Let's Get It On

Let's Get It On
Studio album by Marvin Gaye
Released August 28, 1973
Recorded June 1, 1970–April 11, 1972
Hitsville U.S.A., Golden World
(Detroit, Michigan)
February 1–July 26, 1973
Hitsville West
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre Soul, funk, R&B, quiet storm
Length 31:36
Label Tamla
T-329V1
Producer Marvin Gaye, Ed Townsend
Marvin Gaye chronology
What's Going On
(1971)		 Let's Get It On
(1973)		 I Want You
(1976)
Singles from Let's Get It On
  1. "Let's Get It On"
    Released: June 15, 1973
  2. "Come Get to This"
    Released: October 11, 1973
  3. "You Sure Love to Ball"
    Released: January 2, 1974

Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973 on Tamla Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles. Serving as Gaye's first venture into the funk genre and romance-themed music, Let's Get It On incorporates smooth soul, doo-wop, and quiet storm. It has been noted by critics for its sexually-suggestive lyrics, and was cited by one writer as "one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded".

Following the breakthrough success of his socially-conscious album What's Going On (1971), the album helped establish Marvin Gaye as a sex icon and furthered his mainstream appeal. It spawned three singles, "Let's Get It On", "Come Get to This", and "You Sure Love to Ball", that each attained Billboard chart success. Let's Get It On became the most commercially successful album of Gaye's recording career, and it further expanded his creative control during his tenure with Motown. Its sexual balladry, multi-tracking of Gaye's vocals, and seductive, funk sound influenced later R&B artists and production.

The album has been regarded by many music writers and critics as a landmark recording in soul music. It furthered funk music's popularity during the 1970s, and its smooth soul sound marked a change for his record label's previous success with the "Motown Sound" formula. On September 18, 2001, Let's Get It On was reissued by Motown Records as a two-disc deluxe edition release featuring extensive liner notes and digital remastering, as well as several material from the initial recording sessions. In 2003, the album was ranked number 165 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Contents

Conception

Background

By the spring of 1972, Marvin Gaye was suffering from writer's block.[1] Following the release of his most commercially successful album up to that point, What's Going On (1971), and the moderate success of the soundtrack album to the blaxploitation film Trouble Man (1972) the following year, Gaye had struggled to come up with new material after Motown Records had renegotiated a new contract with him, which allowed him more creative control over his recordings.[2] The newly-bestowed deal was worth $ 1 million, making him the highest-earning soul artist, as well as the highest-earning black artist, at the time.[2] He had also been caught in the dilemma of whether to relocate to Los Angeles, California or not, following Motown-CEO Berry Gordy's decision to move the entire record label there and replace the Detroit-based recording studio Hitsville U.S.A., also known as Motown Studio A, with the Hitsville West studio in Los Angeles.[1] Amid this relocation and his lack of material, Gaye was struggling with his conscience, as well as dealing with expectations from his wife, Gordy's sister Anna.[1] Gaye's separation from Gordy emotionally pressured him. During this time, he had also been attempting to cope with past issues that had stemmed from his childhood.[1]

During his childhood, Gaye had been physically abused by his preacher father Marvin Gay, Sr., who had disciplined his son under extremely moralistic and fundamentalist Christian teachings.[3] As a result, the meaning and practice of sex had later become a disturbing question for Gaye. As an adult, he suffered with sexual impotence and became plagued by sado-masochistic fantasies, which haunted him in his dreams and provoked some guilt in his conscience. Of Gaye's outlook on the matter, author and Marvin Gaye-biographer David Ritz later wrote, "his view of sex was unsettled, tormented, riddled with pain."[3] Gaye learned to cope with his personal issues after discovering a newly-found spirituality. He began incorporating his new outlook into his music, as initially expressed through socially-conscious album What's Going On, along with promotional photos of him wearing a kufi in honor of African traditional religions and his faith.[1]

Concept

Marvin Gaye at Hitsville West in Los Angeles, 1973.

