Since James Brown's chart numbers were posted, it's only fair for me being a MPG fan to post chart info from Marvin!

Chart stats:
*Between 1962's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" and 2001's "Music", Marvin Gaye has had over 41 Top 40 hit singles.
*Between 1963's "Pride & Joy" and 1982's "Sexual Healing", Marvin Gaye has had over 18 Top 10 hit singles.
*Of those 18 Top Tens, three songs registered at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100.
*One of the top ten best-selling R&B artists of all time, Marvin Gaye has scored over 60 Top 40 R&B singles, 40 Top 10 R&B singles and 13 number-one hits, tied with Michael Jackson for fifth place (after Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Louis Jordan and Aretha Franklin).
*Had a top ten hit in every decade he was alive.
*The first R&B artist to place more than three top ten singles off one album ("What's Going On").
*His hit "Let's Get It On" was the second biggest-selling single of 1973 behind Tony Orlando & Dawn's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Behind an Ole Oak Tree".
*His "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" became the biggest-selling Motown single of the sixties selling over four million copies.
*One of only three artists to place a song in every number position of the Billboard Hot 100's Top Ten.

CHARTS:
The 1960s:
*1962: "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" (#46 pop, #8 R&B)
*1962: "Hitch Hike" (#30 pop, #12 R&B)
*1963: "Pride & Joy" (#10 pop, #2 R&B)
*1963: "Can I Get a Witness?" (#22 pop, #3 R&B*)
*1963: "I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby" (#77 pop) - b-side of "Can I Get a Witness"
*1964: "You Are a Wonderful One" (#15 pop, #3 R&B*)
*1964: "Once Upon a Time" (w/Mary Wells) (#19 pop, #3 R&B*)
*1964: "What's the Matter With You Baby?" (w/Mary Wells) (#17 pop, #2 R&B*)
*1964: "Try It Baby" (#15 pop, #6 R&B*)
*1964: "Baby Don't You Do It" (#27 pop, #14 R&B*)
*1964: "What Good Am I Without You?" (w/Kim Weston) (#61 pop, #28 R&B*)
*1964: "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (#6 pop, #3 R&B)
*1965: "I'll Be Doggone" (#8 pop, #1 R&B)
*1965: "Pretty Little Baby" (#25 pop, #16 R&B)
*1965: "Ain't That Peculiar?" (#8 pop, #1 R&B)
*1966: "One More Heartache" (#29 pop, #4 R&B)
*1966: "Take This Heart of Mine" (#44 pop, #16 R&B)
*1966: "Little Darling (I Need You)" (#47 pop, #10 R&B)
*1966: "It Takes Two" (w/Kim Weston) (#14 pop, #4 R&B)
*1967: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#19 pop, #3 R&B)
*1967: "Your Unchanging Love" (#33 pop, #7 R&B)
*1967: "Your Precious Love" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#5 pop, #2 R&B)
*1967: "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#10 pop, #5 R&B)
*1967: "You" (#34 pop, #7 R&B)
*1968: "If This World Were Mine" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#68 pop, #27 R&B) - b-side of "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You"
*1968: "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#8 pop, #1 R&B)
*1968: "You're All I Need to Get By" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#7 pop, #1 R&B)
*1968: "Chained" (#32 pop, #8 R&B)
*1968: "Keep On Lovin' Me Honey" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#24 pop, #11 R&B)
*1968: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (#1 pop, #1 R&B)
*1969: "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#30 pop, #11 R&B)
*1969: "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" (#4 pop, #1 R&B)
*1969: "That's the Way Love Is" (#7 pop, #2 R&B)
*1969: "What You Gave Me" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#49 pop, #6 R&B)
*1969: "How Can I Forget?" (#41 pop, #18 R&B)

