Ain't That Peculiar
| "Ain't That Peculiar" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Marvin Gaye | ||||
| from the album Moods of Marvin Gaye | ||||
| B-side | "She's Got to Be Real" | |||
| Released | 14 September 1965 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | Hitsville, USA, Detroit, Michigan; 1965 | |||
| Genre | Soul, pop rock, R&B | |||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | Tamla | |||
| Writer(s) | Pete Moore, William "Smokey" Robinson, Marv Tarplin, Ronald White | |||
| Producer | Smokey Robinson | |||
| Marvin Gaye singles chronology | ||||
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"Ain't That Peculiar" is a 1965 song recorded by American soul musician Marvin Gaye for the Tamla (Motown) label. The single was produced by Smokey Robinson, and written by Robinson, and fellow Miracles members Ronald White, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. "Ain't That Peculiar" features Gaye, with The Andantes on backing vocals, singing about the torment of a painful relationship.
The single was Gaye's second U.S. million seller successfully duplicating its predecessor "I'll Be Doggone", from earlier in 1965 by topping Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart in the fall of 1965, peaking at #8 on the US Pop Singles chart,.[1] becoming one of Gaye's signature 1960s recordings, and was his best-known solo hit before 1968's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".
The song was later covered by several acts, including Japan (on their 1980 Gentlemen Take Polaroids album), The Jackson 5, KISS, Ellie Greenwich, John Waite, Nantucket, Southside Johnny, Fanny, Paul Carrack and New Grass Revival. A live bootleg recording by Peter Gabriel, made from David Lord's cassette recordings, appears in issue 2 of The Bristol Recorder. Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth recorded a version of the song for his 1985 solo EP Crazy From The Heat; although it was never released, it is available for free download for members of his website the Roth Army. Mike & the Mechanics' cover was a B-side in 1995. Phil Collins recorded a cover during the sessions of his 2010 album Going Back
The song was featured in the film American Splendor
[edit] Personnel
- Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye
- Background vocals by The Andantes: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and Marvin Tarplin of The Miracles (guitars).
[edit] References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 225.
| Preceded by "Rescue Me" by Fontella Bass |
Billboard Hot R&B Singles number-one single November 27, 1965 |
Succeeded by "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown and The Famous Flames |
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