By winning over record executives with the success of his previous studio album, Gaye had also achieved artistic freedom, which he would use, following his brief separation from wife Anna Gordy, to record a studio album that was meant, according to Gaye's intentions, to surface themes beyond sex.[3] As with What's Going On, the album was also intended to have a deeper meaning than the general theme that was used to portray it; in the case of the former, politics, and with its follow-up effort, love and romance, which would be used by Gaye as a metaphor for God's love.[3] In his book Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, David Ritz wrote of Gaye and the musical inspiration behind Gaye's second landmark record:

If the most profound soul songs are prayers in secular dress, Marvin's prayer is to reconcile the ecstasy of his early religious epiphany with a sexual epiphany. The hope for such a reconciliation, the search for sexual healing, is what drives his art ... The paradox is this: The sexiest of Marvin Gaye's work is also his most spiritual. That's the paradox of Marvin himself. In his struggle to wed body and soul, in his exploration of sexual passion, he expresses the most human of hungers—the hunger for God. In those songs of loss and lament—the sense of separation is heartbreaking. On one level, the separation is between man and woman. On a deeper level, the separation is between man and God.[4]
—David Ritz

Gaye proceeded to record some more politically-conscious material at the Golden World Records studio, known as Motown's Studio B, as well as the preliminary vocals and instrumentation for some of the material to be featured on Let's Get It On. Following the earlier sessions in Detroit at Golden World, Gaye recorded at Hitsville West in Los Angeles from February to July 1973. Accompanied by an experienced group of session musicians called The Funk Brothers, who had contributed to Gaye's What's Going On, and received their first official credit, Gaye recorded the unreleased songs "The World is Rated X" and "Where Are We Going" and the single "You're the Man" (1972) at Golden World.[5] "Where Are We Going" was later covered by trumpeter Donald Byrd. Gaye had planned the release of an album titled You're the Man, but it was later shelved for unknown reasons. The songs that were to be included on it, along with other unreleased recordings from Hitsville West and Golden World, were later featured on the 2001 re-release of Let's Get It On.[6] Following a brief discussion with friend and former Motown label mate, singer-songwriter Ed Townsend, of "For Your Love" fame, Gaye agreed to record the rough draft of a song the two artists had worked on together, entitled "Let's Get It On".[1] Townsend assisted Gaye with production for his next album, which was to be titled after the song, and was recorded at several sessions throughout 1970 to 1973.[5]

Music

Title track

Gaye on piano during recording.

Originally, the opening song and title track on Let's Get It On was written as a religious ode to life, but was later re-written as a more political first draft of the song by Motown songwriter, producer and singer Kenneth Stover.[1] Upon hearing Gaye's preliminary mix of the political version of "Let's Get It On", Townsend protested and claimed that the song would sound and fare better with sexual and romantic overtones. In his words, he thought the song "should be about making sweet love."[7] Gaye and Townsend then rewrote the song's lyrics together with the original arrangements and musical accompaniment of the demo intact. The well-known single version of "Let's Get It On" was inspired by Janis Hunter, whom Gaye had become infatuated with, following their introduction to each other by Ed Townsend during the initial sessions.[1] Townsend later cited Hunter's presence during recording of the album as motivational for Gaye's emotional input.[8] Gaye's intimate relationship with Hunter later would become the basis for his next studio album I Want You (1976).

The single version of "Let's Get It On" featured soulful and emotional vocalizing and performing by Gaye with multi-tracked background singing, also provided by Gaye, accompanied by the song's signature, and most notable feature, the funky guitar instrumentation by studio session player Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin. Music journalist Jon Landau later called the song "a classic Motown single, endlessly repeatable and always enjoyable." In a 1973 article on Let's Get It On for Rolling Stone magazine, Landau continued to elaborate on the song's notable style and sound, as he wrote:

It begins with three great wah-wah notes that herald the arrival of a vintage Fifties melody. But while the song centers around classically simple chord changes, the arrangement centers around a slightly eccentric rhythm pattern that deepens the song's power while covering it with a contemporary veneer. Above all, it has Marvin Gaye's best singing at its center, fine background voices on the side, and a long, moody fade-out...[9]
—Jon Landau

"Let's Get It On" was reprised on the fourth track of the album as "Keep Gettin' It On", also known as "Let's Get It On, Pt. 2", which served as the sequel and continuation of the original song. While continuing with the title track's overall sensual theme, it also carried some political, as demonstrated in the line "won't you rather make love, children/as opposed to war, like you know you should." The track ended the first side of the album, which was entirely produced by Townsend and Gaye together.[9] Throughout the recording of the title track, Gaye became inspired to revive previous recordings from his 1970 sessions at the Hitsville U.S.A. Studio, which he had yet to finish.[1]

