• Track Listing

Mary Wells occupies a unique niche in pop music in that she was the first female artist on any of Motown's labels to have a hit record, and she remained as the vanguard in that regard until leaving the label in 1964, her hits during those years helping to define the Motown sound and style. Starting out as a budding songwriter and singer in Detroit, when she was 17 years old, she approached label founder Berry Gordy Jr. With a song she had written for Jackie Wilson - hearing her voice, he signed her on the spot. In 1960 he made the R&B Top 10 and pop Top 50 with her first release, her own song "Bye Bye Baby", and over the next two years had four more hits from her five releases, most notably the R&B No. 1s, which also made the pop Top 10, "You Beat Me To The Punch" and "Two Lovers", both written and produced by Smokey Robinson. This collection comprises the A and B sides of all he singles from these formative years, plus all the tracks from her two albums during this era, "Bye Bye Baby - I Don't Want To Take A Chance" and "The One Who Really Loves You", not otherwise released as singles. It naturally features the hits already mentioned plus the other chart entries from these releases "I Don't Want To Take A Chance" and the R&B No. 2 "The One Who Really Loves You". It's a fascinating insight into the creative world of the early years of Motown, and a great showcase for one of the most distinctive voices of the era