Got to Give It Up

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"Got to Give It Up"
Marvin-gaye-got-to-give-it-up-pt-i-1977.jpg
Picture sleeve for one of U.S. vinyl singles
Single by Marvin Gaye
from the album Live at the London Palladium
A-side "Got to Give It Up" (Pt. 1)
B-side "Got to Give It Up" (Pt. 2)
ReleasedMarch 15, 1977
RecordedDecember 1976
Studio Marvin's Room, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length11:52 (full-length version)
4:12 (single version)
Label Tamla
Songwriter(s) Marvin Gaye
Producer(s) Art Stewart
Marvin Gaye singles chronology
"Since I Had You"
(1976)		"Got to Give It Up"
(1977)		"Pops, We Love You (A Tribute to Father)"
(1978)

"Got to Give It Up" is a song by American music artist Marvin Gaye. Written by the singer and produced by Art Stewart as a response to a request from Gaye's record label that he perform disco music, it was released in March 1977.

Contents

Upon its release, it topped three different Billboard charts, including the Hot 100, and became a worldwide success. Gaye sometimes used the song to open his concerts. The song has been covered by several acts.

Background

Throughout 1976, Gaye's popularity was still at a high in America and abroad, but the singer struggled throughout the year due to pending lawsuits from former bandmates. Divorce court proceedings between Gaye and first wife Anna Gordy had also put a strain on him. Financial difficulties almost led to imprisonment for the singer when Gordy accused him of failing to pay child support payments for their only child, son Marvin Pentz Gaye III.

To relieve Gaye from his debt, his European concert promoter Jeffrey Kruger booked the singer on a lengthy European tour. Gaye began the tour in the United Kingdom where he had a strong fan base dating back to his early career in the 1960s, making his first stop in the country since 1964. His performances there were given rave reviews. One of the shows, filmed at London's Palladium, was recorded for a live album, later released as Live at the London Palladium , in the spring of 1977.

Around the same time, Gaye's label Motown tried to get him to record disco music, which was popular and commercially viable at the time. Gaye criticized the genre, however, claiming it lacked substance, and refused to record a disco album. His label mate Diana Ross had recorded "Love Hangover", her first disco song. The song's producer Hal Davis debated over giving that song to either Ross or Gaye. After working over the song, he went with Ross, and it became her fourth solo number one hit. Motown struggled to get Gaye in the studio as Gaye focused on work on an album (which later was released as Here, My Dear , dedicated to Gaye's troubled first marriage). After months of holding off from recording anything resembling disco, the singer set upon writing a song parodying a disco setting.

Production

The first recording session for "Got to Give It Up", originally titled "Dancing Lady", was on December 13, 1976. Influenced by Johnnie Taylor's hit "Disco Lady", Gaye was inspired to create his answer song to Taylor's hit. To help set up a "disco" atmosphere, Gaye hired Motown producer and engineer Art Stewart to oversee the song's production. Gaye and Stewart brought in several musicians and Gaye's friends, his brother Frankie, and girlfriend Janis Hunter to Marvin's Room, Gaye's recording studio complex. From December 14 to 17, 1976, Gaye performed the lead vocal track, instrumentation (which included Gaye, Fernando Harkness, Johnny McGhee, Frankie Beverly and Bugsy Wilcox and The Funk Brothers member Jack Ashford) and background vocals. In the song, Gaye added background vocals from his brother and his girlfriend. During the second half of the song, the song introduces vocal layered doo-wop styled scatting from Gaye and produced a funk-influenced vamp. Fernando Harkness performs a tenor saxophone solo in the second half of the song.