Content

The tracks from the earlier sessions includes the doo-wop-leaning "Come Get to This", "Distant Lover" and "Just to Keep You Satisfied". "Distant Lover" has Gaye crooning over serene instrumentation, leading to soulful screams near the end; from a heartbroken croon to an impassioned wail.[10] The song's lyrics chronicled the yearning its narrator feels for a lover who is "so many miles away", as he pleads for her return and laments the emptiness he feels without her. Music writer Donarld A. Guarisco later wrote of the song's sound, in that "Marvin Gaye's studio recording enhances the dreamy style of the song with stately horn and strings, tumbling drum fills that gently nudge the song along, and mellow, doo wop-styled background vocals that echo "love her, you love her" under his romantic pleas.[10] The song later became a concert favorite for Gaye and a live concert version, featuring female fans screaming in the background, was released as a single off of his Marvin Gaye Live! album in 1974.[10]

Gaye and Townsend worked on four songs together, including the ballad "If I Should Die Tonight", while Gaye composed the majority of the remaining four songs, re-examining older songs. The smooth soul album closer "Just to Keep You Satisfied" was originally recorded by Motown groups, including The Originals and The Monitors, and had been originally recorded as a song dedicated to long-standing love.[6] By the time Gaye recorded his own version, he had re-written the lyrics and arrangement of the song to talk about the demise of his volatile marriage to Anna Gordy Gaye, who was, ironically, the original song's co-writer.[1] Experiences of passion and struggle in the relationship surfaced in the song's lyrical themes, as shown in the opening verse:

You were my wife, my life, my hopes and dreams
For you to understand what this means
I shall explain
I stood all the jealousy, all the bitchin' too
Yes, I'd forget it all once in bed with you
Ooo darling, how could we end up like this
Oh baby let me reminisce
Oh and when we, woo, stopped the hands of time
You set my soul on fire, my one desire
Was to love you
and think of you with pride
And keep you satisfied, oh baby oh baby
We could not bear the mental strain

—Marvin Gaye, "Just to Keep You Satisfied"

Background vocals for the material on Let's Get It On were contributed by Marvin Gaye with the exception of "Just to Keep You Satisfied", which were done by The Originals, and featured a classic doo-wop vocalizing style. Most of the instrumentation for the album was done by members of The Funk Brothers, including bassist James Jamerson, guitarists Robert White and Eddie Willis, and percussionist Eddie "Bongo" Brown. Marvin also contributed on piano during the recording sessions.[11] "You Sure Love to Ball", recorded at Hitsville West, was one Gaye's most sexually overt and controversial singles, as its intro and outro features moaning sounds made by a man and woman engaged in sex. The sexual-explicitness and risqué nature of the album and the themes of love and lust that were presented in Gaye's lyrics were, at the time, controversial, and the recording of such an album was deemed as a commercial risk by Motown A&R's (Artists and Repertoire) and label executives.[12] In the original LP liner notes, Marvin Gaye explained his views on the themes of Let's Get It On and his philosophy on sex and love, stating "I can't see anything wrong with sex between consenting anybodies. I think we make far too much of it. After all, one's genitals are just one important part of the magnificent human body ... I contend that SEX IS SEX and LOVE IS LOVE. When combined, they work well together, if two people are of about the same mind. But they are really two discrete needs and should be treated as such. Time and space will not permit me to expound further, especially in the area of the psyche. I don't believe in overly moralistic philosophies. Have your sex, it can be exciting, if you're lucky. I hope the music that I present here makes you lucky."[13]

Reception

Commercial performance

 Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars[14]
Billboard (favorable)[15]
Chicago Tribune 4/4 stars[16]
Robert Christgau (A-)[17]
PopMatters (favorable)[18]
Q 5/5 stars[19]
Rolling Stone (favorable) 1973[9]
Rolling Stone 5/5 stars 2004[20]
Virgin Encyclopedia 5/5 stars[21]
Yahoo! Music (favorable)[22]

