Easy (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell album)

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Easy
Studio album by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
Released	September 16, 1969
Recorded	1969, Hitsville, USA, Detroit, Michigan
Genre	Soul
Label	Tamla TS 294
Producer	Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson Harvey Fuqua Johnny Bristol
Marvin Gaye chronology
M.P.G. (1969) Easy (with Tammi Terrell) (1969) That's the Way Love Is (1970)
Tammi Terrell chronology
Irresistible (1969) Easy (with Marvin Gaye) (1969)

Easy is an album released by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell on September 16, 1969 under the Tamla Records label. One song on the album, "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy To Come By", was a hit single and remains popular to this day. Terrell had been ill, suffering from complications caused by a brain tumor, since the fall of 1967. As a result, most of the female vocals on this album were performed by Valerie Simpson, who served as co-songwriter and co-producer for the LP with her boyfriend and future husband Nickolas Ashford ^[1] (Simpson is quoted in Ludie Montgomery's biography of Terrell, My Sister Tommie, as not having subbed Terrell for vocals). The album was released on compact disc in 1992, and again in 2001 as part of The Complete Duets.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson unless otherwise noted.

[edit] Side one

1. "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By"
2. "California Soul"
3. "Love Woke Me Up This Morning"
4. "This Poor Heart of Mine"
5. "I'm Your Puppet" (Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn)
6. "The Onion Song"

[edit] Side two

1. "What You Gave Me"
2. "Baby I Need Your Loving" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
3. "I Can't Believe You Love Me" (Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol)
4. "How You Gonna Keep It (After You Get It)"
5. "More, More, More" (Fuqua, Bristol, Clyde Wilson)
6. "Satisfied Feelin'"

[edit] Production notes

All tracks were produced by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson save for "I Can't Believe You Love Me" and "More, More, More". ^[1] These two recordings, produced by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, were Terrell solo tracks with Gaye's vocals overdubbed. ^[1] On all others, Terrell does not appear; ^[1] according to Gaye, Simpson filled in for Terrell. ^[1]

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

• Ritz, David. Divided Soul: the Life of Marvin Gaye (originally published in 1985; 2003 edition ISBN 0-306-81191-X) (For this book, Gaye told Ritz that Simpson subbed for Terrell on Easy.)
• Montgomery, Ludie. My Sister Tommie: the Real Tammi Terrell (2005, ISBN 1-904408-16-8) (In this book, Simpson denies subbing for Terrell.)

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