I Want You (Marvin Gaye song)
| "I Want You" | |||||||||
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| Single by Marvin Gaye | |||||||||
| from the album I Want You | |||||||||
| B-side | I Want You (Instrumental) | ||||||||
| Released | April 1, 1976 | ||||||||
| Format | Vinyl single | ||||||||
| Recorded | Marvin's Room, Los Angeles, California, 1975 | ||||||||
| Genre | Soul, funk, disco | ||||||||
| Length | 4:34 (single release) | ||||||||
| Label | Tamla | ||||||||
| Writer(s) | Leon Ware Arthur "T-Boy" Ross |
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| Producer | Leon Ware Marvin Gaye |
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| Marvin Gaye singles chronology | |||||||||
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"I Want You" is a song written by songwriters Leon Ware and Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and recorded and released as a single by singer Marvin Gaye. Released as a single in 1976 on the Tamla label, the song introduced a change in musical styles for Gaye, who before then had been recording songs with a funk edge. Songs such as this gave him a disco audience thanks to Ware, who produced the song alongside Gaye.
The song also 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 fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart.[1] It also became a disco hit, reaching number ten on the Disco Singles Chart alongside "After the Dance".
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[edit] Background
Originally conceived by Motown songwriter Leon Ware and his songwriting partner "T-Boy" Ross, it was originally intended to be included in Ware's Musical Massage album. When Ware, who was also signed to the label as a solo artist, presented the rough draft of his album to Motown-CEO Berry Gordy, the mogul was appreciative of the songs, including a rough version of "I Want You". But after hearing it, he convinced Ware to give some of the songs to Marvin Gaye, who was coming off the release of his acclaimed 1973 record, Let's Get It On, his final duet recording with Diana Ross and a commercially successful live album and was coming off a US tour at the time. Marvin, who called himself a perfectionist, had struggled with creating a follow-up album to Let's Get It On. When Ware played Gaye the rough draft of "I Want You", Marvin, then inspired by his relationship with his girlfriend Janis Hunter,[2] was motivated to record a convincing performance of the song, which was about a man trying to convince a wayward lover that he wanted the woman to love him as much as he loved her.
Purportedly recorded at Marvin's Room, the singer's new recording studio in Los Angeles, Marvin also reportedly recorded the song while lying on his back of his sofa according to Ware, who said that he couldn't see Gaye at first but then discovered a laid-back Marvin delivering the song in his trademark tenor vocals.
[edit] Composition
The song was a fusion of different genres, an unusual mix for Gaye. The instrumentation included strings, then an important ingredient to soul and disco-styled music in the seventies, percussive congas added a jazz feel to the song, the bass guitar notes and guitar riffs bring in a funk ingredient, while additional guitar (provided by Ray Parker, Jr., then a Detroit session musician) put in an added rock element. Gaye's leading vocals brought in both falsetto and a gospel approach near the ending coda of the song. Additional vocals, later added to Gaye's deluxe edition re-issue of I Want You, showcase two different lead vocal takes by Marvin. The background vocals, all by Gaye, recalled Marvin's early doo-wop roots.
[edit] Reception
Released a day before Marvin's 37th birthday in 1976, the single was released a month after its similarly titled parent album was released, the single gained success on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles chart, eventually peaking at number-fifteen on the Hot 100 and number-one on the R&B chart. The single's light-disco/soul approach helped the song gained a club audience after it was combined with the album's second single, "After the Dance" and peaked at number-ten on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart, Marvin's first single on that chart. Eventually the song would help its self-titled album sell over a million copies. Marvin would also be nominated with a Grammy Award for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, losing out the second time to Lou Rawls, with whom he had a competitive rivalry, for his single, "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine".