Released on August 28, 1973, Let's Get It On surpassed Gaye's previous studio effort, What's Going On, as the best-selling record of his tenure with Motown.[14] The album peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Albums chart, succeeded by The Rolling Stones's Goats Head Soup (1973),[23] while it also managed to reach number 1 in Cash Box for one week, as well as two weeks at the top of Record World magazine's charts.[24]. Let's Get It On charted for sixty-one weeks on the Billboard charts,[25] and remained at the top of the Soul Albums chart for eleven weeks, becoming the best-selling R&B or soul album of 1973.[26] The album's lead single, "Let's Get It On", became one of Gaye's most successful singles, as it reached number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart on September 8, 1973.[27] It remained at number 1 for two weeks, while also remaining at the top of the Billboard Soul Singles chart for eight weeks.[26] The single was at that time Motown's largest-selling recording ever, selling over three million copies between 1973 and 1975.[28] The single has gone on to sell over 1 million copies and, on June 25, 2007, was certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.[29]

Two of the album's singles reached the top forty of the Billboard Pop Singles chart, including "Let's Get It On", which became Gaye's second number-one pop single, and the top thirty hit single "Come Get to This", which peaked at number 23 on the chart. The third single off of the album, "You Sure Love to Ball", was a more modest charting hit, peaking at number 50 on the Pop Singles chart, while entering at number 13 on the Soul Singles chart.[30] Along with the album's music and sexual content, Let's Get It On's commercial success, as well as its promotion, helped establish Marvin Gaye as a sex icon, while helping further expand his artistic control during his tenure at Motown.[31] This commercial success also lead to a much publicized tour for Gaye to expand on promoting Let's Get It On and on his repertoire as a live performer.[26] Successful concert performances of the album's material helped Gaye gain an increasing popularity and fan base in the pop market, while earning him a reputation as one of the top live performers of the time.[26] His performance at the Oakland Coliseum during the 1973-1974 tour was released on the 1974 LP Live!, which would serve as Gaye's only release during his sabbatical period in the mid-1970s.[32]

Critical response

Let's Get It On received generally favorable reviews from publications and music critics, earning praise for Gaye's sexual innuendo and lyricism. The record's seductive sound and groove were praised as well. Music writer Rob Bowman cited it as "one of the most erotic recordings known to mankind."[25] Upon initial release, a Billboard magazine reviewer cited the album as "fine in terms of vocal attack and material ... touches on the excellent in terms of instrumental support", while citing the title track and "Distant Lover" as the album's best recordings.[25] Music writer Lindsey Planer later cited the album as a "hedonistic R&B masterpiece."[6]

Following initial reception and criticism, Let's Get It On earned a reputation as a milestone in soul music among music writers, and it affirmed Gaye's influence over later R&B styles and artists.[20] In his review, Jason Ankeny of Allmusic wrote in retrospect, stating "Gaye turned to more intimate matters with Let's Get It On, a record unparalleled in its sheer sensuality and carnal energy. Always a sexually charged performer, Gaye's passions reach their boiling point ... With each performance laced with innuendo, each lyric a come-on, and each rhythm throbbing with lust, perhaps no other record has ever achieved the kind of sheer erotic force of Let's Get It On, and it remains the blueprint for all of the slow jams to follow decades later — much copied, but never imitated."[14] An Allmusic columnist cited it as "one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded."[31]

Much like What's Going On, Let's Get It On has been included in a significant amount of "best album" lists by critics and publications.[33] It was ranked number 58 on The Times's 1993 publication of the 100 Best Albums of All Time.[34] Blender magazine ranked the album number 15 on its list of the 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time.[33] In 2003, it was ranked number 165 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time publication, his second highest entry on the list,[35] as well as one of three Marvin Gaye albums to be included; What's Going On (number 6) and Here, My Dear (number 462).[36] In 2004, Let's Get It On was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and cited by The Recording Academy as a recording of "historical significance".[37]

Influence

Motown

Promo shot of Gaye. His sexually-charged music influenced many R&B artists.

Because of the album and its singles' initial sales and response, Let's Get It On marked a change and transition in sound and production for Motown, which had previously enjoyed success with its trademark "Motown Sound". The label's well-known sound, however, was beginning to fade in popularity among the majority of R&B and soul listeners, while experiencing commercial pressure from contemporary styles that incorporated more diverse elements, such as Philly soul and funk.[8] The Motown sound was typified by characteristics such as the use of tambourines to accent the back beat, prominent and often melodic electric bass guitar lines, distinctive melodic and chord structures, and a call and response singing style that originated in gospel music. In addition, pop production techniques were simpler than that of Gaye's 1970s concept albums. Complex arrangements and elaborate, melismatic vocal riffs were avoided by Motown musicians.[8] Following his breakthrough with What's Going On, an "experiment in collating a pseudo-classical suite of free-flowing songs",[38] Gaye used his artistic control to modify the sound and incorporate funky instrumentation, melismatic vocalization, and heavy vocal multi-tracking, in much contrast to the established production style at the label. In contrast to Motown's previously successful process of emphasizing an artist's single releases rather than their album, Gaye and fellow producer Ed Townsend followed a similar formula previously used on What's Going On, in which the album's songs flow together in a suite-form arrangement,[39] opposing label CEO Berry Gordy's strong emphasis on hit single success.[38]

