Today’s classic song of the day is the final number-one record credited to Diana Ross & the Supremes before Diana Ross left the group, although Diana Ross was the only Supreme singing on the recording. Released as a single in October of 1969, the track went to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. It also got to #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
“Someday We’ll Be Together” was actually a fairly old song. Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua wrote it all the way back in 1961. Bristol and Beavers recorded the song as Johnny & Jackey for the Tri-Phi label, but it didn’t chart. When Tri-Phi was later acquired by Motown Records, Bristol and Fuqua came along as staff writers and producers. Beavers broke from the trio and went to Chess Records, instead. (Bristol also had a brief solo hit with 1974’s “Hang On In There Baby.”)
In 1969, Johnny Bristol was producing a new record for Jr. Walker & the All-Stars and pulled “Someday We’ll Be Together” out of his by then-impressive portfolio. He’d gotten as far as recording the backing instrumental tracks when Motown head Berry Gordy had a listen and decided it would be a perfect song for Diana Ross’ first solo outing.
Gordy, you see, had been grooming Diana Ross to leave the Supremes and go out on her own. He had Bristol bring Ms. Ross into the studio to record “Someday We’ll Be Together,” but nobody was happy with her vocal performance. To help her along, Bristol started singing along with her. Everybody like what they heard, and decided to keep Bristol’s vocal ad libs on the final recording.
That’s when Berry Gordy changed his mind and decided that “Someday We’ll Be Together,” instead of being Diana Ross’ first solo recording, should be the final recording for what was still Diana Ross & the Supremes. Except, of course, neither of the other Supremes (Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong) actually sang on the record; the background vocals were provided by studio singers Merry Clayton, Julia Waters Tillman, and Maxine Waters Willard. So “Someday We’ll Be Together” became the last single credited to the Supremes with Diana Ross, rather than the first solo single credited to Diana Ross on her own.
All that said, let’s turn to today’s daily bonus video of the day to see Diana Ross & the Supremes sing “Someday We’ll Be Together” on the December 21, 1969, episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. It was their last appearance together.
