Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up

Marvin, oh Marvin, where art thou? We miss you so.

It's Saturday evening and I'm feeling happy. The good vibes are emanating through my body as the holy ghost of Mr. Marvin Gaye soulfully swoons about the subjects of love, happiness, and the existential musings of life (like a 17 year old who just finished The Stranger). The sweet sounds of classic "get down and party" and/or "get down and make love" (do one or both, you just gotta do somethin') music from the soul legend, groove through my overpriced living room speakers as I boogy alone on the equally overpriced and over-sized Persian rug (the center does indeed, look like Galaga). "This music needs to be shared with others!" I think, mainly for an excuse to go lurking for another humans touch. Instead of going to a party I wasn't invited to and playing this song after jacking the iPod from the speaker set whilst everyone asks "Who the fuck is this guy?", I decided to write a blog post about it. It only seemed right. For the people. Viva la whatever etc.

Which Marvin song did I particularly want to get down to? It could be the political powerhouse of his most legendary album, What's Going On, or maybe the divorce inspired heartbreak ballads of Hear My Dear, an equally powerful and beautiful record. Maybe not, as they would both have me curled up in the form of a scared armadillo on the floor crying about the plight of the peoples of the world or the girlfriend I never had. Then I saw it, seemingly placed there like a beacon of light shining its eternal brightness onto my face. Live at the London Palladium. After his move to Motown, Gaye was told to make more commercially accessible funk and dance music, because that was the way the industry was moving. As with every other genre he touched, he did it incredibly well, and the album, which featured live performances of many of Gaye's hits, and also came with a new track that was recorded in the infamous Marvin's Room recording studio. That original song is the subject of this Track Genius, and one of the most infectiously groovy songs ever. This is Got To Give It Up.

Gaye has been sampled an innumerable number of times in hip-hop & pop music, and it's plain to see why. Not only does this song have major cowbell, and a groove that straddles the line between country funk & R&B sexiness, but Marvin Gaye sings in a perfect falsetto. Not forced in any way, a little bit of echo on it, and one of the most heavenly voices ever to grace this Earth, create something funk & jazz inspired, that sounds like a nouveau-disco track from a throwback party in 3010. This song plays in some movie about an awkward white kid asking a girl to prom, and in a desperate attempt to impress her, builds up the courage to get on the floor to this song, surprising all the people who gather around him in a circle. Cutaway to a group of black kids cheering him on and saying "white boy has groove!" and a montage of him dancing with a bunch of girls who thought he was a loser. He has become the social butterfly he never thought he could be, and his date says "I had a really nice time" with a coy smile and a kiss on the cheek. 5 years later she turned out to be a lesbian, but that didn't matter for Tanner. Anyway, the song is straight sexy.

Top 5 beards of all time, right up there with Ayatollah Khomeini.

Marvin Gaye just makes the most timeless music like it's nothing. It comes as natural to him as breathing or rocking an awesome beard. And for that, we thank him.

~ BONUS TRACK ~

Robin Thicke & Pharrell basically redid this song and put a T.I. verse on it, making Blurred Lines, one of the biggest pop hits of 2013. That doesn't matter however, because they did it justice, and it is still awesome (regardless of the sexist undertones). Good to know that the spirit of Marvin is still alive, and appreciated.

"Pharrell and I were in the studio and [...] I was like, 'Damn, we should make something like that [Got to Give It Up], something with that groove.' Then he started playing a little something and we literally wrote the song in about a half hour and recorded it. Him and I would go back and forth where I'd sing a line and he'd be like, 'Hey, hey, hey!' We started acting like we were two old men on a porch hollering at girls like, 'Hey, where you going, girl? Come over here!'"

The cowbell is still intact (awesome). And you can watch the uncensored version here (more awesome).

As always, please share, enjoy, and spread the love. Peace.