The '70s:
*1970: "Gonna Give Her All the Love I Got" (#67 pop, #26 R&B)
*1970: "The Onion Song" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#50 pop, #18 R&B)
*1970: "California Soul" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#56 pop)
*1970: "The End of Our Road" (#40 pop, #7 R&B)
*1971: "What's Going On" (#2 pop, #1 R&B)
*1971: "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (#4 pop, #1 R&B)
*1971: "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (#9 pop, #1 R&B)
*1972: "You're the Man" (#50 pop, #7 R&B)
*1972: "Trouble Man" (#7 pop, #4 R&B)
*1973: "Let's Get It On" (#1 pop, #1 R&B)
*1973: "Come Get to This" (#21 pop, #3 R&B)
*1973: "You're a Special Part of Me" (w/Diana Ross) (#12 pop, #4 R&B)
*1974: "You Sure Love to Ball" (#50 pop, #13 R&B)
*1974: "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" (w/Diana Ross) (#19 pop, #15 R&B)
*1974: "Don't Knock My Love" (w/Diana Ross) (#46 pop, #25 R&B)
*1974: "Distant Lover (live)" (#28 pop, #12 R&B)
*1976: "I Want You" (#15 pop, #1 R&B)
*1976: "After the Dance" (#74 pop, #14 R&B)
*1977: "Got to Give It Up" (#1 pop, #1 R&B)
*1978: "Pops We Love You" (w/Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross & Stevie Wonder) (#59 pop, #26 R&B)
*1979: "A Funky Space Reincarnation" (#23 R&B)
*1979: "Ego Tripping Out" (#17 R&B)

The '80s:
*1981: "Praise" (#18 R&B)
*1981: "Heavy Love Affair" (#61 R&B)
*1982: "Sexual Healing" (#3 pop, #1 R&B)
*1983: "'Til Tomorrow" (#78 R&B)
*1983: "Joy" (#31 R&B)
*1985: "Sanctified Lady" (#2 R&B) (posthumously)
*1985: "It's Madness" (#55 R&B) (posthumously)

The '90s (posthumously):
*1991: "My Last Chance" (#16 R&B)

The '00s (posthumously):
*2001: "Music" (Erick Sermon feat. Marvin Gaye) (#21 pop, #2 R&B)
*2005: "Let's Get It On (The Producers Mix)" (#94 R&B)

* - some of the numbers from the R&B chart positions come from Billboard Chart research.
[Edited 11/2/07 11:40am]
[Edited 11/2/07 11:45am]

wow. brilliant job Mr.Gaye!!! spanning 5 decades even.

Ain't it amazing? It amazes me that they've never mentioned his chart records, he accomplished a lot in 23 years of living and did some "extra work" after he died. I thanked Erick Sermon for bringing Marvin into the new millennium with "Music". It helped me get connected to Marvin's "Midnight Love" album and the "Sexual Healing" sessions.

Here's how he registered on the album charts:

The 1960s:
*1964: "Together" (w/Mary Wells) (#42 pop)
*1964: "Greatest Hits, Vol. 1" (#72 pop)
*1965: "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" (#128 pop, #4 R&B)
*1966: "Moods of Marvin Gaye" (#118 pop, #8 R&B)
*1966: "Take Two" (w/Kim Weston) (#24 R&B)
*1967: "United" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#69 pop, #7 R&B)
*1967: "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" (#178 pop, #19 R&B)
*1968: "You're All I Need" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#60 pop, #4 R&B)
*1968: "In the Groove/I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (#63 pop, #2 R&B)
*1969: "M.P.G." (#40 pop, #1 R&B)
*1969: "Marvin Gaye & His Girls" (#183 pop, #16 R&B)
*1969: "Easy" (w/Tammi Terrell) (#184 pop)

The '70s:
*1970: "That's the Way Love Is" (#189 pop, #17 R&B)
*1970: "Super Hits" (#117 pop, #19 R&B)
*1970: "Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's Greatest Hits" (#171 pop, #17 R&B)
*1971: "What's Going On" (#6 pop, #1 R&B)
*1972: "Trouble Man" (#14 pop, #3 R&B)
*1973: "Let's Get It On" (#2 pop, #1 R&B)
*1973: "Diana & Marvin" (#26 pop, #4 R&B)
*1974: "Marvin Gaye Live!" (#8 pop, #1 R&B)
*1974; "Anthology" (#61 pop, #10 R&B)
*1976: "I Want You" (#4 pop, #1 R&B)
*1976: "Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits" (#44 pop, #17 R&B)
*1977: "Live at the London Palladium" (#3 pop, #1 R&B)
*1978: "Here, My Dear" (#26 pop, #4 R&B)