R&B and soul

The change of musical style and production by Marvin Gaye soon became contemporary and popular at the time, prior to the disco era of the late 1970s. Several successful Motown artists, including Lionel Richie and Rick James, were later influenced by much of the elements of Gaye's conceptual recording style for their work in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[8] The slow jam sound and modern soul music production in general were greatly influenced by the album's use of vocal multi-tracking and instrumentation. Renown engineer Russell Elevado's work in the neo soul genre, including his production for D'Angelo's Voodoo (2000) and Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun (2000), has been influenced by Gaye's and Townsend's production techniques and sound.[8][40] The music atmosphere of the 1970s was heavily influenced by its success and sexual content, as well. The sexual-explicitness of Let's Get It On bended creative barriers in the music industry and led to an increased popularity of sexual themes in music at the time. The commercial success and popularity of Let's Get It On also helped spark a series of similar concept albums released by such smooth soul artists as Barry White (Can't Get Enough), Smokey Robinson (A Quiet Storm) and Earth, Wind & Fire (That's the Way of the World).[8] Marvin Gaye himself would experience similar success with his follow-up release I Want You (1976), which featured more sexually explicit themes along with furthered use of vocal multi-tracking, and Here, My Dear (1978), which he based entirely on his tumultuous marriage to Anna Gordy.[8] The commercial success of such R&B and soul artists led to a change of trend from socially-conscious aesthetics to more mainstream, sensually-themed music.[41] In an interview with music writer and author Michael Eric Dyson, hip hop artist Q-Tip later discussed the influence and significance of Let's Get It On to its time period, stating:

Although there was a 'conscious' revolution, there was also a great sexual revolution ... I think Let's Get It On was Marvin wanting to make commentary on what was happening. I think there was a big 'love-in' that was going on. And with him quoting T.S. Elliot [in his liner notes, that life amounts to "Birth, copulation and death"], and the young lady moaning [on the album], we hadn't heard that before. That was another first, as well as him capturing erotica like that, and weaving it into the music the way he did; it was mind blowing. I think it was a natural progression, because we were having a revolution with our minds, and then with our bodies at that time.[41]
—Q-Tip

Following the success of funk records such as Sly & the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) and James Brown's late 1960s and early 1970s singles, Gaye's Let's Get It On helped further the funk genre's reach and influence in the music industry, as well as increase its mainstream appeal. Several contemporary R&B musicians, such as Prince, D'Angelo and R. Kelly, were greatly influenced by its vintage sound and seductive themes, incorporating much of Gaye's musical style into their music.[8]

Track listing

Original LP

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Let's Get It On"   Marvin Gaye, Ed Townsend 4:44
2. "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)"   Marvin Gaye, Ed Townsend 3:32
3. "If I Should Die Tonight"   Marvin Gaye, Ed Townsend 3:57
4. "Keep Gettin' It On"   Marvin Gaye, Ed Townsend 3:12
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
5. "Come Get to This"   Marvin Gaye 2:40
6. "Distant Lover"   Marvin Gaye, Gwen Gordy, Sandra Greene 4:15
7. "You Sure Love to Ball"   Marvin Gaye 4:43
8. "Just to Keep You Satisfied"   Marvin Gaye, Anna Gordy Gaye, Elgie Stover 4:35

Deluxe edition

On September 18, 2001, Let's Get It On was reissued by Motown as a two-disc deluxe edition release, featuring 24-bit digital remastering of the original album's recordings, previously unissued material and a 24-page booklet which contains the original LP liner notes by Marvin Gaye, as well as essays from Gaye biographers David Ritz and Ben Edmunds.[6]

