The 1960s came to a close with a familiar name atop Billboards Hot 100. The weekly chart dated December 27, 1969, began with Diana Ross and the Supremes in the top spot. The song was the last single for Ms. Ross that shared credit with Cindy Birdsong and Mary Wilson as the Supremes. Someday Well Be Together quickly became a hit and was a poignant goodbye to the association of Diana with Motowns most popular group. The song was written and first recorded more than 8 years before Diana went to the studio with it. There are some fascinating facts to share about the song and how it was recorded. Someday Well Be Together was written by Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers and Harvey Fuqua. It was Johnny and Jackey that recorded a single of the song back in 1961 and found some regional success. At the time, Harvey Fuqua was the head of an independent label and was also married to Berry Gordys sister. After a short time, the label was acquired by Gordy and Motown. The rights to Someday Well Be Together came along with the deal. Bristol and Fuqua also began work at Motown. Johnny Bristol kept writing songs for Gordy and produced records for the Motown labels. Fuqua was also a producer and was important with artists development for the Motown labels. Its been widely reported through the years that by 1969 Gordy was ready to have Diana perform without the Supremes. Diana went into the studio with Someday Well Be Together to record her first single as a solo artist. The singers backing Diana were not Cindy and Mary. The background vocals were by session singers. But when Berry Gordy heard the finished product of the sessions, he decided to make it the last single for Diana Ross and the Supremes. Johnny Bristol was producer of this single. And, as the story has been told, Bristol became a performer on the song more by accident than design. During session takes, Bristol sang along and harmonized a bit with Diana to encourage his vision and interpretation of the song he helped write. Bristols ad libs were recorded and when the takes were played back it was decided Johnnys supporting calls to Diana worked with the desired mood of the song. So when you hear the male voice a few places in the song, thats Johnny Bristol. In 1974, Bristol had his biggest success as a solo artist, after leaving Motown, with Hang On In There Baby. I recall the first time I heard Someday Well Be Together in early November 1969. My father and I were in the family car (he was driving) helping his brothers election efforts as a county sheriff candidate. It was after dark and the car radio was tuned to WLS, the Big 89, while we drove near the Arjay community of Bell County, Kentucky. The song was introduced (Im guessing by either Chuck Buell or Kris Erik Stevens) as the groups last single but, you know, someday theyll be together again. That stuck with me, obviously, and the record became one of my personal favorites. The songs arrangement, with the rich use of strings from members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the play of Motowns session players that became known as the Funk Brothers, claimed my ear. I could not then and cannot now tire of hearing this record. (Oh, if youre wondering, Daddys brother won that election.) As the years went by I learned more about the Funk Brothers. They were a collection of some of the finest musicians anywhere and became a phenomenal part of the success of Motown. One of those players was guitarist Dennis Coffey who managed to pursue and establish a solo career away from Gordys influence and control. Coffey had hit singles with the instrumental songs Scorpio and Taurus in 1971 and 1972 under the name Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band. Another of those Funk Brothers players was bassist, James Jamerson. The expanded use of the bass to support melody and drive rhythm was pioneered by Jamerson in the late 50s and 60s. Although I had no idea about the session players back in 1969, I have since become quite interested with the work of these musicians, not only at Detroits Hitsville studios, but anywhere in the industry. Dennis Coffey is still around and making music. Coffeys talents are legendary and I recently had an opportunity to ask him a few questions about his work in the Someday Well Be Together sessions at Hitsville. Several years ago I became aware that Dennis Coffey was on guitar for that record. Dennis informed me that he played the tremolo guitar chords in the verses and hit the backbeat guitar licks in the chorus. For the last 45 years Ive been drawn to those elegant guitar chords (on the 1 beat) that helped frame the verses of this song. It was so nice to learn it was Dennis who made that piece of the music which, for my ear, adds so much texture and a meaningful measure of sophistication each time I listen. Dennis also confirmed that James Jamerson was on bass in the sessions and that he thinks it was Robert White playing guitar with the four note low strings (across the 3 and 4 beats) throughout most the song. Jamerson died in 1983 at the age of 47 and White passed at age 57 in 1994. By the way, this Diana Ross and the Supremes hit was #1 for only one week. The 1970s began with B.J. Thomas and Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head at the top position and that Bacharach/David song stayed there for 6 weeks. Over the last 4 years I offered my music musings via this forum and my timeline on more than 400 songs that were part of my life in the 1960s and 1970s. A few times Ive included records outside of those 2 decades. Primarily, I featured songs that are somewhat (sometimes very) obscure. I have also shown some fondness for so-called one-hit wonders and, whether obscure or not, strong personal favorites, such as todays feature. While I will not give up this pursuit entirely, my music-centric posts will become infrequent rather than appear every weekend. For me, this was a labor of love and I deeply appreciate the comments (and likes) you provided during the years. It also pleasantly surprised me when someone would tell me in person (not via social media) that these ramblings were something they enjoyed and even looked forward to read each week. Thank you.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:51:58 +0000