Marv Gaye – 10 of the bt | Motown rerds | The Guardian

Contents:

• MARV GAYE'S 10 GREATT SONGS EVER, RANKED
• THE 10 BT MARV GAYE SONGS
• MARV GAYE’S 30 TOP SONGS ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100
• MARV GAYE – 10 OF THE BT
• MARV GAYE'S 7 BT SONGS OF ALL TIME
• THE BT MARV GAYE SONGS OF ALL TIME
• 10 BT MARV GAYE SONGS OF ALL TIME
• TOP 10 MARV GAYE SONGS
• MARV GAYE SONGS FOR WEDDGS & DANCG – TOP 10

MARV GAYE'S 10 GREATT SONGS EVER, RANKED

Taken far too soon, Marv Gaye's mic took on var styl, om upliftg duets to heartbreakg ballads to socially-nsc 've taken his 10 very bt songs for the ultimate Marv Gaye troductn:. Wrten by the famo Holland–Dozier–Holland tr at Motown, this gave Marv Gaye his biggt h at the time song's tle was spired by one of Jackie Gleason's signature tchphras: "How Sweet It Is!

THE 10 BT MARV GAYE SONGS

Released on Motown's Tamla label 1966, this duet between Marv and Kim Wton scrib var thgs life - such as dreams, love and wish - beg far better wh two people stead of more: The tragic story of Marv Gaye and the untimely ath of a soul legendIn 1990, Rod Stewart and Ta Turner teamed up for a ver versn, takg to number five the UK.

Origally by Dn, this song was a tribute to four inic Amerins who were assassated: Abraham Lln, Mart Luther Kg Jr, John F Kennedy and Robert Gaye vered the song 1970, and was one of his first experiments socially-nsc mic, a year before his What's Gog On? Songwrers Ashford & Simpson scribed this song as their 'goln egg' which got them their first Motown Sprgfield wanted to rerd first, but the duo turned her down so that they uld secure Motown, and land wh Marv and Tammi Terrell, who sred a big h wh their origal more: Tammi Terrell - The tragic life story of a Motown sger and how Marv Gaye never got over her athThree years later, Diana Ross achieved her first solo US number one wh a ver versn g a different arrangement.

Album, this song is one of mic's most poignant anthems regardg the was a ln-seller, and was later vered by Robert Palmer 1990 as part of a medley wh Gaye's song 'I Want You'. The tle track of his 1973 album, beme Marv's biggt h and one of his sgature wh Ed Townsend, was origally nceived as a relig song after Townsend had recently fished rehab, before Gaye transformed to an emotnal plea about love and sexual liberatn.

MARV GAYE’S 30 TOP SONGS ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100

This song was -wrten by Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marv Gaye, and produced by Gaye marked Gaye's parture om the Motown Sound of his prev output, towards more personal more: The Story of... However, is Marv Gaye's versn om 1968 that beme the most inic, spe the fact that Motown chief Berry Gordy was not nvced would be a h at more: Marv Gaye's isolated vols om 'I Heard Through the Grapeve' will give you tglIt beme a h for a send time 1985, after s e the inic Levi's advert featurg a certa Nick Kamen at a lndrette. Would Marv Gaye have mataed his stat as one of the preement voic soul mic even amid the risg ti of hip-hop and harr edged R&B?

While the other two artists mentned above make harr to make any absolute claims about their imaged futur, I thk ’s a ltle easier to image that Gaye would have found a way to thrive even while his peers were phed to mercial rndancy or started makg mic that felt beneath their abili.

MARV GAYE – 10 OF THE BT

Gaye is one of the few Motown artists who me up through the ranks of that label’s star-makg system and ntued to evolve wh the tim up until his untimely ath one day shy of his 45th birthday. After some dabblgs doo-wop early on, Gaye posned himself as a crooner of pop standards like “My Funny Valente” and “How High The Moon, ” before quickly embracg the new sound of R&B and soul.

If there’s any posive to be found amid all the legal clamor regardg the siari between “Got To Give It Up” and Rob Thicke’s “Blurred L, ” ’s that ’s great to see Marv Gaye’s mic is still fluencg today’s artists and producers. Sgers like Michael Bublé and Robert Palmer have tried and failed to pture the gravas that Gaye brought to even the lightt of pop songs. An equally paful parture, and one that was perhaps more vastatg nsirg she was only 24 at the time of her passg, was Gaye’s equent duet partner Tammi Terrell.

MARV GAYE'S 7 BT SONGS OF ALL TIME

As fantastic as the two were on their own (and as Gaye was the pany of other female sgers like Mary Wells and Kim Wton), they seemed to brg somethg extra out of one another. Each was spired by what they heard and saw the other — Terrell’s mand of a stage, Gaye’s knee-bucklg voice — and beme the clost of iends.

As part of the proceedgs surroundg his divorce om his first wife Anna Gordy, Gaye agreed to give half of the money he would earn om his next album to his ex. Great as the whole thg is, the apex is this nearly eight-mute track that balanc his raw anger and rignatn at his ex draggg him through a nasty urt fight wh one of his more sensual vol performanc and a steamy backg track that ces three mut to a duet between Fernando Harkns’ tenor sax and Gaye’s Moog reports.

THE BT MARV GAYE SONGS OF ALL TIME

Gaye had yet to really start wrg songs, or at least start wrg songs that me om ep wh his person (sorry, “Hey Diddle Diddle”) by the time he rerd this.

The origal is all punch and fire, but spired by the succs a few years earlier of “I Heard It Through The Grapeve, ” Gaye and the Funk Brothers turn to the soulful show of support that songwrers Barrett Strong and Norman Whfield exprsed their lyrics.

10 BT MARV GAYE SONGS OF ALL TIME

But ’s a great showse for all of Gaye’s imprsive vol skills, lettg him growl and croon while reassurg all of that he’s had his heart broken a few too many tim.

No song better pass the baton om Gaye’s ’60s swgg R&B era to the unbridled Aocentric/bodycentric funk/soul of the next than this track om Let’s Get It On. If Gaye would have rerd six years or more earlier, also would have lacked that tone of speratn and angst that he brgs to his performance. Try as they might, no other volist uld be those two sensibili as Gaye do here, brgg to life the guy that you wanted to brg home to meet mom and then sneak off to the bathroom for a quickie before dner is served.

TOP 10 MARV GAYE SONGS

The same year that ssns began for this album, Wisns senator Gaylord Nelson clared the first Earth Day for April 22, 1970, a chance for U. Wh all that activism the air, ’s no wonr that Gaye wanted to addrs those same ncerns as part of a song cycle that explored what he saw as a broken and bleedg untry.

Why then did Robson and the Miracl hand over to Gaye and let him be associated wh the song far more than s creators?

The story behd the succs of this song — and Gaye’s rendn of — is one of those tal that lovers of pop mic still marvel at to this day.

MARV GAYE SONGS FOR WEDDGS & DANCG – TOP 10

Wrten by Whfield and Strong, “Grapeve” was rerd twice 1967: first by Gaye and later wh a funkier arrangement by Gladys Knight & The Pips. When me to Gaye’s translatn, the label founr was reticent to put out another versn, stead optg to tuck away on the sger’s next album. Through all, Gaye pac back and forth, gog over the tails of what he heard to his soon-to-be former lover wh an air of crly to his voice.

In the hands of a lser sger, there would have been plenty of hollerg on this song, or at least a tone of anger to the bleak visns njured by Gaye and his -wrer Jam Nyx, Jr. Gaye and Nyx prefer to do the job of reportage, bearg wns to the vast e equaly and broken social stctur that plague the ner cy.