Someday We'll Be Together
Encyclopedia
"Someday We'll Be Together" is a song made popular as the last of twelve number-one singles for Diana Ross & the Supremes
on the Motown label. It is the final Supremes song featuring Diana Ross
, who left the group for a solo career in January 1970. Despite this distinction, "Someday We'll Be Together" was originally recorded as Ross' first solo single and, as such, Mary Wilson
and Cindy Birdsong
did not sing on the recorded release although both appear on the B-side, "He's My Sunny Boy
."
The single topped the Billboard Hot 100
pop singles chart for one week. Reaching number-one on the American pop chart in the final 1969 issue of Billboard magazine (dated December 27), the single was not only the final number-one in 12 chart-topping pop hits for The Supremes, but it also holds the distinction of being the final American number-one hit of the 1960s
.
, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua
in 1961; and Bristol and Beavers recorded the song together as "Johnny & Jackey" for the Tri-Phi label that same year. "Someday" was a moderate success in the Midwestern United States, but gained little notice in other venues.
Tri-Phi was purchased by Motown in the mid-1960s. Fuqua, Bristol, and Beavers all joined Berry Gordy
's by-then famous record company, and "Someday We'll Be Together" became part of Motown's Jobete publishing catalog. Beavers soon departed for Chess Records
, although both Bristol and Fuqua stayed on as songwriters and producers for the label.
Unable at first to get the vocal performance he desired from Diana Ross, Johnny Bristol decided to try something different: he would harmonize with Ross, helping her to get into the mood needed for the record. On the first take, the engineer accidentally recorded both Ross's vocal and Bristol's ad-libs. Bristol and arranger Wade Marcus liked the results, and Bristol had his vocal recorded alongside Ross' for the final version of the song. Bristol's ad-libs and words of encouragement to Ross can be heard in the background throughout the song. When Berry Gordy heard the completed song, he decided to release it as the final Diana Ross & the Supremes song. Ross' first solo single instead, released early 1970, became "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)
."
While the explicit subject of the song was that of Ross comforting a long-distance lover, "Someday We'll Be Together" allowed for a number of other implications such that Ross and bandmates Mary Wilson
and Cindy Birdsong
would one day "be together." Further, in concert, Ross would suggest that "someday, we'll be together" in regard to contemporary troubles like civil rights
and the ongoing demonstrations and protests against the Vietnam War
.
. The song was a United States
number-one hit on both the Billboard Hot 100
popular singles chart and the R&B singles
charts, as well as charting in the top twenty at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart
. It also peaked on the Netherlands' MegaCharts
at #19 in 1970
. "Someday's" B-side
, "He's My Sunny Boy," was recorded by Ross, Wilson, and Birdsong for the Love Child album in 1968 and written and produced by Smokey Robinson
.
"Someday" also charted at number-one on the Billboard R&B Singles
for four weeks, from December 13, 1969 to January 3, 1970. "Someday We'll Be Together" therefore appeared in Billboard as both the final R&B number-one of the 1960s and the first R&B number-one of the 1970s.
variety program
The Ed Sullivan Show
with Diana Ross as lead singer on Sunday, December 21, 1969, the final Sullivan performance of the 1960s
.
Fittingly, "Someday We'll Be Together" was the final number at Diana Ross & the Supremes' farewell concert on January 14, 1970 at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas
. After the completion of the show, Jean Terrell was presented onstage to the audience as Diana Ross' replacement, and "Diana Ross & the Supremes" officially split apart, becoming the new "The Supremes."
Diana Ross reunited with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong reunited in 1983, performing the single for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
television special
.
and Jan Howard
recorded a cover version for the country music market. Their version peaked at #4 on Billboard magazines Hot Country Singles
chart in the summer of 1970. Another cover, credited to the "already-defunct" group (and fellow Motown act) The Marvelettes
, was released in 1970 as well, as a track to the group's final album The Return of the Marvelettes
. As with the Supremes version, lead vocalist Wanda Young Rogers
was the only group member to sing on the track, with The Andantes
used as backing vocalists.
In 1993, Janet Jackson
sampled the opening riff on her hit song "If
" from the album janet..
Other cover versions included those by rock artist Vonda Shepard
, Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville
, orchestra leader Bert Kaempfert
, and country singer Lorrie Morgan
.
