Song:Hang On In There Baby
Album:The MGM Collection
Johnny Bristol was a producer for Motown in the 60s but had a lot of success as a solo artist in the 70s. Hang On In There Baby was his only top ten pop hit. He was born Feb. 3, 1939 in Morganton, NC. At Motown, he was part of the family. He first recorded as a duo with Jackey Beavers called Johnny & Jackey in 1959 for Tri-Phi Records, a label owned by Berry Gordy Jr's sister Gwen Gordy and Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows. Motown took over Tri-Phi in the early 60s and Bristol and Fuqua produced many Motown hits, most significantly Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Bristol also produced Someday We'll Be Together for Diana Ross & The Supremes, a song he originally recorded as part of Johnny & Jackey. Bristol left Motown when they moved to Los Angeles and after working for a short time as producer for Columbia, he signed with MGM Records as a solo artist. He had several R & B hits but Hang On In There Baby reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. This comp has his MGM hits. He moved to Atlantic in 1976 and also continued to produce artists like Boz Scaggs. Bristol continued to record in the 80s for European labels and produced others as well. He last recorded in 1993 and died on Mar. 21, 2004 at age 65. Here's Johnny Bristol performing Hang On In There Baby courtesy of British music maven Ian Levine.
No comments:
Post a Comment