"Bye Bye Baby" is the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

by R&B singer

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...

, released in September 1960 on the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

label. The song was one of Motown's earliest hit singles and showcased a much rougher vocal than the singer had during her later years.

History

Recording

In 1960, Wells, then just 17 years of age, was a

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

who was struggling to make ends meet in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. She aspired to be a songwriter as well, so she wrote a song for fellow Detroiter and R&B singer

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

. She saw

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

while attempting to deliver "Bye Bye, Baby" to Wilson, and asked Gordy to give Wilson her song. But Gordy, having severed ties with Wilson's manager to form Motown, asked Wells to sing it herself for Motown. Mary recorded "Bye Bye Baby" in her version of Jackie Wilson's style. Reports claim that the teen had to record the song 26 times or more, before Gordy had a version he approved for release. According to Detroit music mogul

Johnnie Mae Matthews Johnnie Mae Matthews (December 31, 1922 – January 6, 2002) was an American blues and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from Bessemer, Alabama. Known as the "Godmother of Detroit Soul" and as the first African American female to own ...

, Wells had come to her with four lines of the song, which Matthews said she finished up. When the song was issued, she didn't get a songwriting credit.

Release and reaction

Released in September 1960, the song became an R&B hit reaching number eight on the Billboard R&B singles chart and crossed over to pop stations where it peaked at number forty-five. It was significant as the first single released under one of the Motown subsidiaries nationally after the label's first singles were released through distributing labels such as United Artists.

Covers

American all-female rock group

Goldie and the Gingerbreads Goldie & the Gingerbreads was an all-female American rock band from 1962 to 1967. They were the first all-female rock band signed to a major record label.Lucy O'Brien. ''She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul.'' London ...

recorded their version in December, 1963 but it was not released until the 1990s. The song was covered in 1965 by soul singer

Betty Everett Betty Jean Everett (November 23, 1939 – August 19, 2001) was an American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling " Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)", and her duet " Let It Be Me" with Jerry Butler ...

, in 1966 by Tony Jackson and the Vibrations and in 1979 by

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

. Wells remade it for her 1968 album, '' Servin' Up Some Soul''. The 1968 re-recording was produced by

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

. Wells re-recorded it again for her 1983 album I'm a Lady: The Old, New & Best of Mary Wells.

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

performed the song on her "

Love Hurts Tour The Love Hurts Tour was the third solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher. The tour supported her twentieth studio album, ''Love Hurts''. The tour reached Europe and North America. It played in arenas and followed the previous Heart of ...

" in 1992. The song was covered in 2001 by

The Detroit Cobras The Detroit Cobras were an American garage rock band from Detroit, Michigan, which was formed around 1994 by vocalist Rachel Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez, with a constantly changing assortment of (mostly male) sidemen. Nagy died on January 14 ...

. The song features on the soundtrack for the 1991 film The Commitments, as sung by

Maria Doyle Kennedy Maria Josephine Doyle Kennedy (born 25 September 1964) is an Irish singer and actress. With a singing and acting career that has spanned more than 30 years, she has established herself as one of Ireland's most prolific artists and entertainers. ...

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

* Background vocals (album version only) by The Rayber Voices (

Raynoma Liles Gordy Raynoma Mayberry Liles Gordy Singleton (March 8, 1937 – November 11, 2016) was an American R&B producer, songwriter, and vocalist perhaps best known for her association with ex-husband, Berry Gordy during the early days of Motown when she was ...

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit ...

Sonny Sanders William Nelson "Sonny" Sanders (August 6, 1939 – October 12, 2016) was an American soul music singer, songwriter, arrangement, arranger, and record producer. Born in Chicago, Sanders made his first recording in 1955, on "Tears of Love" / "Ro ...

, and Robert Bateman) * Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

* Written by Mary Wells * Produced by

References

1960 debut singles Mary Wells songs Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy Songs written by Mary Wells 1960 songs Motown singles {{1960s-single-stub