What are your Top 10 Marvin Gaye songs? I know it is hard to choose just 10 from the great man, but try.

Mine are in no particular order;

What's Happening Brother

Ain't No Mountain High Enough(With Tammi Terrell)

Save The Children

I Want You

Inner city Blues

Let's Get On

Whats Going On

Sexual Healing

All Around

Wannbe where You are

I was just thinking about making this thread. I was tempted to remove all duets to make it easier, but I'll play by your rules.

1. What's Going On
2. I Want You
3. Soon I'll Be Loving You Again
4. Let's Get It On
5. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
6. Ain't That Peculiar
7. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
8. Come Live With Me Angel
9. God Is Love
10. Just to Keep You Satisfied

That was painful!

AFTER THE DANCE
DISTANT LOVER (LIVE)
SPARROW
IF I SHOULD DIE TONIGHT
MERCY MERCY ME (THE ECOLOGY)
INNER CITY BLUES (MAKE ME WANNA HOLLER)
A FUNKY SPACE REINCARNATION
GOT TO GIVE IT UP
THAT'S THE WAY LOVE IS
HITCH HIKE

Hmmm....

1. When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You
2. It's Madness
3. I Want You
4. Third World Girl
5. Why Did I Choose You
6. Falling In Love Again
7. Sadomasochistic Beauty
8. Got To Give It Up
9. If I Should Die Tonight
10. Inner City Blues

...



All The Way Around

What's Happening, Brother

Inner City Blues

Since I Had You

After The Dance

Baby Please Don't Stay (Once You Go Away)

Distant Lover

You Sure Love To Ball

Got To Give It Up

Stranger In My Life





...

Let's get it On (The number one sex jame ever)
Here My Dear (you can feel his divorce pain, my lord)
Distant Lover, live version (I love hearing the audience)
Inner City Blues (I use these lyrics for literary analysis in my classes)
I Heard it Through the Grapevine (Pure Pop Genius)
When Did You Stop Loving Me, When did I...(a whole relationship on tape)
Mercy Mercy Me - (socially conscious R&B at its best)
Sexual Healing (Too Sexy)
Got to Give It UP (This shit makes me dance everytime I hear it)
God Is Love B - Side Version (Marvin Getting Spiritual in the Cut)

Imposible.

N NO ORDER



Heavy Love Affair
What's Going On
Hitch Hike
What's Happening Brother
Inner City Blues
You Sure Love to Ball
After the Dance
Wanna Be Where You Are
Walking in the Rain
God is Love

Tough one, this!

What's Happening Brother
Joy
Got to Give It Up
You Sure Love to Ball
When did you stop loving me, when did I stop loving you
Your precious love
You are everything
Praise
Life is for learning
Flying High in the Friendly Sky

Is that ten already?

Exetergirl said:

I could have put the whole of The Whats Going On album in my top ten, but I felt it wasn't fair to his other masterpieces on other albums, so I decided to leave out greats like "Flying High in The Friendly Sky" and "Mercy Mercy" and I went for "Save The children" instead.

By The Way "Flying High in The Friendly Sky" is about drugs, isn't it.?

whatsgoingon said:

Ndeed! BTW, in the line "I'm hooked my friend, to the boy that makes slaves out of men"

"The Boy" was slang for heroin....

The title was kind of a sarcastic dig at a United Airlines slogan,"Flying The Friendly Skies"...

...


Flying high in the friendly sky
without ever leavin' the ground,
Rest of the folks are tired and weary,
Oh Lord, and have laid their bodies down.


I go the place where danger awaits me
and it's bound to forsake me
So stupid minded.
(I can't help it)
oh ya, so stupid minded
But I go crazy when I can't find it,

In the morning, I'll be alright, my friend.
But soon the night will come and bring the pains,
The pain, oh the pain

Flying high in the friendly sky
Without ever leaving the ground
And I ain't seen nothing but trouble baby
Nobody really understands, no no

And I go to the place where the good feelin' awaits me
Self destruction in my hand
Oh Lord, so stupid minded
Oh and I go crazy when I can't find it

Well I know, I'm hooked my friend,
To the boy who makes slaves out of men.
And oh beleive me
Flying high in the friendly sky...


Marvin attempted an earlier version of this,in a different tune with slightly altered lyrics (it's included on the What's Going On Deluxe Edition), called 'Sad Tomorrows'...



Marvin Gaye - "Sad Tomorrows" Lyrics:

Flying High in the friendly sky,
Without leaving the ground,
Rest of the folks are tired and weary
And have laid their bodies down
I go to the place where danger waits -
And its bound to forsake me.

