I Want You (Marvin Gaye song)

Last updated

"I Want You"
Iwantyousingle.jpg
French vinyl single
Single by Marvin Gaye
from the album I Want You
B-side "I Want You" (instrumental)
Released1976
Recorded1975
Studio Marvin's Room, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length4:34 (single version)
Label Tamla
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Leon Ware
  • Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye singles chronology
"Distant Lover (live)"
(1974)		"I Want You"
(1976)		"After the Dance"
(1976)
Audio sample

"I Want You" is a song written by Leon Ware and Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and performed by American singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye. It was released as a single in 1976 on his fourteenth studio album of the same name (1976) on his Tamla label. The song introduced a change in musical styles for Gaye, who before then had been recording songs with a funk edge. "I Want You", among other similar songs, gave him a disco audience. Ware, who produced the song alongside Gaye, also was attributed with the single's success.

Contents

The song stood to be one of Marvin's most popular singles during his later Motown period followed by his sabbatical following the release of 1973's Let's Get It On . The song eventually reached number one on the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart [1] and number fifteen on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also became a disco hit, reaching number ten on the Disco Singles Chart alongside "After the Dance". [2]

Creative Background

Originally conceived by Motown songwriter Leon Ware and his songwriting partner "T-Boy" Ross, "I Want You" was originally intended to be included in Ware's Musical Massage album. [3] When Ware, who was also signed to the label as a solo artist, presented the outline of his album to Motown-CEO Berry Gordy, the mogul was appreciative of the songs, [4] [5] especially a preliminary version of "I Want You". Upon hearing it, he convinced Ware to give some of the songs to Gaye, [3] who was coming off the release of his acclaimed 1973 record, Let's Get It On. After his final duet recording with Diana Ross and a commercially successful live album, Gaye had struggled with creating a follow-up album to Let's Get It On. When Ware played Gaye the rough version of "I Want You", Gaye, inspired by his relationship with his girlfriend Janis Hunter, [6] was motivated to record a heartfelt performance of the song, [5] [7] which was about a man trying to convince a wayward lover that he wanted her to "want" him as much as he did her. [8]

Purportedly recorded at Marvin's Room, the singer's new recording studio in Los Angeles, [8] [9] Gaye reportedly sang the song while lying on the back of his sofa according to Ware, who said that he couldn't see him at first but then discovered a laid-back Gaye delivering the song in his trademark tenor vocals. [5]

Composition and Genre

The song was a fusion of different genres and an unusual mix for Gaye. A blend of strings [10] added an important factor to the soul and disco influence in "I Want You". Bongos, bell trees, and percussive congas then added a jazzy feel to the song with bass guitar notes and guitar riffs bringing an element of funk. [10] Additional guitar (provided by Ray Parker Jr.) then added a rock element that effectively blended genres within the song.

Gaye's lead vocals brought in both a falsetto and gospel quality near the ending of the song. [11] The single version features alternate vocal renditions. [12] Additional vocals, later added to Gaye's deluxe edition re-issue of "I Want You", showcase two different takes by Gaye. [13] The background vocals, all sung by Gaye, recall his early doo-wop roots. The song begins with a 77-second intro before leading into the chorus and first verse.

Reception

Released a day before Marvin's 37th birthday in 1976, the single came a month after its aptly named parent album. It gained success on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles chart, eventually peaking at number fifteen on the Hot 100 and number one on the R&B chart. The single's light disco/soul approach helped the song gain a club audience after it was combined with the album's second single, "After the Dance," and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart – Gaye's first single to make it. Eventually the song would help its album sell over a million copies. Gaye would also be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance.

As stated by Record World , the song "features a seductive vocal that massages a chunky trance-like rhythm" and has an "appropriately lush arrangement." [14]

Charts

Charts (1976)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [15] 15
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [16] 1

Cover versions

In 1976, Argentinian tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri covered "I Want You" on his album Caliente!. [17]

In the same year, a large personnel participated in a cover of the song from Stanley Turrentine's The Man with the Sad Face .

In 1990, British singer Robert Palmer covered "I Want You" as a medley with another Marvin Gaye song, "Mercy Mercy Me". [18] The song was released as the third single from his tenth studio album, Don't Explain , in January 1991. The song reached number nine in the United Kingdom, six in Canada and sixteen pop (and four Adult Contemporary) in the United States.

In 2003, Michael McDonald covered "I Want You" on his album Motown .

In 2022, Kendrick Lamar sampled and interpolated "I Want You" on the standalone non-album single "The Heart Part 5", released prior to his album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers . It later became available as a bonus track on the album. [19]

Madonna and Massive Attack version

"I Want You"
Promotional single by Madonna and Massive Attack
from the album Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye and Something to Remember
Recorded1995
Genre Trip hop
Length6:23
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Nellee Hooper
Music video
"I Want You" on YouTube

Background

American singer Madonna recorded a cover version of "I Want You" with British trip-hop group Massive Attack for the Marvin Gaye tribute album Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye (1995) and Madonna's first ballad compilation album, Something to Remember (1995). It was slated to be the first single from Something to Remember; a music video was shot and released to many media outlets, but legality problems between the Motown label and Madonna's record label prevented this from happening. Massive Attack later included the song on the special edition of their greatest hits compilation Collected in 2006.