Gaye recorded his vocals on the first date of sessions, adding instrumentation on the following day, and then adding other effects in the latter two days, mixing it by January 1977. Influenced by the vocal chatter on his previous hit "What's Going On", Gaye decided to create a party scene outside the recording studio where different voices are heard either greeting each other or partying. Gaye is heard on the track greeting people and laughing while mingling in with the crowd. During the bridge, Gaye is heard yelling "Say Don! Hey man, I didn't know you was in here!" The "Don" later was confirmed as Soul Train host Don Cornelius, who was one of Gaye's close friends. Gaye overlapped the party sounds over and over, making a loop. In the second half of the song, Gaye sings mainly the initial title, "dancing lady" over and over while a saxophone is playing a solo. All the background vocals on the second part of the song were from Gaye. He also played percussion, bass keyboards and RMI synthesisers in the final fade of the song. In the second half, he can be heard playing on a glass bottle halfway filled with grapefruit juice. [2] L.T.D. guitarist Johnny McGhee added guitar. McGhee and Frankie Beverly were the only non-bandmates featured on the song playing instruments. Beverly also added assorted percussion.

Composition

After the start of the song, which includes vocal chatter, the song kicks off with a standard drum beat: kick, snare and hi-hat, and synthesizers are heard soon afterward. After nearly a minute, Gaye's vocals appear in a falsetto, which he sings in for most of the song. In the second half, after harmonizing in falsetto, Gaye's tenor vocals take over.

The song's story focuses on a man who is a wallflower when he comes into a nightclub nervous to perform on the dance floor. But after a minute of this, the music takes over and his body starts to lose any inhibitions. Midway, he finally cuts loose before shouting the chant "non-stop express, party y'all; feel no distress, I'm at my best — let's dance, let's shout, gettin' funky what it's all about!" proving the power of the dance can overtake any shyness. The dance is focused on Gaye and a suitable female partner he seeks. In the second half, a funkier jazz arrangement is helped in guitar, bass and a tambourine. After this, he continues chanting until the song fades.

Release and reaction

The record was released in March 1977 and eventually topped the U.S. Billboard charts. The song held the number one position on the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week, from June 18 to 25, 1977. It replaced "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, and was replaced by "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti. On the R&B singles charts, it held the number one spot for five weeks from April 30 until June 17, 1977 (being interrupted twice at the number one position for one week by "Whodunit" by Tavares for the week of May 21, 1977, and Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" for the week of May 28, 1977, respectively). [3] On the disco charts, the single was a number one hit. [4] Billboard ranked it as the No. 20 song of 1977.

It reached number one on the dance charts in May. The single also found success outside the United States reaching number seven on the UK Singles Chart, his biggest charted hit as a solo artist since his version of "Abraham, Martin & John" had peaked at number nine on the chart in 1970. Previously, Gaye had modest success with two singles: "Save the Children (song)" (released as a double-A side with Gaye's 1966 recording "Little Darling (I Need You)") in 1971 and "Let's Get It On" in 1973 (which peaked at number 31 on the UK chart). The single also found modest success in some countries, peaking at number 24 on the Dutch singles chart and number 31 on the New Zealand charts. The single's success helped its parent album Live at the London Palladium find substantial success on the Billboard 200, where it stayed at the top 10 for several weeks. Sales of the album eventually reached two million.

Cash Box said that "this highly infectious tune features Gaye's vocals over throbbing drums and street jive noise that has a sound just right for the disco, and tailor made for an upbeat mood." [5] Record World said that it's "an atmospheric party track sparked by [Gaye's] distinctive vocal." [6] New York Times critic John Rockwell called the song "a pure dance record in the modern disco mode" but wondered if its popularity was due more to Gaye's reputation than to its own merits. [7]

Legacy

Gaye's song became an important influence and motivation for Michael Jackson, who was searching to write a potential hit after the Jacksons had struggled with previous offerings. Jackson later wrote, with brother Randy, "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", adapting parts of Gaye's chant, transforming it into "let's dance, let's shout, shake your body down to the ground". The song "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", written solely by Jackson and recorded the same year as "Shake Your Body", took even more of Gaye's approach with "Got to Give It Up", using percussive instruments and a continued funk guitar riff. Jackson sings most of the song in falsetto. Jackson's producer Quincy Jones added in string instruments used during the instrumental intro and a synthesizer guitar during the song's bridge. Much like the party chatter in "Got to Give It Up", Jones added in vocal chatter; however, the chatter later was debated as two people having a verbal argument while the tape was recording (a woman could be heard hollering "I love your little ass anyway!"). Jones allowed the argument in the recording.

