I Want You Marvin

[Eberardo Topher]

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.

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]

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]

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.

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 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]

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]

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]

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.

First things first, and before we get into talking about this record, a round of applause for regular contributor Damecia on her recent graduation. Congratulations from everyone at Motown Junkies!

This is Motown Junkies, an unofficial guide to every Motown single ever released, or planned for release, on every US Motown label (or via Tamla Motown in the UK), featuring reviews of each A-side and B-side in chronological order. New reviews appear every couple of days.

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For our return from hiatus, we observe a titan in his element, reflect on the pain that built him into one, and consider how to reconcile our feelings when complicated messengers deliver beauty to our door.

Kyle: have such a hard time rectifying the, steadily deteriorating hell hole. That is the internet landscape with the great things that have been wrought from talking about music and throwing it into the internet void. like getting hit up by a. Vinyl bar in Bangkok, Thailand who were playing some of our music recommendations at their listening station.

We somewhat psychopathically built a whole calendar, with a different album recommendation every day. Precision engineered for maximum diversity of all stripes day over day in your life. So 366 new albums taking the algorithm and the stupidity and the junk out of it.

Past at this point, he had a duets era with Tammy Terrell, who has died six years prior to this record coming out. he has a massive, massive hit in heard it through the grapevine, a song he covered, and was played over the opening credits of the big chill. So like central cultural figure, you could stop 99 percent of artists careers there.

That was just sort of like going, going unconscious, getting into flow state, and just go in and go in and go in and what you have is, is a beautiful piece without beginning or end that you can, you can live in for a really, really long time without getting tired of it.

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