Remember When : SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER Was A Top Five Country Song??

[Boogiedown]

Well, it was !!
Exactly fifty years ago , the summer of 1970:

Whispering Bill Anderson & Jan Howard :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq-mt3GuQWk

@#4 August 8, 1970

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

Well I like classic Country music so this is a huge surprise! So even Country music was well aware of The Supremes!

[TheMotownManiac]

Well, it was !!
Exactly fifty years ago , the summer of 1970:

Whispering Bill Anderson & Jan Howard :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq-mt3GuQWk

@#4 August 8, 1970
Ugh geez.....I’m not anti country, but this......

[BigAl]

Why? Why on earth?

[calvin]

Why? Why on earth?

I guess some at Motown must have been very happy about thi$$$.

A few years later, "Motown Records and their publishing arm, Jobete Music, arrived in Nashville to record a series of demos in hopes of attracting country artists to cut their material..."

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/hear-tragic-country-singer-gary-stewarts-rare-motown-demo-for-record-store-day-629194/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=6mLgOSEhWGc&feature=emb_lo go

[Boogiedown]

Well I like classic Country music so this is a huge surprise! So even Country music was well aware of The Supremes!

I like classic country of the seventies, but this one predates me and was also a surprise. At first I thought "on, no" but after a handful of listens I was on board. I like the adventurous approach to it , the tempo and the drum pattern and the reverb used on Jan Howard's vocals. And it's interesting the successful reception it got from the hillbilly 'community'.

Jan passed away in March . Are you familiar with her Waiting, Watching? Her story is a rough one, immortalized by the letter/song she wrote to her drafted son in Vietnam who was killed there in the first two weeks of the song's release!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrqAtgYG02w

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

This video is so poignant and heartbreaking at the same time. I just love Jan's dignity and strength. PBS ran the Ken Burns documentary on the history of country music and I think there was something about this great lady. I'll have to go back and see but I'll also check out more of her story. Seems like a great person.

Like you, I like that the approach taken on "Someday" is different. "Adventurous" is the word. Hey, they obviously appreciated this song and my feeling is instead of trying to do a carbon copy, they decided to tailor it to the country market and did a version that respected the song. Thanks for sparking an interest in Jan Howard's story.

[midnightman]

Y'all do know Motown tried a country label in the early 80s, right? LOL I'm not surprised country musicians covered Motown. Think Barbara Mandrell covered "More Love".

[motony]

I seem to remember Dolly Parton doing "Two Lovers" on an early LP. The name of Motowns country label escapes me but I think TG Shepherd was a country success on it.

[calvin]

Motown did some country singles on the Mel-o-dy label in the 1960s, including several by Howard Crockett, but those were not covers of other non-country Motown songs.

Yes you're right, Dolly Parton did "Two Lovers" but it was on an 80s album which was a failed attempt to cross over into pop, it doesn't sound country at all.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSp1LI36cfo

[reese]

I seem to remember Dolly Parton doing "Two Lovers" on an early LP. The name of Motowns country label escapes me but I think TG Shepherd was a country success on it.

I think the label was called Melodyland but later changed to Hitsville because a church was also using the Melodyland name.

[calvin]

This made it to #2 on the country chart in 1984 [[I wasn't familiar with it, I just found it in a search):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3fm3xzVzf8

[midnightman]

I forgot about the Motown country label in the '60s.

[TomatoTom123]

LOLOLOLOLOL, wtf is this!

To be fair, I don’t really like country music [[it always sounds like a pisstake of itself IMO LOL) so probably not for me. :)

[Boogiedown]

This video is so poignant and heartbreaking at the same time. I just love Jan's dignity and strength. PBS ran the Ken Burns documentary on the history of country music and I think there was something about this great lady. I'll have to go back and see but I'll also check out more of her story. Seems like a great person.

Like you, I like that the approach taken on "Someday" is different. "Adventurous" is the word. Hey, they obviously appreciated this song and my feeling is instead of trying to do a carbon copy, they decided to tailor it to the country market and did a version that respected the song. Thanks for sparking an interest in Jan Howard's story.