"Got to Give It Up" has been featured in the films Menace II Society (1993), Boogie Nights (1997), Practical Magic (1998), Summer of Sam (1999), Charlie's Angels (2000), Barbershop (2002), This Christmas (2007), Eat Pray Love (2010), Paul (2011), and Da 5 Bloods (2020).

The song was featured in the television shows The Wire , True Blood , and Scandal .

The 2013 hit single "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and song co-writer T.I. was the subject of a lawsuit for allegedly copying "Got to Give It Up". Thicke originally told the public both he and Williams were in the recording studio, and suddenly Thicke told Pharrell "Damn, we should make something like that, something with that groove" and they wrote the song in less than an hour. However, Thicke later claimed this was all a lie, and the song was written entirely by Pharrell. [8] Thicke stated "I was high on Vicodin and alcohol when I showed up at the studio." [9] On March 10, 2015, a federal jury found "Blurred Lines" infringed on "Got to Give It Up" and awarded nearly $7.4 million to Gaye's children. Jurors found against Williams and Thicke, but held harmless the record company and T.I. [10] While damages were reduced to $5.3 million, the jury's decision was upheld on appeal. [11] As an additional remedy, Gaye was credited as a songwriter for "Blurred Lines". [12] This in turn affected "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of "Blurred Lines", titled "Word Crimes", where Gaye has been added as a songwriter. [13]

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for "Got to Give It Up"
Chart (1977)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [14] 28
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [15] 43
Canada RPM Top Singles 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [16] 24
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [17] 31
UK Singles (OCC) [18] 7
US Billboard Hot 100 [19] 1
US Hot Soul Singles [20] 1
US National Disco Action [21] 1

Certifications

Certifications for "Got to Give It Up"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [22] Silver200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Aaliyah version