Over a year before the release of the album Motown Records, the record label in charge of assembling the artists for the compilation album approached Massive Attack and asked them to pick a song from Marvin Gaye's back catalogue to re-imagine and suggested they do a collaboration with Chaka Khan. A backing track was made to accommodate her vocals, but the recording sessions did not go well. The possibility came up briefly of working with Aaron Neville but this fell through as well because of legality issues.

Record producer Nellee Hooper suggested Madonna as vocalist, as he had recently finished producing her 1994 Bedtime Stories album, and he set up a meeting with Massive Attack. Band members Daddy G and Mushroom never got the opportunity to meet Madonna during the recording sessions for the song, only 3D along with Hooper would meet with her in New York for a period of two days, record the vocals with her and then bring them back to their home city of Bristol to be worked on. Madonna was so impressed by the finished product that she chose to include the song as the first track on her 1995 compilation album Something to Remember. [20]

Reception

AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that "I Want You" is the most notable among the three new tracks on Something to Remember. [21] In a review for Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye, Erlewine also wrote "A few tracks stand out from the mire, particularly Madonna and Massive Attack's trip-hop re-interpretation of "I Want You"..." [22] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News stated that "[Madonna] has never sounded better than in the cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You"." [23] Dave Simpson from Melody Maker felt "the breathless, steam-showered, snogtastic, Massive Attack-accompanied take on Marvin Gaye's libidinal "I Want You" is irrefutably incredible." [24] Mark Sutherland from NME praised it as "a splendid, sultry thing". [25]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "I Want You" was shot on August 5 and 6, 1995 at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, New York and directed by Earle Sebastian, produced by Joel Hinman, edited by Bruce Ashley, the video was inspired by and pays homage to A Telephone Call, a short story written by American writer, Dorothy Parker. The video was released to VH1 on October 2, 1995. [26] "I Want You" received a nomination for "MTV Amour" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 1996, but lost to The Fugees's "Killing Me Softly". [27] The video was commercially released in 2009 on Madonna's video compilation, Celebration: The Video Collection .

Related Research Articles

<i>Whats Going On</i> (album) 1971 album by Marvin Gaye

What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. It was released on May 21, 1971, by the Motown Records subsidiary label Tamla. Recorded between 1970 and 1971 in sessions at Hitsville U.S.A., Golden World, United Sound Studios in Detroit, and at The Sound Factory in West Hollywood, California, it was Gaye's first album to credit him as producer and to credit Motown's in-house session musicians, known as the Funk Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Heard It Through the Grapevine</span> 1966 song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a single in September 1967. It went to number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and number two on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and shortly became the biggest selling Motown single up to that time.

<i>Lets Get It On</i> Album by Marvin Gaye

Let's Get It On is the thirteenth studio album by the American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What's Going On (song)</span> 1971 single by Marvin Gaye

"What's Going On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye, released in 1971 on the Motown subsidiary Tamla. It is the opening track of Gaye's studio album of the same name. Originally inspired by a police brutality incident witnessed by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, the song was composed by Benson, Al Cleveland, and Gaye and produced by Gaye himself. The song marked Gaye's departure from the Motown Sound towards more personal material. Later topping the Hot Soul Singles chart for five weeks and crossing over to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, it would sell over two million copies, becoming Gaye's second-most successful Motown song to date. It was ranked at number 4 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of all Time in 2004 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual Healing</span> 1982 single by Marvin Gaye

"Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, Midnight Love (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime (1981) album the previous year. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is listed at number 198 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Sexual Healing" is written and composed in the key of E-flat major and is set in time signature of 4/4 with a tempo of 94 beats per minute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Got to Give It Up</span> 1977 single by Marvin Gaye

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ain't No Mountain High Enough</span> 1966 song by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

<i>I Want You</i> (Marvin Gaye album) 1976 studio album by Marvin Gaye

I Want You is the fourteenth studio album by American soul singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye. It was released on March 16, 1976, by the Motown Records-subsidiary label Tamla.

"Stubborn Kind of Fellow" is a 1962 song recorded by Marvin Gaye for the Tamla label. Co-written by Gaye and produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" became Gaye's first hit single, reaching the top 10 of the R&B chart and the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1962.

<i>Something to Remember</i> 1995 compilation album by Madonna

Something to Remember is a compilation album by American singer Madonna, released by Maverick Records on November 3, 1995. The album was conceived after a highly controversial period in Madonna's career, during which many critics speculated that her career was in decline. The compilation of ballads presented a softer image for the singer and span over a decade, including a reworked version of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" as well as three new songs: "You'll See", "One More Chance" and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You". The singles "I'll Remember" and "This Used to Be My Playground", were also included, marking the first time these songs were featured on a Madonna album.

<i>In the Groove</i> (Marvin Gaye album) 1968 studio album by Marvin Gaye

In the Groove is the eighth studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released on August 26, 1968 on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. It was the first solo studio album Gaye released in two years, in which during that interim, the singer had emerged as a successful duet partner with female R&B singers such as Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell. In the Groove was reissued and retitled as I Heard It Through the Grapevine after the unexpected success of Gaye's recording of the same name, which had been released as a single from the original album.