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
on the Motown label. It is the final Supremes song featuring Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, who left the group for a solo career in January 1970. Despite this distinction, "Someday We'll Be Together" was originally recorded as Ross' first solo single and, as such, Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson is an American singer, formerlymember of the Motown female singing group The Supremes during the 1960s and 1970s. Wilson was the only singer to be a consistent member of the group in its eighteen-year tenure...
and Cindy Birdsong
Cindy Birdsong
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Birdsong , better known by her stage name, Cindy Birdsong, is an American singer, most famous for singing with the legendary soul groups Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles and The Supremes.-Early life:...
did not sing on the recorded release although both appear on the B-side, "He's My Sunny Boy
He's My Sunny Boy
"He's My Sunny Boy" is a song performed by Diana Ross & the Supremes, written and produced by Smokey Robinson. Originally, the composition was released on the group's 1968 album, Love Child and later as a b-side on the Supremes' final single to feature Diana Ross, "Someday We'll Be Together." The...
."
The single topped the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
pop singles chart for one week. Reaching number-one on the American pop chart in the final 1969 issue of Billboard magazine (dated December 27), the single was not only the final number-one in 12 chart-topping pop hits for The Supremes, but it also holds the distinction of being the final American number-one hit of the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
.
Original version
The song was written by Johnny BristolJohnny Bristol
Johnny Bristol , was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua, was an African-American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s...
in 1961; and Bristol and Beavers recorded the song together as "Johnny & Jackey" for the Tri-Phi label that same year. "Someday" was a moderate success in the Midwestern United States, but gained little notice in other venues.
Tri-Phi was purchased by Motown in the mid-1960s. Fuqua, Bristol, and Beavers all joined Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
's by-then famous record company, and "Someday We'll Be Together" became part of Motown's Jobete publishing catalog. Beavers soon departed for Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, although both Bristol and Fuqua stayed on as songwriters and producers for the label.
Supremes version
In 1969, Bristol was preparing a cover version of "Someday We'll Be Together," to be recorded by Motown act Jr. Walker & the All-Stars. Bristol had already recorded the instrumental track and the background vocals by Maxine Waters and Julia Waters when Berry Gordy happened upon the tracks and heard them. Gordy thought that "Someday" would be a perfect first solo single for Diana Ross, who was making her long-expected exit from the Supremes at the time, and had Bristol sequester Ross into the studio to record the song.Unable at first to get the vocal performance he desired from Diana Ross, Johnny Bristol decided to try something different: he would harmonize with Ross, helping her to get into the mood needed for the record. On the first take, the engineer accidentally recorded both Ross's vocal and Bristol's ad-libs. Bristol and arranger Wade Marcus liked the results, and Bristol had his vocal recorded alongside Ross' for the final version of the song. Bristol's ad-libs and words of encouragement to Ross can be heard in the background throughout the song. When Berry Gordy heard the completed song, he decided to release it as the final Diana Ross & the Supremes song. Ross' first solo single instead, released early 1970, became "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)
Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)
"Reach Out and Touch " was the debut solo single for Motown singer Diana Ross, released in April 1970.Ross, having just left The Supremes after a decade of serving as that group's lead singer, went through a difficult situation trying to piece a solo album together...
."
While the explicit subject of the song was that of Ross comforting a long-distance lover, "Someday We'll Be Together" allowed for a number of other implications such that Ross and bandmates Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson is an American singer, formerlymember of the Motown female singing group The Supremes during the 1960s and 1970s. Wilson was the only singer to be a consistent member of the group in its eighteen-year tenure...
and Cindy Birdsong
Cindy Birdsong
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Birdsong , better known by her stage name, Cindy Birdsong, is an American singer, most famous for singing with the legendary soul groups Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles and The Supremes.-Early life:...
would one day "be together." Further, in concert, Ross would suggest that "someday, we'll be together" in regard to contemporary troubles like civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and the ongoing demonstrations and protests against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Release
"Someday We'll Be Together" was included on the final Diana Ross & the Supremes album, Cream of the CropCream of the Crop
Cream of the Crop is a 1969 album recorded by Diana Ross & the Supremes for the Motown label, the final regular Supremes studio album to feature lead singer Diana Ross...
. The song was a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
number-one hit on both the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
popular singles chart and the R&B singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
charts, as well as charting in the top twenty at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It also peaked on the Netherlands' MegaCharts
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
at #19 in 1970
1970 in music
- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....
. "Someday's" B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, "He's My Sunny Boy," was recorded by Ross, Wilson, and Birdsong for the Love Child album in 1968 and written and produced by Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
.
"Someday" also charted at number-one on the Billboard R&B Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
for four weeks, from December 13, 1969 to January 3, 1970. "Someday We'll Be Together" therefore appeared in Billboard as both the final R&B number-one of the 1960s and the first R&B number-one of the 1970s.
