Got to Give It Up

"Got to Give It Up" is a 1977 hit single recorded by American soul music legend Marvin Gaye. The song held the number one position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for one week, from June 18, 1977 to June 25. It replaced "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, and was replaced by "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti. On the R&B Singles Charts it held the number one spot for five weeks on April 30, until June 17, 1977 (being interrupted twice at the number one position for one week by "Whodunit" by Tavares for the week of May 21, 1977 and Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" for the week of May 28, 1977 respectively).^[1]. On the disco charts the single was also a number one hit.^[2].The song is currently #2999 on acclaimedmusic.net's "All Time Top 3000 songs".

History

About the song

The song, solely written by Gaye and produced by Art Stewart, is about a man who was too shy to get on the floor and dance. But the groove allows him to lose himself in the music and dance, connecting with the people around him.

Initially "Got to Give It Up" in its 11-minutes-plus version was included as the final side of his 1977 double-album live collection, Live at the London Palladium (number three pop, number one R&B). The song was issued as an edited four minutes-plus-release, titled "Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1" and became Gaye's biggest hit, with sales exceeding two million copies, since his seminal 1973 anthem, "Let's Get It On". The single reached number one simultaneously on Billboard's pop, R&B and dance singles charts and continued the singer's embrace of disco music following the release of 1976's I Want You. The song helped Gaye's live album, Live at the London Palladium, which also featured the song in its full entirety, reach the top five of the albums chart and helped it become one of the best-selling albums of that year while "Got to Give It Up" was one of the best-selling singles of that year.

The song became a precursor to the familiar percussion-led, falsetto-sung, party-fill atmosphere of Michael Jackson's 1979 hit "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough". The chant "Let's dance/let's shout/get funky what it's all about!", appearing in the latter part of the original track, was also appropriated for the chorus of The Jacksons' 1979 hit "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)".

Musicians

The song was originally recorded in a three minute version, and was edited by, Art Stewart, to almost 12 and minutes for the album. Featured on the recording were Bugsy Wilcox on drums,and Gaye himself playing keyboards, RMI synthesizer bass, and a glass bottle filled half way with grapefruit juice. The saxophone in the song was played by Fernando Harkness with guitar played by Johnny McGhee,who was a member of the group, LTD.Jack Ashford(One of the original Funk Brothers), playing the "Hotel Sheet"o

—Arthur (Art) Stewart. July 7, 2008.

Corrected by Arthur (Art)Stewart August 26, 2009,AS I did not write the original version of this piece.

"Got to Give It Up" was mostly sung by Gaye on both lead and background through the duration of the song especially in the second half. Marvin's brother, Frankie Gaye and Janis Hunter, who would become Gaye's second wife, provided background vocals near the end of the first half of the song.

Aaliyah version

"Got to Give It Up"
Single by Aaliyah featuring Slick Rick
from the album One in a Million
B-side	"No Days Go By"
Released	November 1996 (UK) January 1997 (U.S.)
Format	CD single, 12-inch single
Recorded	March 1996
Genre	R&B, funk, hip hop
Length	4:02 (Radio Edit) / 4:41 (Album Version)
Label	Blackground/Atlantic Records
Writer(s)	Marvin Gaye
Producer	Kay Gee
Aaliyah singles chronology
If Your Girl Only Knew (1996) Got to Give It Up (1996) One In A Million (1996)

Aaliyah's cover version of Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" features a rap from Slick Rick, and was included on her 1996 album One in a Million. It was released as the second single in the UK. Aaliyah's version of "Got to Give It Up" failed to chart in the U.S. when it was commercially released there in December 1998 (It was not sent to radio stations for airplay, it was only made for sale in stores), but it was a minor hit in the UK peaking at number 37 in the UK Singles Chart. It reached number 34 in New Zealand. The single's b-side, "No Days Go By", was one of Aaliyah's few self-compositions. An alternate mix of Aaliyah's "Got to Give It Up" (without Slick Rick's vocals) was included on her posthumous 2002 compilation album I Care 4 U.

Charts

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (November 2007)

• Marvin overdubbed dialogue from outside his recording studio to match the "disco" feel of the song.
• Marvin's original title for "Got to Give It Up" was "Dancin' Lady".
• Marvin was inspired to write "Got to Give It Up" after Johnnie Taylor released "Disco Lady".
• Part two of "Got to Give It Up" was mostly an instrumental with several ad-libs by the singer.
• During the verse everybody's screaming/this is such a cool place, Marvin can be overheard greeting longtime friend and Soul Train host Don Cornelius at the studio saying "Hey Don, say man, I didn't know you was in here!"
• The song is included on the soundtrack to the 1999 film Summer of Sam.
• The song is featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 film The Nanny Diaries.
• The song is featured in the 2000 film Charlie's Angels.
• The song is featured in the 1998 film How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
• It is played in the 1993 film Menace 2 Society at the beginning when it shows Kaine as a kid.
• The song is featured in the 2002 film Barbershop.
• Justin Timberlake performed the song live at the 2008 Fashion Rocks concert.

References

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007)

External links