JOHNNY & JACKIE, "HOY HOY" C/W "NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU," ANNA 1120 (REL. 9/1960)

Part of the fertile Detroit musical scene, the duo of Johnny Bristol and Jackey Beavers made several singles for the Motown-adjacent Anna label and Harvey Fuqua's Tri-Phi imprint. They made five and a half singles overall (one song appeared twice on Tri-Phi releases), including the first version of a song Diana Ross and The Supremes would turn into a major hit several years later.

Both performers came from the South but met in Battle Creek, Michigan, where the two were stationed in the military. The base had a regular talent contest, and the winners were either Beavers or Bristol. They decided to team up, and once their hitch was over, they gravitated to Detroit. They performed at the El Grotto Lounge in Battle Creek, backed by future Motown hitmaker Junior Walker and his band, and were heard by Harvey Fuqua and his wife Anna Gordy.

Their first Anna 45, with both songs co-written by the two and producer Billy "Roquel" Davis, appeared in late 1959. Today we'll hear their follow-up, with one song by Fuqua and the flip their own composition.

"Hoy Hoy" is a bluesy mid-tempo mover with a big sound, swaggering tempo and an atmospheric arrangement. The duo's blend of low tenor and falsetto might create the illusion that this is a co-ed duet; that effect is more pronounced on their first Anna 45. The high voice lends a coy tone to this narrative of a young man who lives right but wants to get down and dirty, if at all possible. "A stint to keep tabs on," sayeth Cash Box.

Note the song's bridge, with its wholesale theft of the chord progression from The Clovers' early r&b classic "One Mint Julep." I'm sure it was an intentional nod to that 1952 recording.

"No One Else but You" is penned by the two singers and it's a winning piece of pop r&b. With yeah-yeah girls beside them, Bristol and Beavers deliver a light, bright feel-good item that has grown on me since I acquired this record. It's got that peculiar air of many Detroit r&b decks of its day; the sweet spot in-between rough and smooth with the best aspects of both sides.

After this single, the guys transferred to Harvey Fuqua's Tri-Phi label, where theirs was the second release. In 1962, Bristol, Beavers and Fuqua wrote the song "Someday We'll Be Together." Yes, it's the same one Ross and The Supremes waxed for their farewell single together in 1970. I'm sure the royalties from that major global hit were agreeable to the three cleffers!

Beavers and Bristol pursued solo careers. Johnny Bristol succeeded as a soul soloist, but Jackie just couldn't get a hit. After several years and much effort, he returned to his hometown of Cartersville, GA, where he opened a night club. He soon developed a distaste for the management end of nightlife and sold the club. He went to college and became ordained as a minister. He recorded gospel LPs and was an advocate for prisoners' rights. Beloved in his community, Beavers passed on in 2008.

Johnny Bristol sang backup on the Supremes' version of "Someday," while Beavers made a solo rendition for the Nashville label Sound Stage 7 in 1971. That single has a greater value than any of his duet 45s with Bristol.

Tomorrow: '50s pop-rocker Buddy Knox goes garage with the considerable aid of legendary Kansas band The Blue Things, via a 1964 single on the Ruff label.