Original album & sessions (Disc one)
  1. "Let's Get It On" (Gaye, Townsend) – 4:51
  2. "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)" (Gaye, Townsend) – 3:27
  3. "If I Should Die Tonight" (Gaye, Townsend) – 4:01
  4. "Keep Getting' It On" (Gaye, Townsend) – 3:13
  5. "Come Get to This" (Gaye) – 2:41
  6. "Distant Lover" (Gaye, G. Gordy, Greene) – 4:17
  7. "You Sure Love to Ball" (Gaye) – 4:46
  8. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, Stover) – 4:27
  9. "Song #3" (instrumental) (DePitte, Gaye) – 5:28
  10. "My Love Is Growing" (Gaye) – 4:20
  11. "Cakes" (DePitte, Gaye) – 3:14
  12. "Symphony" (undubbed version) (Gaye, Robinson) – 2:51
  13. "I'd Give My Life for You" (alternate mix) (Gaye) – 3:29
  14. "I Love You Secretly" (The Miracles version) (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, E. Stover) – 4:18
  15. "You're the Man" (alternate version 1) (K. Stover, Gaye) – 7:24
  16. "You're the Man" (alternate version 2) (K. Stover, Gaye) – 4:44
  17. "Symphony" (demo vocal) (Gaye, Robinson) – 2:48
Demos, alternate mixes & more (Disc two)
  1. "Let's Get It On" (demo) (Gaye, Townsend) – 5:12
  2. "Let's Get It On, Pt. 2" (aka "Keep Gettin' It On") (Gaye, Townsend) – 3:13
  3. "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)" (alternate mix) (Gaye, Townsend) – 3:52
  4. "If I Should Die Tonight" (demo) (Gaye, Townsend) – 4:13
  5. "Come Get to This" (alternate mix) (Gaye) – 3:07
  6. "Distant Lover" (alternate mix) (G. Fuqua, Gaye, Greene) – 4:32
  7. "You Sure Love to Ball" (alternate mix w/alternate vocal) (Gaye) – 5:06
  8. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (a capella w/alternate vocal) (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, Stover) – 4:38
  9. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (The Originals 1970 version) (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, Stover) – 4:00
  10. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (The Monitors 1968 version) (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, Stover) – 3:10
  11. "Where Are We Going?" (alternate mix) (Gordon, Mizell) – 3:56
  12. "The World Is Rated X" (alternate mix) (Bolton, Bolton, Gordy, McLeod) – 3:52
  13. "I'm Gonna Give You Respect" (Hutch) – 2:56
  14. "Try It, You'll Like It" (Hutch, Wakefield) – 3:57
  15. "You Are That Special One" (Hutch) – 3:38
  16. "We Can Make It Baby" (Hutch) – 3:22
  17. "Running from Love" (instrumental version 1) (Bohannon, Gaye, Henderson) – 3:47
  18. "Mandota" (Bohannon, Gaye) – 3:26
  19. "Running from Love" (instrumental version 2) (Bohannon, Gaye, Henderson) – 3:54
  20. "Come Get to This" (live from Oakland) (Gaye) – 3:00

Personnel

  • Arrangement, Conduction (Orchestra): David Van DePitte (tracks: B1 to B4), Gene Page (tracks: B1), Rene Hall (tracks: A4)
  • Bass: James Jamerson, Wilton Felder
  • Bongos: Bobbye Hall Porter
  • Bongos, Drums: Eddie "Bongo" Brown
  • Drums: Paul Humphrey, Uriel Jones
  • Engineer: William McKeekin, Art Stewart, Steve Smith, Lawrence Miles, Cal Harris
  • Guitar: David T. Walker, Eddie Willis, Lewis Shelton, Melvin Ragin, Robert White
  • Percussion (Mallettes): Emil Richards
  • Percussion (Special Treatment): Bobbye Hall Porter, Ernie Watts, Plas Johnson
  • Piano: Joe Sample, Marvin Gaye, Marvin Jerkins
  • Photography: Jim Britt, Motown Archives
  • Production, Lead vocals, Background vocals: Marvin Gaye, except where noted:
    • Background vocals: The Originals ("Just to Keep You Satisfied")
    • Co-production: Ed Townsend (tracks: A1 to A4)
  • Vibraphone: Emil Richards, Victor Feldman

