Supremes' Wilson coming to Bay area

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Singer Mary Wilson says she's still living the dream as one the original "dream girls" in The Supremes.

"That 50 years has gone by is quite a feat, but many of us are still working and I'm absolutely thrilled to still be singing," Wilson said in a telephone interview.

She was one of the founding members of The Supremes along with Florence Ballard, Betty McGlown and Diana Ross. Wilson is now a solo act, but she'll have a couple of backup singers to help recreate The Supremes' hits when she performs Saturday at The Club at Treasure Island.

The Supremes had 12 No.1 hits from 1964 to 1969 including "Baby Love," "Stop in the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again." Wilson has continued to create music in the decades that followed.

Wilson recounted her early career in the 1986 best-selling rock 'n' roll autobiography "Dreamgirl and Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme." It was published after the musical "Dreamgirls" closed on Broadway.

The creators of "Dreamgirls" have always denied the play is based on The Supremes, saying it was inspired by numerous all-girl singing groups from the 1960s.

Wilson was a teenager when she signed with Motown in 1961. She stayed with The Supremes through 1977 while other members of the group came and went. Ross went solo in 1970.

For a while during her solo career, she avoided doing Supremes hits and focused on bluesy ballads. In recent years, she has incorporated the classics into her stage show.

"I enjoy doing those original songs that people love but I've come into my own with blues, jazz, and even pop and rock," she says. "You have to keep reinventing yourself." She's constantly touring, coming to the Tampa area after playing a gig Thursday at Coney Island.

She toured Russia and the United Kingdom early this year.

Wilson also has a traveling exhibit of about 50 distinctive gowns that The Supremes wore during their career. "I have a lot more and I've been trying to locate another 76 to 100 gowns that Motown had that went missing," she says.

Wilson lives in Las Vegas when she's not on the road. Fans can keep up with her at www.marywilson.com. A limited number of tickets are available for her Treasure Island performance at 9 p.m. Saturday ($45, with a portion benefiting All Children's Hospital). For information, call (888) 695-0888.

BIG CHEESE: Tampa hip-hop artist Jakeem Johnson, aka Big Cheese, has won honors at the first Independent Film Channel LoCo Awards. His parody video for Big Cheese Car Credit was named Best Original Song.

The LoCo Awards honor offbeat local commercials made in the spirit of IFC's new series "Commercial Kings," which follows filmmakers Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal as they travel the country making goofy commercials. See the Big Cheese at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ4-WCfObPk.

WEB SHOW: AMC plans its first online Web series, "The Trivial Pursuits of Arthur Banks," starring Adam Goldberg as a successful theater director who stages an elaborate play that mirrors his dysfunctional love life. The 40-minute debut can be seen on amctv.com and Hulu.com on Aug. 22.