<i>Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye</i> 1995 compilation album by various artists

Inner City Blues: the Music of Marvin Gaye is a tribute album to soul singer Marvin Gaye who died in 1984. It was released in 1995 on the Motown Records label. The album was not a success on the music charts and sales were low. Many critics panned the album, although, Allmusic stated "I Want You" was the album's standout tracks, and WBLS DJ Félix Hernández selected "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" as his choice in his yearly tribute to Marvin Gaye on his "Rhythm Revue" program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Ware</span> American singer and songwriter (1940-2017)

Leon Ware was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Maxwell, Minnie Riperton and Marvin Gaye, co-producing the latter's album, I Want You.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">After the Dance (song)</span> 1976 single by Marvin Gaye

"After the Dance" is a slow jam recorded by singer Marvin Gaye and released as the second single off Gaye's 1976 hit album I Want You. Though it received modest success, the song was widely considered to be one of Gaye's best ballads and served as part of the template for quiet storm and urban contemporary ballads that came afterwards.

<i>Live at the London Palladium</i> 1977 live album by Marvin Gaye

Live at the London Palladium is a live double album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released March 15, 1977, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions took place live at several concerts at the London Palladium in London, England, in October 1976, with the exception of the hit single "Got to Give It Up", which was recorded at Gaye's Los Angeles studio Marvin's Room on January 31, 1977. Live at the London Palladium features intimate performances by Gaye of many of his career highlights, including early hits for Motown and recent material from his previous three studio albums. As with his previous live album, Marvin Gaye Live!, production of the record was handled entirely by Gaye, except for the studio portion, "Got to Give It Up", which was managed by Art Stewart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wanna Be Where You Are</span> 1972 single by Michael Jackson

"I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a song written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Leon Ware for Michael Jackson, who took the song to number 7 in Cash Box and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. It also reached number 2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All This Love (DeBarge song)</span> 1982 single by DeBarge

"All This Love" is a single by DeBarge, released on October 17, 1982. The song was released as the third and final single from their second studio album of the same title on the Gordy label. The single would help DeBarge rise to R&B stardom. A cover version of the song was recorded by Patti LaBelle on her 1994 gold album Gems. A video for her version was also filmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Fuqua</span> American R&B singer and record producer (1929–2010)

Harvey Fuqua was an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.

<i>Musical Massage</i> 1976 studio album by Leon Ware

Musical Massage is an album by Leon Ware released in 1976. This was his second solo album and his only release for Motown's Gordy Records subsidy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come Live with Me Angel</span> 1976 soul song by Marvin Gaye

"Come Live with Me Angel" is a smooth soul song by soul singer Marvin Gaye. The song was co-written by singer-songwriter Leon Ware and lyricist Jacqueline Dalya-Hilliard for the former's album Musical Massage. However, Ware gave it to Gaye as he showed interest in it, as well as the other songs Ware had written with Arthur Ross. The song first appeared on Gaye's album I Want You as the second track.

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 225.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 108.
  3. 1 2 Hogan, Ed (December 13, 2022). "I Want You Review". AllMusic . Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Key Tracks: Marvin Gaye's I Want You". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "I Want You Still: Celebrating 40 Years of Marvin Gaye's Sensual Classic". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  6. ↑ Boraman, Greg (September 18, 2003). "Review of Marvin Gaye – I Want You (Deluxe Edition)". BBC. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  7. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (March 2, 2017). "Leon Ware, Producer Who Worked With Marvin Gaye, Dies at 77". The New York Times . Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Torres (2003)
  9. ↑ Ritz (2003)
  10. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "I Want You Review by Thom Jurek". AllMusic . Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  11. ↑ Gaye, Marvin. "I Want You". Spotify . Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  12. ↑ Gaye, Marvin. "I Want You - Single Version". Spotify . Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  13. ↑ Gaye, Marvin (2003). "I Want You - A Cappella with Bass and Congas". Spotify . Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 17, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Marvin Gaye Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Marvin Gaye Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  17. ↑ I Want You – Gato Barbieri at AllMusic . Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  18. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. Don't Explain at AllMusic . Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  19. ↑ Ihaza, Jeff (April 18, 2022). "Kendrick Lamar Shares New Single, "The Heart Part 5"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  20. ↑ "I Want You". Massive Attack Website. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  21. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Something to Remember at AllMusic
  22. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye at AllMusic
  23. ↑ Farber, Jim (November 14, 1995). "Big Names in Record Numbers: From Madonna to Stones". Daily News New York. Archived from the original on July 20, 2010.
  24. ↑ Simpson, Dave (November 11, 1995). "Albums". Melody Maker . p. 40. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  25. ↑ Sutherland, Mark (November 4, 1995). "Long Play". NME . p. 47. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  26. ↑ Billboard. October 14, 1995. p. 76. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  27. ↑ "MTV Europe Music Awards Winners 1994–2000". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 45. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 10, 2001. p. 50. ISSN   0006-2510.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.