Chart history

Album
Title Information
Let's Get It On
  • US Pop Albums (1973) #2
  • US Soul Albums #1 (11 weeks)
  • US Pop Albums (1984) #127
Singles
Title Information
"Let's Get It On"
"Come Get to This"
  • Tamla single 54241, October 11, 1973
  • B-side: "Distant Lover"
  • US Pop Singles #21
  • US Soul Singles #3
"You Sure Love to Ball"
  • Tamla single 54244, January 2, 1974
  • B-side: "Just to Keep You Satisfied"
  • US Pop Singles #50
  • US Soul Singles #13

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Let's Get It On is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.[33]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Bill Shapiro U.S. The Top 100 Rock Compact Discs 1991 *
Blender U.S. The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time 2002 15
Dave Marsh & Kevin Stein U.S. The 40 Best of Album Chartmakers by Year 1981 6
Elvis Costello (Vanity Fair, Issue No. 483) U.S. 500 Albums You Need 2005 *
Infoplease.com U.S. Must-Have Recordings 1998 *
Jimmy Guterman U.S. The 100 Best Rock and Roll Records of All Time 1992 27
Kitsap Sun U.S. Top 200 Albums of the Last 40 Years 2005 67
Paul Gambaccini U.S. The World Critics Best Albums of All Time 1987 84
The Recording Academy U.S. Grammy Hall of Fame Albums and Songs 2004 *
Robert Dimery U.S. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005 *
Rolling Stone (Steve Pond) U.S. Steve Pond's 50 (+27) Essential Albums of the 70s 1990 39
Rolling Stone U.S. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2003 165
Vibe U.S. 51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement 2004 *
Hot Press Ireland The 100 Best Albums of All Time 1989 32
Mojo United Kingdom Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide 2001 *
New Musical Express U.K. All Times Top 100 Albums 1985 46
New Musical Express U.K. All Times Top 100 Albums + Top 50 by Decade 1993 145
The New Nation U.K. Top 100 Albums by Black Artists 2005 27
Sounds U.K. The 100 Best Albums of All Time 1986 24
The Times U.K. The 100 Best Albums of All Time 1993 58
Time Out U.K. The 100 Best Albums of All Time 1989 3
The Wire U.K. The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made 1992 *
Adresseavisen Norway The 100 (+23) Best Albums of All Time 1995 101
Pop Sweden The World's 100 Best Albums + 300 Complements 1994 101
OOR Netherlands Albums of the Year 1973 41
VPRO Netherlands 299 Nominations of the Best Album of All Time 2006 *
Spex Germany The 100 Albums of the Century 1999 93
Rock de Lux Spain The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s 1988 39
Rock de Lux Spain The 200 Best Albums of All Time 2002 53
(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Edmonds (2001), pp. 7–8.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Marvin Gaye - Singer/Songwriter. BBC - h2g2. Retrieved on 2008-08-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ritz a (2001), p. 2.
  4. ↑ Ritz b (1991), p. 203
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Deluxe edition liner notes (2001), pp. 19–20.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 allmusic Let's Get It On (Deluxe Edition) - Overview . All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  7. ↑ Townsend (2001), p. 4.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Edmonds (2001), pp. 15–18.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Landau, Jon. Review: Let's Get It On. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 allmusic Distant Lover - Song Review . All Media Guide. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  11. ↑ Discogs.com - Let's Get It On (WL 720885). Discogs. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  12. ↑ Edmonds (2001), pp. 8–9.
  13. ↑ Gaye (2001), liner excerpt
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Ankeny, Jason. Review: Let's Get It On. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  15. ↑ Columnist. "Review: Let's Get It On". Billboard: 56. September 8, 1973.
  16. ↑ Kot, Greg. "Review: Let's Get It On". Chicago Tribune: 4. July 22, 1994. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
  17. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumber Guide: Let's Get It On". The Village Voice: September 1973.
  18. ↑ Rogers, Matt. Review: Let's Get It On. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-07-22.
  19. ↑ Columnist. "Review: Let's Get It On". Q: 120. August 2003.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Hoard, Christian. "Review: Let's Get It On". Rolling Stone: 324–325. November 2, 2004.
  21. ↑ Larkin, Colin. "Review: Let's Get It On". Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music: March 1, 2002.
  22. ↑ Waller, Don. Review: Let's Get It On. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2009-07-22.
  23. ↑ US number two albums. Sharon Persky. Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
  24. ↑ Billboard, CASHBOX & Record World №1 ALBUMS(1973年). MS-Database. Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Super Seventies: Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On. Super Seventies RockSite!. Retrieved on 2008-08-26.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Edmonds (2001), p. 14.
  27. ↑ Billboard - Hot 100. Nielen Business Media. Retrieved on 2008-10-04.
  28. ↑ Super Seventies - "Let's Get It On". Super Seventies. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  29. ↑ RIAA Searchable Database. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2008-08-18.
  30. ↑ allmusic Let's Get It On - Charts & Awards . Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 allmusic Marvin Gaye - Biography . All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  32. ↑ allmusic: Live!. All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-10-26.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Acclaimed Music - Let's Get It On. www.acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  34. ↑ The Times All Time Top 100 Albums - 1993. Rocklist. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  35. ↑ RS500: 165) Let's Get It On. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
  36. ↑ The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-08-23.
  37. ↑ Grammy.com - Hall of Fame inductees. The Recording Academy. Retrieved on 2008-08-13.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Slant Magazine Music Review: Marvin Gaye: What's Going On. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-11-29.
  39. ↑ Johnstone (1999), p. 193.
  40. ↑ Neal, Mark Anthony. Review: Voodoo. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Dyson (2005), p. 98.

