Just Brothers, a musical duo consisting of brothers Jimmy and Frank Bryant along with a few session musicians, gained fame in the 1970s with their hit song “Sliced Tomatoes,” which became a dance floor sensation and was later sampled by Fatboy Slim in his song “The Rockafeller Skank.”
Frank Bryant began his career as a session musician in Detroit in the mid-1960s while his brother Jimmy was serving in the military. He initially played bass on Gino Washington’s “Gino Is a Coward” and provided vocals on J.J. Barnes’ “Lonely No More” at Mickay’s Records. Frank also co-wrote “Deeper in Love” by J.J. Barnes and “Let’s Party” by Steve Mancha.
Upon Jimmy’s return, the Bryant Brothers were invited to join a session group for Winifred Terry of the Drifters by the group’s drummer Richard Allen. The plan was to record a song called “Honey” and its B-side. However, when the hired vocalist was unable to record the song, Frank saw an opportunity to showcase his and Jimmy’s vocal talent. After convincing Terry, the brothers were given a chance to record the two songs. At the following session, they sang on “Honey” and their songs “Things Will Get Better” and “She Broke His Heart.”
The B-side of the record, titled “Sliced Tomatoes,” was released in 1965 with “Things Will Get Better” on the Lupine label. Later that year, Terry’s Empire Record Label released a pairing of “She Broke His Heart” and “Things Will Get Better,” while “Carlena” was released on Terry’s Garrison label. Unfortunately, none of these tracks were successful, and the Bryant Brothers returned to session work.
In 1969, the Just Brothers signed a deal with Johnny Nash’s Jomada label with new member Willie Kendrick. They recorded one unreleased track before being dropped from the label. The track was later re-recorded by a white vocalist. Terry came to their rescue again by arranging the re-release of “Sliced Tomatoes” on the Music Merchant label in 1972. The Just Brothers also recorded two new tracks, “Tears Ago” and “You’ve Got The Love To Make Me Over,” for the Pied Piper label, which were initially intended for an unfinished album. These tracks were later released alongside “Sliced Tomatoes” as singles.
Jimmy Bryant passed away in 1996. The Bryant Brothers later formed a local group called the Firebirds.