Notable live performances
The girl group made their final live appearance on the CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
variety program
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
with Diana Ross as lead singer on Sunday, December 21, 1969, the final Sullivan performance of the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
.
Fittingly, "Someday We'll Be Together" was the final number at Diana Ross & the Supremes' farewell concert on January 14, 1970 at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. After the completion of the show, Jean Terrell was presented onstage to the audience as Diana Ross' replacement, and "Diana Ross & the Supremes" officially split apart, becoming the new "The Supremes."
Diana Ross reunited with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong reunited in 1983, performing the single for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever is a 1983 television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to commemorate Motown's twenty-fifth year of existence. Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever is a 1983 television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
.
Other cover versions
Bill AndersonBill Anderson (country music)
James William Anderson III , better known as Bill Anderson, is an American country music singer, songwriter and television personality. He has released more than 40 studio albums and has reached No...
and Jan Howard
Jan Howard
Lula Grace Johnson , known professionally as Jan Howard, is an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry star. She attained moderate success as a country female vocalist during the 1960s and early 1970s...
recorded a cover version for the country music market. Their version peaked at #4 on Billboard magazines Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart in the summer of 1970. Another cover, credited to the "already-defunct" group (and fellow Motown act) The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr...
, was released in 1970 as well, as a track to the group's final album The Return of the Marvelettes
The Return of The Marvelettes
The Return of The Marvelettes was marketed as the last album by the group, although in reality their last had been 1969's In Full Bloom...
. As with the Supremes version, lead vocalist Wanda Young Rogers
Wanda Young
Wanda Young is an American singer, famous for being the member and later lead singer of the popular Motown all-female singing group The Marvelettes.-Biography:Wanda was born in 1943 and raised in the western Detroit suburb of Inkster, Michigan...
was the only group member to sing on the track, with The Andantes
The Andantes
The Andantes were a prolific female sessions group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
used as backing vocalists.
In 1993, Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
sampled the opening riff on her hit song "If
If (Janet Jackson song)
"If" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, janet. . Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was released as the album's second single in July 1993, and became Jackson's second top five hit from the janet. album.-Song...
" from the album janet..
Other cover versions included those by rock artist Vonda Shepard
Vonda Shepard
Vonda Shepard is an American pop/rock singer. She appeared as a regular in the television show Ally McBeal from seasons 1-5 in which she played a resident performer at the bar where the show's characters drank after work. She plays piano, guitar, and bass.-Biography:Vonda Shepard was born in New...
, Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville
Jimmy Somerville
James William Somerville is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He had considerable success in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a successful solo career. He is known in particular for his falsetto singing voice...
, orchestra leader Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert was a German orchestra leader and songwriter. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records, and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, such as "Strangers in the Night" and "Spanish Eyes".-Biography:He was born in Hamburg, Germany - where he received his lifelong...
, and country singer Lorrie Morgan
Lorrie Morgan
In 1996 Morgan married Jon Randall, a singer/songwriter now credited with writing the 2004 Brad Paisley/Alison Krauss hit "Whiskey Lullaby"; they divorced three years later in 1999....
.
Johnny & Jackey version
- Vocals by Johnny BristolJohnny BristolJohnny Bristol , was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
and Jackey Beavers - Instrumentation by Various
Diana Ross & the Supremes version
- Lead vocals by Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
- Background vocals by Maxine Waters and Julia Waters
- Male vocal by Johnny BristolJohnny BristolJohnny Bristol , was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
- Instrumentation by The Funk BrothersThe Funk BrothersThe Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...
- Arranged by Wade Marcus
Bill Anderson and Jan Howard version
- Vocals by Bill AndersonBill Anderson (country music)James William Anderson III , better known as Bill Anderson, is an American country music singer, songwriter and television personality. He has released more than 40 studio albums and has reached No...
and Jan HowardJan HowardLula Grace Johnson , known professionally as Jan Howard, is an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry star. She attained moderate success as a country female vocalist during the 1960s and early 1970s... - Instrumentation by various instrumentalists
Supremes version
- 7" single (14 October 1969) (North America/United Kingdom)
- "Someday We'll Be Together" – 3:14
- "He's My Sunny Boy" – 2:18
See also
- Pop number-one hits of 1969 (USA)
- R&B number-one hits of 1969 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1969 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1969:See also: 1969 in music, List of number-one R&B hits...
- R&B number-one hits of 1970 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1970 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1970:See also: 1970 in music, List of number-one R&B hits -Chart comparisons:...