References

  • David Ritz (1991). Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-30680-443-3. 
  • Marvin Gaye, David Ritz, Ed Townsend, Ben Edmonds, Harry Weinger (2001). Let's Get It On (Deluxe edition). booklet liner notes. Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. MOTD 4757. 
  • Nick Johnstone (1999). Melody Maker History of 20th Century Popular Music. Bloomsbury, London, UK. ISBN 0747541906. 
  • Michael Eric Dyson (2005). Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye. Basic Civitas Books. ISBN 0-46501-770-3. 
  • Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-74320-169-8. 
  • Colin Larkin (2002). Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Edition 4. Virgin Books. ISBN 1852279230. 

External links

Marvin Gaye
Studio albums

The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye (1961) · That Stubborn Kinda Fellow (1962) · When I'm Alone I Cry (1964) · Hello Broadway (1964) · How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You (1965) · A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole (1965) · Moods of Marvin Gaye (1966) · In the Groove/I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1968) · M.P.G. (1969) · That's the Way Love Is (1970) · What's Going On (1971) · Let's Get It On (1973) · I Want You (1976) · Here, My Dear (1978) · In Our Lifetime (1981) · Midnight Love (1982) · Dream of a Lifetime (1985) · Romantically Yours (1986) · Vulnerable (1997)
Duet albums

Together (1964) · Take Two (1966) · United (1967) · You're All I Need (1968) · Easy (1969) · Diana & Marvin (1973)
Compilations
Greatest Hits (1964)  · Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1967)  · Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Greatest Hits (1970)  · Super Hits (1970)  · Anthology (1974)  · Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits (1976)  · The Marvin Gaye Collection (1990)  · The Norman Whitfield Sessions (1994)  · Love Starved Heart: Rare and Unreleased (1994)  · The Very Best of Marvin Gaye (UK) (1994)  · The Master (1961–1984) (1995)  · Marvin Gaye: The Love Songs (2000)  · The Complete Duets (2001)  · The Very Best of Marvin Gaye (US) (2001)
Other albums

Marvin Gaye Recorded Live on Stage (1963) · Trouble Man (1972) · Marvin Gaye Live! (1974) · Live at the London Palladium (1977) · Motown Remembers Marvin Gaye: Never Before Released Masters (1986) · Marvin Gaye at the Copa (2005)
US/UK Top
Ten singles

"Pride and Joy" · "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" · "I'll Be Doggone" · "Ain't That Peculiar" · "Your Precious Love" · "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You" · "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" · "You're All I Need to Get By" · "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" · "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" · "That's the Way Love Is" · "Abraham, Martin & John" · "The Onion Song" · "What's Going On" · "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" · "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" · "Trouble Man" · "Let's Get It On" · "You Are Everything" · "Got to Give It Up" · "Sexual Healing"
Family

Marvin Gay, Sr. · Alberta Gay · Anna Gordy Gaye · Frankie Gaye · Janis Hunter Gaye · Nona Gaye · Gordon Banks
Related topics

Discography · Songs · Albums · Songs by Marvin Gaye · Albums produced by Marvin Gaye · Marvin Gaye vocalists · Songs in memory · Death · Harvey Fuqua · The Moonglows · Tammi Terrell · Leon Ware · Marvin's Room
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