(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Diana Ross & the Supremes - "Someday We'll Be Together"
Hit Number 1: December 27, 1969
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
It was the end of an era. One of the most successful groups of the 1960's, and probably the most successful act out of the Motown record label, were disbanding. The Supremes' lead singer, Diana Ross, was leaving in pursuit of a solo career. (She'll appear in this blog a few times in her solo career) But for one final time, she would hit the top spot on the charts with the name "& the Supremes" attached to her own name. That's misleading though, because when "Someday We'll Be Together" was recorded, the other members of the Supremes weren't present on the track. The band was pretty much already broken up. But since the public didn't know the behind-the-scenes work that was done on the track, it might have seemed to them like it was a swan song for the band, since they likely knew of Ross' imminent departure. Judging by the name of the song, it fits.
"Someday" was written back in 1961 by Johnny Bristol, and two other songwriters. (Bristol is the only significant one related to the making of this song) In the later half of the 1960's, Bristol became a part of Berry Gordy's thriving Motown label, and he started working on a new version of "Someday" for another Motown act, Jr. Walker & the All-Stars. Gordy already knew that Ross was leaving the Supremes for a solo career, and he happened to come across Bristol's instrumental track and background vocals for "Someday". Even though the song was not intended for Ross, Gordy had Bristol hide away Ross in the studio to record the song. When Gordy heard those tracks, he thought that the song would be a perfect first song for Ross' solo career.
There was a mistake in the song's production that remains on the final recording. Bristol was not satisfied with the takes of Ross' vocals, and decided that he would try to harmonize with her. He thought that might help her get into the mood for the song. It worked, but the engineer accidentally recorded Bristol's ad-libbing. Sometimes I really do think these things are meant to happen. Bristol heard the song, along with the mistakes, but he liked the way it turned out. Gordy liked the results too, and he decided that it would be released as the final Supremes' song, even though the other two Supremes had nothing to do with the making of the song. Looking back on the song today, it's like a last stand for the Supremes. It was a chapter ending in not only the members' lives, but it was the end for a great moment in music's history.
With all of that being said, "Someday" is a pretty glorious song in its own right. The strings weave around gracefully, the background vocalists carry it along, and I too like Bristol's ad-libbing. It's such a minor thing, but for some reason, I can't imagine the song being quite the same without it. And of course, Ross' lead vocal is flawless. The production is starting to get away from that signature Motown sound that we heard throughout the 1960's, and instead we were starting to hear the kinds of things that Ross was going to give us in the next decade. It's a mere coincidence that "Someday" was the last #1 song of the 1960's, but it wasn't a coincidence that it was the last song released with a Supremes name attached to it. I think Gordy saw it as a beautiful swan song for Ross & the Supremes, and that's exactly what it was.
GRADE: 8/10
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