Let's Get It On

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Let's Get It On

Studio album by Marvin Gaye
Released	August 28, 1973
Recorded	1970 - 1973
Genre	Soul/Funk
Length	31:36
Label	Tamla TS-329
Producer(s)	Marvin Gaye
All Music Guide link
Marvin Gaye chronology
Trouble Man (1972)	Let's Get It On (1973)	Diana & Marvin (1973)

Let's Get It On is a landmark soul album by Marvin Gaye, released on the Tamla (Motown) label in 1973.

It is a sexually and romantically charged album that was very successful on the charts and remains "a record unparalleled in its sheer sensuality and carnal energy." [1] Let's Get it On was Gaye's second venture into funk music, and pushed his multi-tracking vocals to the forefront.

Let's Get It On also is a tribute to Gaye's doo-wop roots, as he co-composed half of the songs with a fellow soul pioneer, Ed Townsend. Gaye composed the other half of the album with Motown chief Berry Gordy's sisters Gwen Gordy and Anna Gordy, his wife. By this time, Gaye's marriage to Anna had fallen apart, and he dedicated most of this album to his new girlfriend, a teenager named Janis Hunter, who was seventeen years old when the two started dating. Most of the tracks were dedicated to Hunter including the album track, "If I Should Die Tonight" while the album's last track, "Just to Keep You Satisfied", was a paean ode to his estranged wife.

Many musicians have since copied aspects of the album. The album's success led to a sexual revolution in music, influencing the music of mid-1970s sex symbol R&B singers such as Barry White and Teddy Pendergrass and the careers of future soul musicians such as Rick James and Prince. Some have gone so far as to take Gaye's fashion style on the cover of the album, with his red kufi, unshaven beard, and singular earring as part of their look. Rapper Common is among those who have taken that image to promote his material.

Let's Get It On became his biggest-selling recording ever for Motown, surpassing What's Going On. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, and at #1 on the Billboard Black Albums chart for 11 weeks, becoming the biggest selling R&B album that year as well as Motown's largest seller to that date with over three million units sold in 1973-1974.

Rolling Stone ranked Let's Get It On No. 165 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time ([2])

[edit] Track listing

"Let's Get It On" (Gaye/Townsend) – 4:52
"Please Stay (Once You Go Away)" (Gaye/Townsend) – 3:28
"If I Should Die Tonight" (Gaye/Townsend) – 3:03
"Keep Gettin' It On" (Gaye/Townsend) – 3:09
"Come Get to This" (Gaye) – 2:40
"Distant Lover" (Gaye/Gordy/Greene) – 5:15
"You Sure Love to Ball" (Gaye) – 4:43
"Just to Keep You Satisfied" (Gaye/Gordy-Gaye/Stover) – 4:26

[edit] Personnel

All lead and background vocals by Marvin Gaye except where notified:
- Background vocals on "Just to Keep You Satisfied" by The Originals
Produced by Marvin Gaye
Orchestra Arranged and Conducted by David van De Pitte