasn’t doing pics right away-just signing because of the long line but after my meeting my mom and I was just standing to the side waiting, she said “Brian, you want a picture of us honey?” and I said yea and she goes “Okay, I need to stretch for a bit, I’ll be right back to sign, just give me a minute”. So she came over to me, gave me a big hug and her road manager took our picture…but then he said he had to do it again because the first one something was wrong. Then he gave it to me and said the lens thing wasn’t working right so the 2 pics had a black bar on top and bottom. I fixed it and Mary asked if I wanted another one so we got a 3rd picture taken!  After one more hug, it was time to said goodbye and I thanked her again for a great 2 days. She is just so incredibly sweet and friendly.

I’ve been a fan of the Supremes since 2000. I brought all the vinyl, cds, books, videos, dvds, whatever I could find. I played them all the time, watched them, and read about them…never did I think I would ever get to meet them. The fact that this was the 7th time seeing Mary Wilson, getting to meet her again and her actually knowing my name and saying “Hey Brian!”, putting her arm around me, holding my hand, chatting. It’s just surreal and a dream come true.

Set list
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Love Child
My World Is Empty Without You
Reflections
You Can’t Hurry Love
Come See About Me
Back In My Arms Again
Fields of Gold
Here’s To Life
You Are So Beautiful
Bad Case of Loving You
Bad Weather
Stoned Love
Floy Joy
Nathan Jones
River Deep Mountain High
Baby Love
Stop! In The Name of Love
You Keep Me Hanging On
Walk The Line
I Am Changing
Someday We’ll Be Together
I Can’t Get No Satisfaction/Brown Sugar
Last Dance