[edit] Cover versions
In 1990, British singer Robert Palmer covered "I Want You" as a medley with another Marvin Gaye song, "Mercy Mercy Me".[3] 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 in the United States. Diana Ross, whose brother T-Boy co-wrote the song, covered "I Want You" for her 2007 album I Love You.[4] American jazz ensemble To Be Continued Brass Band released an instrumental cover version of "I Want You" on their first album, Modern Times (2009).[5]
[edit] Madonna
| "I Want You" | |||||||||
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| Promotional single by Madonna featuring Massive Attack | |||||||||
| Released | October 2, 1995 (Radio airplay) | ||||||||
| Genre | Trip hop, pop | ||||||||
| Length | 6:23 | ||||||||
| Label | Motown, Maverick, Warner Bros. | ||||||||
| Writer | Leon Ware, Arthur "T-Boy" Ross | ||||||||
| Producer | Nellee Hooper | ||||||||
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[edit] Background
Madonna recorded a cover version of "I Want You" with British trip-hop group Massive Attack for her ballads compilation album Something to Remember and the Marvin Gaye tribute album Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye in 1995. It was released as a promotional single in 1995.[6]
After the release of her successful single "Take a Bow", Madonna was approached by Earle Sebastian about a cover of this song for a tribute album. She originally turned down the offer because of her vocal training for Evita but later decided to release a compilation album to hold fans over while she was working on Evita. When Warner Bros. asked for three new tracks, Madonna accepted the proposal of Massive Attack.
Originally, "I Want You" was slated to become the first single from the compilation album, Something to Remember. The song was released as a promotional single in September 1995 and a music video was shot and released to many media outlets. Many problems arose internally, which resulted in "You'll See" being quickly released as a single instead. The video received heavy airplay on both MTV and VH1. Along with medium radio airplay, many fans speculated as to why the song was never released as an official single. Neither Massive Attack nor Madonna have commented on this matter.
The song appears on the album in two versions: the original album version and an orchestral version. Dance remixes by Junior Vasquez and Warren Rigg have also surfaced and are available on the internet, as well as various mixes of the orchestral and original versions.
[edit] Reception
Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that "I Want You" is the most notable among the three new tracks on Something to Remember.[7] 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"..."[8] 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"."[9] Tony Power from Blender listed the song as the stand out track on Something to Remember.[10] Because the song was not released officially as a single, "I Want You" never got into the charts.
[edit] Music video
"I Want You" was shot on August 5 and 6, 1995 at Empire Stages in Long Island City, New York and directed by Earle Sebastian. Directed by Earle Sebastian, produced by Joel Hinman, edited by Bruce Ashley, the video was inspired by and pays hommage to A Telephone Call, a short story written by American writer, Dorothy Parker. The video was promoted to VH1 and MTV. MTV Europe did and still does air the video, especially in the late-night show "Chill Out Zone". "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".[11] Julian Hirsh did several mixes of the track, while rare promos featuring nearly a dozen slightly altered versions of the original song exist. The video was also the only case in Madonna's career where a non-released single was given the full video treatment. The video was commercially released in 2009 on Celebration: The Video Collection.
[edit] References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 225.
- ^ Boraman, Greg (2003-09-18). "Review of Marvin Gaye - I Want You (Deluxe Edition)". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/98gb. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. Don't Explain at Allmusic
- ^ Tamarkin, Jeff. I Love You at Allmusic
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Madonna I Want You US Promo Box Set (323786)". Esprit International Limited. http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=323786. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Something to Remember at Allmusic
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye at Allmusic
- ^ Farber, Jim (November 14, 1995). "Big Names in Record Numbers: From Madonna to Stones". Daily News New York. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/1995/11/14/1995-11-14_big_names_in_record_numbers_.html.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "MTV Europe Music Awards Winners 1994-2000". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc) 113 (45): 50. 2001-11-10. ISSN 0006-2510.
[edit] External links
- Allmusic.com article about the Marvin Gaye version of "I Want You"
- BBC Review of I Want You album
- "I Want You" video by Madonna at America Online
| Preceded by "Kiss and Say Goodbye" by The Manhattans |
Billboard's Hot Soul Singles number one single (Marvin Gaye version) May 29, 1976 |
Succeeded by "Young Hearts Run Free" by Candi Staton |
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