MICHIGAN CHRONICLE REVIEWER WRITES THAT MARY WELLS: THE TUMULTUOUS LIFE OF MOTOWN'S FIRST SUPERSTAR "IS ONE OF THE MOST INTRIGUING AND METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ."

A new book that I highly recommend is "Mary Wells," subtitled "The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar," by Peter Benjaminson. This is one of the most intriguing and meticulously researched books I have ever read.

Mary Wells, of whom yours truly was a huge fan, landed on the national charts in 1960 with a song she wrote titled "Bye Bye Baby." It went Top 10 as did the follow-up, "I Don't Want to Take a Chance."

But then her career shifted into high gear when Smokey Robinson began writing and producing her records.

The hits from 1962 to 1964 were non-stop, including "The One Who Really Loves You," "You Beat Me to the Punch," "Two Lovers," "Laughing Boy," "Your Old Stand By," "What's Easy For Two Is So Hard For One," and the classic "My Guy." Plus there was a two-sided hit duet with Marvin Gaye, "Once Upon a Time"/"What's the Matter With You Baby?"

She was the undisputed queen of Motown and a giant in the industry, but then, guided by youth and her husband-manager, she left Motown and after that, success on the charts was limited and sporadic. You might remember "Use Your Head," "Dear Lover," "The Doctor," and "Gigolo."

There were a lot of issues in Wells' personal life, including romantic entanglements, violence, drugs, bad marriages and alcohol, not to mention smoking two packs of cigarettes a day that led to the throat cancer that ultimately took her life in 1992.

But she was not a quitter.

"Mary had her faults," writes Benjaminson, "but she came through magnificently when she was down on her luck and even after her luck had completely run out."

Problems aside, Mary Wells has a well-deserved place in music history, and this pull-no-punches book does her justice.

-Steve Holsey