:cool: > Waiting/Watching.
Yes her dignity and strength really comes through in that piece. Jan probably lived her entire life regretting not trying to intervene on her son's behalf, yet knew he would've lacked a lifetime of self respect by not going. He felt it was his duty . The nightmare of getting a letter like that which quite possibly may turn out to be a death sentence as happened in this case. Terrible.
That his younger brother loved him so much that he decided to go too, as in ,"we're in this together", is mind blowing.

[Boogiedown]

I guess some at Motown must have been very happy about thi$$$.

A few years later, "Motown Records and their publishing arm, Jobete Music, arrived in Nashville to record a series of demos in hopes of attracting country artists to cut their material..."

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/hear-tragic-country-singer-gary-stewarts-rare-motown-demo-for-record-store-day-629194/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=6mLgOSEhWGc&feature=emb_lo go

Most interesting Motown tapping into unknown Gary Stewart for this experiment . A few years later , in the mid-seventies Gary would have his day in the country sun - pushing his vibrato to the limit - with a handful of hits including the #4 OUT OF HAND written by Jeff Barry [[RIVER DEEP MOUNTAIN HIGH )


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhR9IGIU2Dc

In 2003 just before Thanksgiving , Gary Stewart's wife of 43 years died of pneumonia.
Less than a month later, a despondent Stewart committed suicide.

[Roberta75]

Well, it was !!
Exactly fifty years ago , the summer of 1970:

Whispering Bill Anderson & Jan Howard :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq-mt3GuQWk

@#4 August 8, 1970

Oh dear Lord that wasnt good. LOL

[nathanj06]

Unfortunately I somewhat recall this. There are songs that are done with such vocal precision, they shouldn't be covered. But that's not to be. I suppose it sounds good to country ears. The only cover I could "feel" was Bert Kampferts early 1970 instrumental except for that horrible vocal of the title chorus. Had it been just arranged as an instrumental, perhaps it could have been much more beautiful. But Diana Ross' vocal was perfection and so was the arrangement regardless of who was on background. It's gorgeous and I think we all agree, however it happened, it was the perfect last #1 of the 60s decade. You can't end better than that.

[Boogiedown]

Unfortunately I somewhat recall this. There are songs that are done with such vocal precision, they shouldn't be covered. But that's not to be. I suppose it sounds good to country ears. The only cover I could "feel" was Bert Kampferts early 1970 instrumental except for that horrible vocal of the title chorus. Had it been just arranged as an instrumental, perhaps it could have been much more beautiful. But Diana Ross' vocal was perfection and so was the arrangement regardless of who was on background. It's gorgeous and I think we all agree, however it happened, it was the perfect last #1 of the 60s decade. You can't end better than that.

you're right ! The "Supremes" at their best!

and OMG this is fantastic!:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vUJ6ltsTC4

just wish it also said "say it say it say it again". That's the song's pay dirt line.

[kenneth]

Kaempfert was quite a genius arranger and composer. He wrote the music that eventually became “strangers in the night“ as well as the song that eventually became “Spanish eyes“. I love his music. It always puts me in a good mood. It’s lounge at its best… And I don’t mean to make fun of it by saying that. I’m serious.

[milven]

Kaempfert was quite a genius arranger and composer. He wrote the music that eventually became “strangers in the night“ as well as the song that eventually became “Spanish eyes“. I love his music. It always puts me in a good mood. It’s lounge at its best… And I don’t mean to make fun of it by saying that. I’m serious.

I love Bert Kaempfort's music too. I did not know that he wrote the music to STRANGERS. His version of SOMEDAY is my favorite [[other than the Supremes).

His music does put people in good mood. It gives you a Happy Feeling while listening to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=201cTEKRPUc

[Boogiedown]

I love Bert Kaempfort's music too. I did not know that he wrote the music to STRANGERS. His version of SOMEDAY is my favorite [[other than the Supremes).

His music does put people in good mood. It gives you a Happy Feeling while listening to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=201cTEKRPUc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUimFmvJkMI

[kpitt1204]

Https://youtu.be/oU_sFZWUK_g This is the original version.

[Boogiedown]

kpitt1204:
Https://youtu.be/oU_sFZWUK_g This is the original version.




Thanks for sharing this kpitt! it's fantastic!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU_sFZWUK_g&feature=youtu.be

is it a stretch to hear in it some of this ??



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xObSJWIWui0


probably. lol!