The '80s:
*1981: "In Our Lifetime" (#32 pop, #6 R&B)
*1982: "Midnight Love" (#7 pop, #1 R&B)
*1983: "Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye" (#80 pop)
*1985: "Dream of a Lifetime" (#41 pop, #8 R&B)
*1986: "Motown Remembers Marvin Gaye" (#193 pop, #48 R&B)
*1988: "A Musical Testament: 1964-1984" (#69 R&B)

The '90s:
*1991: "The Marvin Gaye Collection" (#67 R&B)

The '00s:
*2002: "The Very Best of Marvin Gaye" (#167 pop, #85 R&B)
*2005: "Gold (a/k/a The Very Best of Marvin Gaye)" (#95 R&B)

* - The ones in bold are albums that peaked at the top 40 or upper on the Billboard pop album charts.

Album chart stats:
*About 28 of Marvin Gaye's albums have peaked at the top 40 of the R&B albums chart.
*About 11 of those albums peaked at the top 40 of the pop albums chart.
*Marvin Gaye scored over eight number-one albums on the R&B chart and eighteen top ten R&B albums.

In spite of having stood out as the best-selling artist in Motown's history (probably before or after Stevie Wonder), not many of Marvin's 1960s and 1970s albums have been given RIAA certifications however:

*What's Going On reportedly sold over 2.5 million albums during its release (it's certified Gold probably by a re-release)
*Let's Get It On sold over 3-4 million albums.
*Marvin's "Live at the London Palladium" sold over two million copies and was actually credited for being one of the top ten best-selling albums of the year for 1977!
*Marvin's 1982 album, "Midnight Love" is Marvin's biggest-seller selling over three million copies in America and an additional six million worldwide.

Here are Marvin's gold and platinum citations:
*What's Going On (1971) (Gold)
*Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits (1976) (Platinum)
*Midnight Love (1982) (3X Platinum)
*Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye (1983) (Platinum)
*The Very Best of Marvin Gaye (2002) (Gold)

But I think if you add the real sales of "What's Going On", "Trouble Man", "Let's Get It On", "Marvin Gaye Live!", "I Want You" and "Live at the London Palladium" alongside probably "Together", "M.P.G.", "In the Groove" and other albums that charted well on both sides could get gold or platinum citations too. I'm still shitty about Motown not being able to audit RIAA sales for Motown artists in the '60s and '70s. Maybe after Berry Gordy's death, we'll see them being certified.

But I think Marvin remains the best-selling Motown artist based on singles sales, I think.
[Edited 11/2/07 12:21pm]
[Edited 11/2/07 12:21pm]

i definitely need to pick up more of his stuff.

CHIC0 said:

If you can, get his Anthology set, which covers a lot from his '60s period as well as rare goodies from his creative '70s period.

Timmy84 said:

i'll check for that! thanks!

It never ceases to amaze me inspite of all that commercial success he still had so much financial trouble.

CHIC0 said:

Do even better than that! Pick up his box set, The Master, and that'll give you an even better overview of his stuff... There's 89-songs with hits, rare goods, album cuts, and unheard stuff plus an excellent booklet with liner notes and rare pictures to boot!

As a little squid, I thought my pops brought this home for me, this was my album because of the cover:

I'd would always (ask) him to play it. and be marveled by the cover.

silverchild said:

i've seen that. i was thinking of a box set, if not just a double disc anthology type of collection.