So stupid minded,
But I go crazy, when I cant find it,

In the morning I'll be alright my friends-
Soon the night - will bring the pains again

Flying hight in the friendly sky,
Without ever leaving the ground,
Aint seen nothing but trouble baby - paraphernalia is my name
Theres a place where the feeling awaits me,
Self destructions in my hands

So stupid minded,
But I go crazy, when I can find it

I know Im hooked my friends,
To the boy
Who makes slaves out of men...

Ahhh yeah

I did the best I could
Nobody understood

Ahhh yeah

Take Me away, Take me away...



...
[Edited 6/23/07 19:53pm]

Let's It Get On
Mercy Mercy Me
Trouble Man
Gotta Give It Up
Heard It Through The Grapevine
Sexual Healing
Distant Lover
After The Dance
Inner City Blues
I Want You
*You're All I Need To Get By
*Special Mention
[Edited 6/22/07 15:16pm]

Top 10 (Non-duets)

1. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
2. Trouble Man
3. If I Should Die Tonight
4. Since I Had You
5. Let's Get It On
6. Yesterday
7. Ain't That Peculiar
8. Got To Give It Up
9. Piece of Clay
10. Here, My Dear
[Edited 6/22/07 23:21pm]

novabrkr said:

If I Should Die Tonight is one of the saddest songs!!

any ten from this:

whatsgoingon said:

I could also have put the whole of What's Going On. It must be my favourite album of all time.

I left out Ain't No Mountain High Enough because my favourite version of this is by The Supremes and The Temptations (even better than MG and Tammi Terrel!). The two groups had great chemistry and it shows in the album Together - there isn't one bum track on that album.

Wow, now this is a hard choice because you all know that I'm one of the biggest Marvin fans in this org. But here it goes:

1. Trouble Man
2. You Sure Love To Ball
3. Sparrow
4. After The Dance
5. What's Going On
6. Save The Children
7. Turn On Some Music
8. If I Should Die Tonight
9. When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You
10. Ain't That Peculiar

This is my list, but this is just the top 10! There are others that I absolutely love. I hate to narrow down the classics from his 1970's masterpieces (What's Going On, Here My Dear, I Want You, Let's Get It On) because all or most of the songs on those albums are all my favorites and they stand out as his timeless, IMHO. I would've like to add more of his 1960's stuff as well.

paligap said:

And to think Berry wasn't going to release the "What's Going On" album, but I am glad he changed his mind and came to realize that at times you need to put out albums that are raw with a conscious and not all this "Baby,, baby" stuff alone.

I got a question: Marvin did a song called "Got To Give It Up" right? Wasn't Prince involved in a cover of that song that was sung by a female vocalist and featured lots of saxophone?

united1878 said:

I don't ever remember Prince doing a cover of this song! I know Michael Jackson did something similar to Got To Give It Up back in 1979, calling it Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough from his 1979 landmark, Off The Wall... I also know Aaliyah did a cover of Got To Give It Up in 1996, which was hot!
[Edited 6/23/07 18:57pm]

-Inner City Blues
-Save The Children
-Distant Lover
-What's Going On?
-I Want You
-Sexual Healing
-Trouble Man
-Mercy Mercy Me
-Lets Get It On
-What's Happening Brother

united1878 said:

His jazz-funk-lounge-music band Madhouse has an unreleased recording of this song titled "(Got To)Give It Up", but it has very little to do with the original and the vocals are rather minimal. I am not completely sure what the level of participation of Prince himself on the recording was. Sometimes Madhouse was just him and Eric Leeds, sometimes a group of other musicians with just the studio time paid by Prince.

1) Save the Children (still priority #1)

the rest in no particular order (hard list btw)

If I Should Die Tonight
Mercy Mercy Me
What's Happenin' Brother
What's Goin' On
Trouble Man
When Did You Stop Loving Me
After The Dance
I Want U
Here My Dear

datdude said:

I Want You
Troubleman
Inner City Blues
Is That Enough
You Can Leave But It's Going to Cost You
I'm Going To Give You Respect
Time To Get It Together
You're the Man
Turn On Some Music
Sparrow

datdude said:

Michael Jackson should learn from the late, Marvin Gaye about putting out songs that are to do with society ills and social consciouness. They can be done without sounding like something out of some 3rd rate disney film.

novabrkr said:

Thanks. You can definately hear Prince doing the backing vocals and there's a little guitar solo at the end which sounds very much like the "God is Love" chant from Anna Stesia.

silverchild said:

and thats similar how?

whatsgoingon said:

Your right Ten is hard to pick from but I'll try:

After The Dance
Sexual Healing
Let's Get It On
Mecry Mercy Me
What's Going On
Til' Tommorrow
Midnight Lady
Distant Lover
I Want You
The World Is Rated X
[Edited 6/24/07 9:30am]

Abdul said:

One of my favorites.

MsLegs said:

I especially like the live version of that cut on Marvin's 1974 Live album, it's great.