  1. ↑ Big Gigantic (September 20, 2016). "The 30 Best Funk Songs Ever". Billboard . Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Got to Give It Up – Marvin Gaye | Song Info". AllMusic . Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 225.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 108.
  5. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 2, 1977. p. 20. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 2, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  7. ↑ Rockwell, John (June 17, 1977). "Top 10 Singles Are All Eclectic". Charlotte Observer. p. 10D. Retrieved June 21, 2022– via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to face Marvin Gaye's family in court over Blurred Lines plagiarism claims – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. October 31, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  9. ↑ Eriq Gardner (September 15, 2014). "Robin Thicke Admits Drug Abuse, Lying to Media in Wild "Blurred Lines" Deposition (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  10. ↑ "Jurors hit Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams with $7.4-million verdict". Los Angeles Times . March 10, 2015.
  11. ↑ Sicario, Ben (March 21, 2018). "'Blurred Lines' Verdict Upheld by Appeals Court". The New York Times . Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  12. ↑ Sisario, Ben; Smith, Noah (March 10, 2015). "'Blurred Lines' Infringed on Marvin Gaye Copyright, Jury Rules". The New York Times . Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  13. ↑ Fox, Jesse David (March 25, 2017). "Weird Al Yankovic Details Exactly How He Turned 'Blurred Lines' into 'Word Crimes'". Vulture . Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Marvin Gaye – Got to Give It Up" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Marvin Gaye – Got to Give It Up" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Marvin Gaye – Got to Give It Up" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Marvin Gaye – Got to Give It Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Marvin Gaye Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard . Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Marvin Gaye Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard . Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Marvin Gaye Chart History: Dance Club Songs". Billboard . Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  22. ↑ "British single certifications – Marvin Gaye – Got to Give It Up – Pt 1". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  23. 1 2 3 "A look back 20 years to the debut album of Aaliyah, the R. Kelly scandal, and her Timbaland-produced follow-up that set the R&B format on fire". Wax Poetics . Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Aaliyah Week: How 'One In A Million' Pushed The Envelope Of R&B". Vibe . August 26, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  25. 1 2 Farley 2002 , p. 74
  26. ↑ "25 Days of Aaliyah: Got To Give It Up". BET . Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  27. ↑ Gennoe, Dan (February 10, 2003). "I Care 4 U - Aaliyah". Dotmusic . Archived from the original on December 12, 2003. Retrieved August 20, 2023. The publication labeled the song as cyber-disco, which is basically another term for electro-disco.
  28. ↑ Ex, Kris (December 1996). "Got To Give It Up". Vibe . New York: 126. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  29. 1 2 Footman 2021
  30. ↑ Waliszewski, Bob. "One in a Million Album Review". Plugged In . Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  31. 1 2 3 Hampton, Dream (October 1996). "Revolutions- Aaliyah 'One In A Million'". Vibe . New York: 134. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  32. ↑ Ex, Kris (December 1996). "Got To Give It Up (continued)". Vibe . New York. p. 128. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  33. ↑ Johnson, Connie (September 28, 1996). "Aaliyah's Spirit Sounds Like a 'Million". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  34. ↑ Van Nguyen, Dean (August 25, 2016). "'One in a Million' at 20: How Aaliyah forged pop's future". The Independent . Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  35. ↑ Flick, Larry (November 9, 1996). "Dance Trax". Billboard . Vol. 45. p. 24. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  36. ↑ "Aaliyah's 20 Best Songs: Staff List". Billboard . August 25, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  37. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (January 1, 2001). "Review:Aaliyah, One in a Million". Slant . Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  38. ↑ Caldwell, Brandon (August 26, 2021). "Aaliyah stepped into her own on One in a Million — and created the blueprint for modern R&B". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on January 7, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  39. ↑ Breihan, Tom (November 4, 2019). "The Number Ones: Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up (Part 1)"". Stereogum . Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  40. 1 2 3 "Are You That Somebody?". Vibe . New York: 83. November 2001. Archived from the original on December 29, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  41. ↑ Hall, Rashaun (July 21, 2001). "Blackground Readying Aaliyah's Return". Billboard . Vol. 113, no. 29. p. 16. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  42. 1 2 Iandoli 2021 , p. 85
  43. 1 2 "Aaliyah: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  44. 1 2 "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  45. 1 2 "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  46. 1 2 "Aaliyah – Got to Give It Up". Top 40 Singles.
  47. ↑ Aaliyah (1996). Got to Give It Up (CD single). United Kingdom: Blackground Records, Atlantic Records. 7567956322.
  48. ↑ Aaliyah (1996). Got to Give It Up (Cassette single). United Kingdom: Blackground Records, Atlantic Records. A5632C.
  49. ↑ Aaliyah (1996). Got to Give It Up (12-inch single). United Kingdom: Blackground Records, Atlantic Records. 7567956280.
  50. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Singles: Releases for 4 Nov–10 Nov 1996: 155" (PDF). Music Week . November 2, 1996. p. 41. Retrieved February 20, 2022– via World Radio History.
  52. ↑ "Got to Give It Up/ – Aaliyah" (in German). Germany: Amazon Music . Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  53. ↑ "Got to Give It Up" (in Japanese). Japan: Oricon . Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  54. ↑ "Got to give it up – Aaliyah – CD maxi single" (in French). France: Fnac. December 6, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  55. ↑ "Atoms For Peace cover Marvin Gaye's 'Got to Give It Up' – watch". Stereogum.com. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
"Got to Give It Up"
AaliyahGotToGiveItUp.jpg
Single by Aaliyah featuring Slick Rick
from the album One in a Million
B-side "No Days Go By"
ReleasedNovember 4, 1996
Studio
Genre
Length
  • 4:41 (album version)
  • 4:02 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Aaliyah singles chronology
"If Your Girl Only Knew"
(1996)		"Got to Give It Up"
(1996)		"One in a Million"
(1996)
Slick Rick singles chronology
"I Like"
(1996)		"Got to Give It Up"
(1996)		"Street Talkin'"
(1999)
Studio albums
Duet albums
Compilations
Live albums
Video albums
US/UK top
ten singles
Family
Related
topics

Bibliography

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