Someday We'll Be Together - Diana Ross (1969-70) 4/22/21

It's "Day 2" of our 3-day look at the "Great Songs" that topped Billboard's Hot 100 in December of 1969, and were STILL in the Top 10 as the new decade began.

Yesterday, we highlighted "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam (#5 the first week of 1970).

Today, we're highlighting the #3 song: "Someday We'll Be Together" by Diana Ross and the...

But first, let me digress.

Composer/pianist/author and actor Oscar Levant once said, "There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased that line."

The same could be said about Berry Gordy, Jr., the legendary founder of Motown Records. For every hit record he could claim for Motown, he would refuse to release other songs that later became hits--either because other Motown executives would release them without his knowledge...or the artist would take them to a different record label.

Berry would play favorites while blacklisting other artists, forbid singers from recording certain songs, take songs away from artists and give them to others, replace singers and producers in the middle of recording...and then he'd do something REALLY off the wall!

That brings us to "Someday We'll Be Together."

The song was written by Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua and Jackey Beavers, and originally recorded on Tri-Phi records by "Johnny & Jackey" in 1961.

In the Mid-60s, Motown bought Tri-Phi, and the song became a part of Motown's library.

In 1969, Johnny Bristol was producing a new version of "Someday" for Jr. Walker and the All Stars. The instrumental tracks had just been completed when Berry heard them, and immediately took the song away from Jr. Walker and told Johnny to give it to Diana Ross instead.

Berry thought that since Diana was leaving the Supremes, the song could serve as her solo debut.

There was some logic to that, so Johnny went ahead and started working with Diana...only to discover she couldn't quite give it the feeling Johnny wanted from the song.

To help her out, Johnny recorded a vocal guide track that Diana could listen to while singing. Then--a happy mistake: The studio engineer accidentally mixed part of Johnny's track with Diana's vocals. (Now you know who the male voice in the song belongs to!)

Then Berry changed his mind. He decided it should be Diana's final song WITH the Supremes. So the song was finished with background vocals from Merry Clayton, Julia Waters and Maxine Waters*--NONE of whom were Supremes!

*(Not the Congresswoman)

For no real good reason, Berry kept Cindy Birdsong and Mary Wilson, the REAL Supremes at the time, off the song altogether. This caused all sorts of hard feelings that lasted for decades.

But the song was released and radio listeners were none-the-wiser.

It became the last #1 song of 1969 on Billboard's Hot 100 and R&B Charts, and it reached #7 on the Dance Chart as well as #13 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. In Canada it went to #4, and it was a Top 10 hit in South Africa, Iceland, and Yugoslavia, of all places.

So Berry Gordy, Jr. was once again a genius...but now you know the rest of the story!

"Someday We'll Be Together" by Diana Ross, Johnny Bristol and...Others: A "Great Song of 1969-70!

Diana:

Johnny & Jackey (1961):