Johnny Bristol - Songs

ABOUT

Johnny Bristol (February 3, 1939 - March 21, 2004) was a highly acclaimed and veteran R&B/soul singer-songwriter with a great deal of crossover appeal who first came to prominence in the late 1960s as a hitmaking producer and songwriter for Motown before becoming famous as a recording artist during the mid 1970s. He is best known for the upbeat and suggestive "Hang On In There Baby" (1974).

Born in Morganton, North Carolina, he began in the late 1950s as one half of the duo, Johnny & Jackey (with Jackey Beavers), who recorded on Anna Records, a subsidiary of the Tri-Phi label later absorbed by Motown. Bristol started his career at Motown in the mid 1960s as a songwriter and producer, working with Harvey Fuqua and others. His numerous production/songwriting credits include The Supremes' "Someday We'll Be Together" (1969), a song he co-wrote in 1961 with Jackey Beavers and Harvey Fuqua that was first recorded by Johnny & Jackey. Bristol also provided the male vocals in The Supremes' smash version alongside lead singer Diana Ross. He left Motown in 1973 to join CBS as a producer, working with such artists Tom Jones, Johnny Mathis, and Al Wilson, before launching his solo career the following year, signing with MGM.

Johnny Bristol debuted in 1974 with "Hang On In There Baby," which became a Top 5 hit on the R&B charts and made the Pop/Rock Top 10. He later remade this smash as a duet with Alton McClain which recharted in 1980. Bristol's long string of mostly self-penned hits, which continued on both the Pop/Rock and R&B charts through 1980, also include "You And I" (1974), "Leave My World" (1975), "Do It To My Mind" (1976), "You Turned Me On To Love" (1977), "Waiting On Love" (1978), and "My Guy/My Girl" (1980, with Amii Stewart), the latter a medley of the two Smokey Robinson-penned classics made famous by Mary Wells and The Temptations, respectively. He also recorded the original version of "Love Me For A Reason," which later became a hit for The Osmonds. Johnny Bristol's final charting song came in 1981 with "Love No Longer Has A Hold On Me," a minor R&B hit.

In addition to The Supremes' "Someday We'll Be Together," Johnny Bristol also co-wrote such oldies classics as Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You," David Ruffin's "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)," Edwin Starr's "Twenty-Five Miles," Jr. Walker & The All Stars' "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)," and "La La Peace Song," which became a hit in 1974 for both Al Wilson and O.C. Smith. Later songwriting credits include Janet Jackson's 1992 smash, "If."

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SONGS

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Johnny Bristol

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