CHIC0 said:

I mean, Anthology is a great introduction to the man and his music, but let me warn you that after you get done with that one, you're going to ask for more. With the Master box set, it gives you a more detailed and complete scope of his versatility and talent. I listened to all four discs in their entirety last spring and I was so amazed at what he did in his career, especially in the 1960's. That's basically why I think The Master is a better introduction to Big Marv.
[Edited 11/2/07 15:21pm]

whatsgoingon said:

I don't think it was a secret that Marvin (and his wives) were possibly big spenders. Remember after Marvin sold all those records in the '70s that he bought a recording studio, homes in West Africa, Jamaica, Los Angeles and London, a fleet of cars, a yacht and all of that plus he was spending some of the money to get drugs. He was like Elvis in that sense that he spent it and I think he bought stuff just to give to his friends and family. So that's why he had financial trouble. Actually his situation was similar to Elvis but Elvis didn't live long enough to have the IRS chase him out of the country the way they did Marvin.

silverchild said:

It's been hard to find this. That's why I ended up with Anthology, lol. But I've heard some of the stuff from "The Master" and it's some great stuff.

Timmy84 said:

Amazon.com has the box set now for $37.97 and that's a good value especially since they have that Free Super Saving shipping method.

silverchild said:

Cool. I hope by the time things are on and poppin' for me, I'll be able to get it easy.

Marvin Gay, = awesome.

Timmy, where did you get the R&B chart numbers from late 63 to 1964, there were no Black charts then. Did you use the cashbox numbers?

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Yep. I think Joel Whitburn, the Billboard researcher claimed that Marvin was making them numbers when the Billboard R&B chart was out at that time but he could've found it on Cashbox. But in hindsight, if the R&B chart was still there, I feel the songs could've been even bigger hits on the R&B chart. Folks weren't lying when they said he was the king of R&B after Ray and Sam's time came and went (Sam's unfortunately ended briefly because of his still-shocking death) because Marvin kept placing top tens and number-ones on the R&B albums and singles charts!

But if we're gonna go by how Billboard ties the singles released at that time, then these songs would have the same chart position as the R&B one and that's not really fair. Also, Mr. Whitburn did say all that I said in the book of The Top 40 R&B Hits or something to that nature.
[Edited 11/2/07 15:41pm]

And for those who didn't feel like reading all of that, here's the total of Marvin's number-one R&B hits:

Marvin Gaye's number-one R&B hits
*1965: "I'll Be Doggone"
*1965: "Ain't That Peculiar"
*1968: "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"
*1968: "You're All I Need to Get By"
*1968: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
*1969: "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby"
*1971: "What's Going On"
*1971: "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"
*1971: "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)"
*1973: "Let's Get It On"
*1976: "I Want You"
*1977: "Got to Give It Up"
*1982: "Sexual Healing"

Here's how the list of artists with the most number-one R&B's go:

ARTISTS
Stevie Wonder (20)
Aretha Franklin (18)
Louis Jordan (17)
James Brown (17)
Janet Jackson (15)
The Temptations (14)
Marvin Gaye (13)
Michael Jackson (13)
The O'Jays (11)
Ray Charles (11)
R. Kelly (11)

Marvin's the fourth most successful male R&B artist tied with Michael Jackson in terms of number-ones on the chart. Odd, huh?
[Edited 11/2/07 15:48pm]

The Master is definitely the collection to own, but I would start any Marvin collection by getting What's Going On, Let's Get It On, and I Want You. You can get them for about $7 at Wal-Mart or yourmusic.com easily. After those classics, I'd look into getting The Master for the '60s stuff, Here My Dear, the re-released In Our Lifetime?, and Midnight Love. There is also an excellent 2-disc collection of his work with Tammi Terrell called The Complete Duets. Diana & Marvin is also a favorite of mine.

Timmy84 said:

That would be 7th-most successful. There are 6 artists ahead of them.

AlexdeParis said:

I meant solo male (behind Stevie, James and Louis)
[Edited 11/3/07 8:48am]

Timmy84 said:

I just didn't read it correctly.

AlexdeParis said:

It's alright. It's easy to get confused.