Let's Get It On (song)
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| "Let's Get It On" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Marvin Gaye | ||
| From the album Let's Get It On | ||
| B-side | "I Wish It Would Rain" | |
| Released | June 1973 | |
| Format | vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) | |
| Recorded | 1973 | |
| Genre | Soul | |
| Length | 4:53 | |
| Record label | Tamla T 54234 |
|
| Producers | Marvin Gaye | |
| Chart positions | #1 (US) #1 (R&B) |
|
| Marvin Gaye single chronology | ||
| "I Want To Come Home For Christmas" 1972 |
"Let's Get It On" 1973 |
"Come Get To This" 1973 |
"Let's Get It On" is a 1973 number-one single recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye for the Tamla (Motown) label. The title song of the album release of the same title, "Let's Get It On" held the number-one position on the Billboard Pop Singles chart for two non-consecutive weeks in September 1973. It replaced "Brother Louie" by Stories, and was replaced by "Delta Dawn" by Helen Reddy. Written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend, and produced by Gaye, The song was the most successful single ever released on a Motown label (until Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" in 1992).
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Origins
Co-written with doo-wop pioneer Ed Townsend, "Let's Get It On" was Gaye's plea for sexual liberation. When originally conceived by Townsend, it was written with political and religious themes, due to Townsend's new-found sobriety after years of alcoholism. When Townsend passed the song to Gaye, Gaye recorded the version as it was written, but when Gaye's girlfriend, seventeen-year-old Janis Hunter, walked in the studio where Gaye and Townsend were recording the song, Marvin was inspired to re-write the lyrics into a dedication to love and sex. Using the original backing tracks as recorded, Gaye transformed the song into an emotional centerpiece circling around him being smitten by Hunter, who looked at her idol from inside the recording booth as he sang.
A few weeks later, Gaye and Hunter's relationship had become serious, resulting in a relationship that birthed two children and eventually lead to marriage in 1977, a year after Gaye's divorce from Anna Gordy was finalized. In the meantime, "Let's Get It On" became one of Gaye's most successful singles, staying at number-one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart for two weeks, and staying at number-one on the Billboard Black Singles Chart for eight weeks.
[edit] Release and reaction
The single stayed inside the Billboard Hot 100 top-ten for thirteen weeks (ten weeks inside the top-five). The song became the biggest selling Motown release in the U.S. at the time, selling over two-million copies within the first six weeks of its release. "Let's Get It On" would end up selling over four million copies, making it the second biggest hit of 1973, behind Dawn featuring Tony Orlando's "Tie A Yellow Ribbon round The Ole Oak Tree".
The song was given a makeover in late-2004, when producers mixed Gaye's vocals with a different musical production labeled as "stepper's music". Released in 2005 as a single, "Let's Get it On (The Producers Mix)" returned the song to the Billboard R&B charts, thirty years after its original release. The re-released version of "Let's Get It On" was certified as a gold single with sales in excess of 500,000 copies in 2005 by RIAA, making it the best-selling Motown record ever released in North America.
The song is ranked #167 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
[edit] Lyrics
I've been really tryin , baby// Tryin to hold back these feelings for so long// And if you feel, like I feel baby// Come on, oh come on///
Let's get it on// Lets get it on// Let's get it on// Let's get it on//
We're all sensitive people// With so much love to give, understand me sugar// Since we got to be// Lets say, I love you//
There's nothin wrong with me// Lovin you// And givin yourself to me can never be wrong// If the love is true//
Don't you know how sweet and wonderful, life can be// I'm askin you baby, to get it on with me// I aint gonna worry, I aint gonna push// So come on, come on, come on, come on baby// Stop beatin round the bush....//
Let's get it on// Let's get it on// Let's get it on// Let's get it on//
[edit] Credits
- Written by Ed Townsend and Marvin Gaye
- Produced by Marvin Gaye
- All vocals by Marvin Gaye
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Brother Louie" by Stories |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single September 8, 1973 |
Succeeded by "Delta Dawn" by Helen Reddy |
| Preceded by "Delta Dawn" by Helen Reddy |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single September 22, 1973 |
Succeeded by "We're an American Band" by Grand Funk |
