Mary Wilson - Don't Get Mad, Get Even

When I wrote the lyrics to this song at the time, which were very very personal to me, I meant each and every single word. The problem with a relationship that's too intense is that it becomes unhealthy, and doomed to end in disaster, and when I experienced this, I poured every angry emotion into the words of this song. And who better to arrive in my life to sing it at that time in 1987, than Mary Wilson, fresh off the heels of a best selling book all about her tempestuous relationship with Diana Ross. But mirroring my own personal relationship described in the words of my song, my relationship with Mary Wilson didn't stay very sweet either. I should have seen the warning signs when several of us were out to dinner in New York at the wonderful Chinese Restaurant, The Dish Of Salt, my very witty friend Damon Rochefort (who now writes for Coronation Street), dared to ask Mary about her relationship with Tom Jones, which caused her to walk out of the restaurant in a huff. So consequently and subsequently, Mary Wilson, one of the founding members of The Supremes, and I, have not exactly been friends since Motorcity. After recording two singles (this was the second), she hired a very tough manager, who persuaded me to part with a lot of money for Mary to record an album, assuring me of Mary's full co-operation in promoting it. He was incredibly persuasive, so I gave in. Once I parted with the money, not one note got sung, and I was told to basically take a flying leap. But it got worse. She then did an interview in Blues And Soul, claiming I had ripped off all the former Motown artists. I produced the contracts for her album to Blues And Soul, proved that she had not honoured her contract, and they printed an immediate retraction. So the fifteen Mary Wilson tracks I paid for still remain unrecorded, and people still privately tell me how much she criticises me. Kind of strange coming from someone who made a fortune with a best selling book which exposed her former friend, Diana Ross. Florence Ballard was quoted as saying that at least she knew where she stood with Diana, as opposed to Mary. Nevertheless, personal feelings aside, I still admire her talent and still have artistic respect for her.