THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
959) Johnny and Jackey — “Someday We’ll Be Together”
In ’61, “the Detroit duo of Johnny Bristol and Jackey Beavers . . . had a modest regional hit with a sprightly [and fantastic] R&B tune called ‘Someday We’ll Be Together.’ . . .”(https://theboombox.com/diana-ross-supremes-someday-well-be-together/) As 1969 drew to a close, Diana Ross and the Supremes “scintillating remake” (Andrew Hamilton, https://www.allmusic.com/album/cream-of-the-crop-mw0000205513) became their last A-side and last #1.
Bryan Wawzenek explains:
Eight years earlier, back when the Supremes were still the Primettes, the Detroit duo of Johnny Bristol and Jackey Beavers . . . had a modest regional hit with a sprightly R&B tune called ‘Someday We’ll Be Together.’ . . . By [1969], Beavers had moved on to Chicago’s Checker (Chess) Records, but Bristol made his mark at Motown, producing big hits for Edwin Starr, Gladys Knight and Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. In the summer of ’69, Bristol was reworking ‘Someday We’ll Be Together’ for Jr. Walker & the All-Stars, maintaining the original’s hypnotic guitar hook while adding strings, via the Detroit Symphony, and soaring backing vocals that sweetened the chorus. After Bristol had the track nearly completed, Gordy happened to hear it and decided that it should instead become Diana Ross’s debut solo single. The label head requested that Bristol bring Ross in to record a lead part as soon as possible. Ross took a few runs at the vocal, but for whatever reason, the magic wasn’t happening. Bristol later said, “Diana wasn’t in the greatest of moods. I suggested to Mr. Gordy that I go in the other booth and just sing along with her, just a little soulful thing to kind of help.” With Bristol’s harmonizing and gentle words of encouragement, Ross achieved what the writer-producer had hoped for. The only problem was that the Motown engineer had mistakenly recorded Bristol’s vocal part along with Ross’s. This turned out to be a happy accident, as everyone decided the track was better with Johnny’s contribution . . . . Gordy [then] altered the plans once more. ‘Someday We’ll Be Together’ wouldn’t begin Ross’s solo years, it would become her last single with the Supremes. It didn’t seem to matter that . . . the other Supremes (Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong) weren’t on it at all. . . . Regardless . . . . [it] hit No. 1 . . . . Ross performed the song in her last appearance as a Supreme on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ in December, and it was the last song she sang with Wilson and Birdsong at a Las Vegas farewell show in January, 1970. Gordy got the big send-off he wanted.
https://theboombox.com/diana-ross-supremes-someday-well-be-together/
Songfacts adds that “Johnny Bristol . . . struggled to get the sound he wanted from Ross, so he went into a different vocal booth to augment her, shouting encouragement while she was recording. These exhortations made it onto the final product: That’s him coaching Diana through the song, offering ‘sing it pretty’ and ‘you better’ along the way.” (https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-supremes/-well-be-together)
As to Johnny & Jackey, Andrew Hamilton tells us that:
Johnny Bristol and Robert “Jackey” Beavers enjoyed a five-record career on Gwen Gordy and Billy “Roquel” Davis’ . . . Anna Records and Gwen and Harvey Fuqua’s Tri-Phi label. Bristol . . . met Beavers . . . when the Air Force transferred him to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, MI, where Beavers was stationed. After competing with each other in Air Force talent shows, the two singer/songwriters decided to form a musical duo. Battle Creek was home to the El Grotto Lounge, a rocking, bucket-of-blood establishment where Junior Walker & the All Stars performed as the house band. Johnny & Jackey progressed from talent shows to cash money gigs at the El Grotto, backed by the All Stars, and were discovered by Gwen Gordy, who signed them . . . and became their manager. [Two] single[s were] released in . . . 1960. . . . [but] only got local recognition . . . . Anna dissolved when Davis left to form Check Mate Records, encouraged to do so when Gwen Gordy switched her affections from him to Harvey Fuqua. Gwen Gordy and Fuqua started Tri-Phi & Harvey Records and Johnny & Jackey went along. Their first Tri-Phi single, “Carry Your Own Load” (1961), received more exposure than previous singles, but never charted very high . . . . “Someday We’ll Be Together,” released January 1962, lacked a full-blown promotional effort but got some play in surrounding states. . . . [T]he duo performed at bars and venues in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania . . . . “Someday” sold millions when Bristol cut it using Diana Ross & the Supremes; Beavers co-wrote it with Bristol and Fuqua. The final Johnny & Jackey single, the groovy “Baby Dontcha Worry,” did little; Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell later recorded it on one of their albums [see #940]. . . . [When] Gwen and Harvey Fuqua fold[ed] and thr[e]w in with Motown. . . . [t]he duo became Motown artists and songwriters by default; Bristol stayed but Beavers left, opting to try his luck with Roquel, who was now Chess Records’ A&R director. Bristol started writing and producing with Fuqua for the Spinners, but really hit his stride on Gaye and Terrell’s first album, Edwin Starr’s “25 Miles,” David Ruffin’s “My Whole World Was Empty (The Moment You Left Me),” and Diana Ross & the Supremes monster. Bristol . . . married Iris Gordy, Barry Gordy’s niece. But when dissension with Motown began (Johnny wanted to sing) and his marriage hit the skids, he left, divorced his wife, and started producing acts like Tavares and singing again. . . . He scored his biggest solo success when “Hang on in There Baby” assaulted both the R&B and the pop charts. Initially, Beavers’ move to Chess appeared promising, and he enjoyed his biggest single, “Sling Shot,” on Checker Records. But the deal was short-lived and he moved on to record for a string of labels with little success. While flops, they’re valued Northern soul items, including “Come Back My Love” on Nation, “Singing a Funky Song for My Baby” on ZS7, “Bring Me All Your Heartaches” on Grand Land Records, and “We’re Not Too Young to Fall in Love,” credited as the Jackey Beavers Show. . . . [Beavers is] credited with [having written] more than 110 songs . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-jackey-mn0001271802
Here are the Supremes:
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