Wells, Mary
Bye Bye Baby
Released in August 1961, Mary Wells debut album was the very first LP on the legendary Motown label. To hear Mary Wells rich-throated belting of the lyrics on "Bye Bye Baby" is a reminder of the even greater artistic career that might have been had Motown mogul Barry Gordy and producer Smokey Robinson not opted to soften and commercialize Wells sound. The raw power in Wells voice is evident much more so than on her later and better-known hits. While the song is entirely secular and romantic in its R&B riffs, Wells gospel choir training is amply evident. Its more reminiscent of the type of recordings for which Aretha Franklin would later become known than of the smooth pop sound prominent on most of Wells other hits. Not only an incredibly underrated R&B album, filled with a quantity of killer dancefloor-fillers, but an important insight into an artist and her record company both taking their first steps toward what would be the eventual enduring legacy of each.??