Dreamgirl: My Life As a Supreme

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Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme is the name of a 1986 autobiography that features the memoirs of Mary Wilson, one of the founding members of Motown singing trio The Supremes. It was a New York Times Best Seller for months, and remains one of the best-selling rock-and-roll autobiographies of all time. The title of the book is a reference to Dreamgirls, a 1981 Broadway play loosely based on the lives and careers of the Supremes. Dreamgirl covers the Diana Ross-led years of the group; in 1990, Wilson penned a follow-up entitled Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together that covers Wilson's life after 1970. Both books and a new afterward were included into a combined volume entitled Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme in 2000.

[edit] History

The book covers the story of Wilson's life from her childhood, to meeting Florence Ballard and Diana Ross and forming the Primettes (later The Supremes), to the group's later international success and personal conflicts in the 1960s. Ballard's replacement with Cindy Birdsong in 1967, the development of Ross as a solo act, and Ross' split from the group in 1969 - 1970 are also detailed in the book. Dreamgirl was dedicated to Wilson's family and "to the memory of Florence 'Blondie' Ballard", whose post-Supremes years are also covered in the book.

Wilson appeared on countless talk shows to promote the book, which related a significant amount of previously unknown information about Diana Ross, who by 1986 was an international star. A number of readers jokingly refer to the book as "Diana Dearest", a reference to Mommie Dearest, Christina Crawford's exposé of her mother, Joan Crawford.

In 1990, Wilson published a follow-up, Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together. Supreme Faith, co-authored by Patricia Romanowski covers The "New Supremes" of the 1970s; a period where Wilson, the only surviving member, had to attempt to keep the Supremes afloat, with the help of 70s Supremes Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell, Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Greene. The book also covers Wilson's marriage and divorce to Pedro Ferrer, the births of her three children, and her solo career in the 1980s.

In January 2000, the two books were released together as Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme, and included an afterword which covered Wilson's life during the 1990s, including her unsuccessful legal battle for the Supremes trademark and the death of her youngest son Raphael.

[edit] Versions

• Wilson, Mary (1986). Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme. New York: St. Martin's Press.
• Wilson, Mary and Romanowski, Patricia (1990). Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-016290-2
• Wilson, Mary and Romanowski, Patricia (1986, 1990, 2000). Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme. New York: Cooper Square Publishers. ISBN 0-8154-1000-X.