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Johnny Bristol (born John William Bristol, February 3, 1939 - March 21, 2004), was an African American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina.
Bristol first came to local fame in the Detroit area as a member of the soul duo "Johnny & Jackey" with Jackey Beavers, an associate Bristol met while in the US Air Force. The pair recorded a number of singles for Harvey Fuqua's Tri-Phi record label, none of which were successes beyond the Midwestern United States.
In the mid-1960s, Tri-Phi was absorbed by Motown Records, and Bristol began working with Fuqua as a songwriter and producer. Among Fuqua and Bristol's successes as producers were hit singles such as Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (1967), "Your Precious Love" (1967), and "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You" (1968); Edwin Starr's "Twenty-Five Miles" (1969); and David Ruffin's "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" (1969). On his own, Bristol co-wrote and produced Gladys Knight & the Pips' "I Don't Want to Do Wrong" (1971) and "Daddy Could Swear, I Declare" (1972), and several singles by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars such as "What Does It Take (to Win Your Love)" (1969).
Notably, Bristol was the producer and co-writer of the final singles for both Diana Ross & the Supremes and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, before each group lost its namesake lead singer. While the Miracles' "We've Come Too Far to End It Now" (1972) was an original, the Supremes' "Someday We'll Be Together" (1969) was a cover version of a Johnny & Jackey single from 1961. Bristol is the male voice on the Supremes' version of "Someday We'll Be Together," singing response to Diana Ross' lead vocal (Diana Ross actually recorded the song with session singers replacing the other two Supremes).
In 1973, Bristol left Motown to resume his singing career, joining first with CBS Records and almost immediately moving to MGM Records. For MGM, Bristol recorded several successful albums and singles, and had hits in the mid-1970s with "Hang On In There Baby" (1974, number-eight U.S. pop), "You And I" (1974, number 20 U.S. R&B), and "Leave My World" (1975, number 20 U.S. R&B). He also recorded the original version of "Love Me for a Reason", later a hit for The Osmonds. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bristol would record for Atlantic Records, Polydor Records, and several other labels. His biggest hit during this period was a medley of the Motown songs "My Guy/My Girl", recorded as a duet with Amii Stewart in 1980.
Johnny Bristol died in his Brighton Township, Michigan home on March 21, 2004, of natural causes, at the age of sixty-five.
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