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.

Mary Esther Wells was born near Detroit's Wayne State University on May 13, 1943, to a mother who worked as a domestic, and an absentee father.

One of three children, she contracted spinal meningitis at the age of two and struggled with partial blindness, deafness in one ear and temporary paralysis.

Wells used singing as her comfort from her pain and by age 10 had graduated from church choirs to performing at local nightclubs in the Detroit area.

Wells became the first Motown female artist to have a Top 40 pop single after the Mickey Stevenson-penned doo-wop song "I Don't Want to Take a Chance" hit number 33 in June 1961.

"My Guy" was one of the first Motown songs to break on the other side of the Atlantic, eventually peaking at number 5 on the UK chart and making Wells an international star.

Around this time, the Beatles stated that Wells was their favorite American singer, and soon she was given an invitation to open for the group during their tour of the United Kingdom, thus making her the first Motown star to perform in the UK.

Finally, Wells invoked a clause that allowed her to leave the label, advising the court that her original contract was invalid, as she had signed while she was still a minor.

Wells won her lawsuit and was awarded a settlement, leaving Motown officially in early 1965, whereupon she accepted a lucrative ($200,000) contract with 20th Century Fox Records.

Wells worked on material for her new record label while dealing with other issues, including being bedridden for weeks suffering from tuberculosis.

Wells's eponymous first 20th Century Fox release included the first single "Ain't It The Truth", its B-side "Stop Taking Me for Granted", the lone top 40 hit, "Use Your Head" and "Never, Never Leave Me".

Rumors have hinted Motown may have threatened to sue radio stations for playing Wells's post-Motown music during this time.

[10] After a stressful period in which Wells and the label battled over multiple issues after her records failed to chart successfully, the singer asked to be let go in 1965 and left with a small settlement.

In 1970, Wells left Jubilee for a short-lived deal with Warner Music subsidiary Reprise Records and released two Bobby Womack-produced singles.

[11] Though a re-issue, Wells promoted the single heavily and appeared on the British TV show Top of the Pops for the first time.

After the parent album failed to chart or produce successful follow-ups, the Motown-styled These Arms was released, but it flopped and was quickly withdrawn, and Wells's Epic contract fizzled.

On the April 21, 1984 edition of American Top 40, Casey Kasem reported that Wells was attempting to establish a hot dog chain.

As she struggled to continue treatment, old Motown friends, including Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, members of the Temptations and Martha Reeves, made donations to support her, along with the help of admirers such as Dionne Warwick, Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt.

That same year, she testified before the United States Congress to encourage government funding for cancer research:[17] I'm here today to urge you to keep the faith.

I can't cheer you on with all my voice, but I can encourage, and I pray to motivate you with all my heart and soul and whispers.Wells married twice: first, in 1960, to Detroit singer Herman Griffin; they divorced in 1963.

[19] After her funeral, which included a eulogy given by her old friend and former collaborator, Smokey Robinson, Wells was cremated, and her ashes were laid to rest in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in a Womack family crypt.