A Global Girl and 'Guy'
MARY (AND SMOKEY) DELIVER MOTOWN’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL SMASH
In the United States, the news was good enough to garner newspaper headlines nationwide. “One Gal’s ‘Guy’ Displaces Beatles,” declared Delaware’s News Journal, for one. “Mary Wells’ ‘My Guy’ Dethrones Beatles,” reported California’s Progress-Bulletin, for another.
Motown publicist Al Abrams was swift to exploit the opportunity. In 1964, “My Guy” was one of only two records which broke the Beatles’ 14-week grip on the peak of the Billboard Hot 100 between February and May. (Wells’ two weeks at the top were then terminated by another Fab Four 45.)
But 60 years ago this summer, “My Guy” arguably achieved as much, if not more, outside the United States. It became Motown Records’ first international hit in northern and southern hemispheres alike, and particularly in Britain. There, it validated the Detroit company’s decision to align with EMI Records for distribution and marketing, finally delivering a commercial impact after the negligible sales of – count ’em – 14 Motown singles issued by EMI up to then.
Mary Wells on Britain’s ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars,’ 1964
Wells’ hit, written and produced by Smokey Robinson, secured Top 10 status not only in the U.K., but also in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland, something which the singer was never to achieve again after departing Motown – although a reissue brought it back to the British Top 20 in the summer of ’72.
“My Guy” went Top 5 in the United Kingdom, with sales of some 200,000 copies in total – a stark contrast to the volume generated by the first Motown single shipped on EMI’s Stateside label in October 1963: “Heat Wave” by Martha & the Vandellas. It sold 5,000.
Overseeing EMI’s Motown output at that time was Derek Everett. “It wasn’t easy to promote those records over here,” the late record executive told me in 2005 for BBC Radio 2’s The Motown Invasion. “In those days, the promotion opportunities were far less than they are today. Radio was different. And as for the pirate radio stations which were coming on stream, we at EMI were not allowed to deal with them. So it was hard. We did expect those Motown releases to be hits, but we didn’t expect it to be easy – and it wasn’t.”
Adding to the challenge was the fact that Motown originals were being covered by – and sometimes competing directly with – British acts. The most obvious example? The Fourmost’s version of the Four Tops’ “Baby I Need Your Loving,” about which Motown complained to EMI. The cover reached the U.K. Top 30, while the Tops failed to chart entirely. Another instance was when Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers took on the Supremes head-to-head with “Where Did Our Love Go,” although the local version swiftly sank without trace.
THE BEATLES DELIVER TO THE BBC
Then again, the British Isles provided Motown with the most effective global ambassadors imaginable: John, Paul, George and Ringo. “The Beatles, our best publicists, mention our records and artists wherever they go,” Esther Edwards told Everett. In essence, that endorsement began when the group played “Please Mr. Postman” in their first BBC broadcast in March 1962. Beatles authority Mark Lewisohn checked the microfilmed programme records, and reported that no Tamla record had been played by the BBC before the Beatles delivered that performance. In subsequent media interviews, they often cited and complimented the music of fast-growing Hitsville U.S.A.
Another Motown disciple who helped to spread the word in Britain and beyond was, of course, Dave Godin. In 1963, he had written to Berry Gordy to tell him of growing interest in the music. As recounted in Keith Rylatt’s Hitsville! The Birth of Tamla Motown, Gordy replied, “We are very pleased to hear of your desire to initiate a fan club – we are very happy that our artists have such devoted fans.”
As released in the Netherlands by Artone
Thus, in January 1964, Godin published the first edition of his Mary Wells & Motown News magazine. “I was immensely pleased to see that you have decided to combine Mary’s club with an appreciation society for Tamla/Motown,” wrote member 112, Jeff Coutter, just one of scores of enthusiasts who quickly signed up. “I am not interested in literature of the ‘fabulous, wonderful, incomparable, all-time greatest’ variety,” added member 153, James Thomas, “although I would agree that of all the artists in the field of commercial ‘pop’ music, Mary Wells is the top amongst those who most nearly qualify.”
“Dave Godin was an absolutely wonderful supporter of the label,” said Derek Everett, “and everything he did was a great help. I remember going out to the airport to meet artists coming in, and there the [appreciation society] fans were with their banners and their warm love and support of the music.”
Even so, there was some concern in those early months of ’64 that EMI was scheduling Motown repertoire for U.K. release too long after the records were hits in America. Roland Rennie, who had facilitated the British company’s deal with Gordy and who talked to me for Motown: The Sound of Young America, knew that the Detroit firm was serious about international markets. According to Rennie, it was prepared to send Wells, among others, to Europe for promotional work in the spring, even if there was demand for her at home – as there was, given the rapid chart rise of “My Guy” in April.
THE CANARY WHO QUIT
The record reached its British chart peak in June, with more exciting news following in July, when the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, confirmed that Wells was to join the acts opening for them on their forthcoming U.K. tour. By this time, however, Wells was in her much-publicised contractual dispute with Motown, as she had turned 21 and sought to leave for 20th Century Fox Records. News of the break-up crossed the Atlantic, but took second-place to the fact of her joining the Beatles on the road, such was the aura surrounding the group at that stage. Naturally, her arrival in England sparked media coverage – including the front page of the Liverpool Echo.
At EMI Records’ London headquarters, 1964
As Peter Benjaminson noted in his 2012 Wells biography, she became the first Motown act to play in front of paying audiences in Britain. Others had visited earlier for promotional duties, but not gigs. The author also noted additional aspects of the tour, including the support acts, all of which were managed by Epstein, save for Wells.
“Mary said all four Beatles would visit her in her dressing room before every show,” continued Benjaminson, “to talk to her and look at her. ‘They’d come in and say hello and sit down and talk for a while.’ Lennon would tell her jokes that were ‘mostly like parables. You have to be pretty smart to catch on to the way he jokes.’ ”
Meanwhile, EMI Records was preparing – and hoping – for the renewal in September ’64 of its initial, one-year contract with Motown. If it had misgivings about Wells’ exit, these were swiftly squelched by the hit which began to break only weeks after “My Guy” hit its peak: “Where Did Our Love Go.” When the Beatles’ four-week U.K. roadshow, with Mary on board, opened on October 9, the Supremes were nestled in the Top 3 of the national charts.
Margaret Phelps and Emily Dunn in Motown’s international department in Detroit would have been excited; Derek Everett and the team at EMI would have been relieved. The refreshed deal, covering countries like Australia, South Africa and France as well as the U.K., was for three years, and included an agreement to launch Tamla Motown as a stand-alone label in March 1965.
Upon Mary Wells’ tragic, premature passing in July 1992, Berry Gordy acknowledged her achievements. “ ‘My Guy’ marked the beginning of a new era in the world of Motown and music,” he said. “She holds a special place in the hearts of millions and a very special place in mine.”
When he referenced “the world,” he was spot-on.
Music notes: the perfection that is Mary Wells’ original of “My Guy” has evidently not deterred others from following in her footsteps. And so this WGB playlist offers an opportunity to listen and judge. Not every remake is here, including Mary’s own later re-recording of her hit, nor are any foreign-language versions, such as Claude Francois’ re-gendering of the song from more than 50 years ago. You’ll make up your own mind…