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The Very Best of Marvin Gaye

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The Very Best of Marvin Gaye is the title of two compilations (American and European) by Motown artist Marvin Gaye.

UK edition

[edit]
The Very Best of Marvin Gaye
Greatest hits album by
Marvin Gaye
Released1994
Recorded1962–82
GenreR&B, soul, funk
LabelMotown
ProducerMarvin Gaye, Norman Whitfield, Ashford & Simpson, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Hal Davis
Marvin Gaye chronology
The Norman Whitfield Sessions
(1994) 		The Very Best of Marvin Gaye
(1994) 		Anthology: Marvin Gaye
(1995)
Singles from The Very Best of Marvin Gaye
  1. "Lucky, Lucky Me"
    Released: 1994

Released in 1994, The Very Best is the best-selling (and highest charting) Marvin Gaye album in the UK – selling over 250,000 copies, peaking at #3 in the UK charts, and receiving a million-plus sales certificate in 2001. The album featured an unreleased track ("Lucky, Lucky Me") that would also be released as a single.

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
  2. "What's Going On"
  3. "Sexual Healing"
  4. "You Are Everything" (with Diana Ross)
  5. "It Takes Two" (with Kim Weston)
  6. "Let's Get It On"
  7. "Abraham, Martin & John"
  8. "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby"
  9. "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)"
  10. "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"
  11. "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" (w/Diana Ross)
  12. "You're All I Need to Get By" (w/Tammi Terrell)
  13. "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (w/Tammi Terrell)
  14. "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)"
  15. "The Onion Song" (w/Tammi Terrell)
  16. "You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin'" (w/Tammi Terrell)
  17. "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By (w/Tammi Terrell)
  18. "That's the Way Love Is"
  19. "Got to Give It Up, Pt. I"
  20. "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You"
  21. "Can I Get a Witness"
  22. "Lucky, Lucky Me"

US edition

[edit]
The Very Best of Marvin Gaye
Greatest hits album by
Marvin Gaye
ReleasedJuly 17, 2001
Recorded1962-82
GenreR&B, pop, soul, psychedelic soul, funk
Length127:00
LabelMotown, Universal Music
ProducerMarvin Gaye, Berry Gordy, Larkin Arnold, Jeff Moskow, Harry Weinger, Fonce Mizell, Freddie Perren, Smokey Robinson, Valerie Simpson, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Art Stewart, Ed Townsend, Norman Whitfield, Leon Ware, Nickolas Ashford, Johnny Bristol, Henry Cosby, Lamont Dozier, Harvey Fuqua, Brian Holland

Released in the US in 2001, the two disc edition is a chronological look back at American R&B/soul singer Marvin Gaye's three decade-plus music career throughout his tenure in Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s concluding with his final big hit, 1982's "Sexual Healing" from his brief tenure with Columbia Records before the singer's death in 1984. Re-released later in 2005 under Universal Records' Gold series, it has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Artist Direct link
Robert Christgau(A) [1]
Tom HullA[1]

Track listing

[edit]
Disc One
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."Stubborn Kind of Fellow"Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson, George GordyThat Stubborn Kinda Fellow, 19622:45
2."Hitch Hike"Gaye, Stevenson, Clarence PaulThat Stubborn Kinda Fellow2:33
3."Pride and Joy"Gaye, Stevenson, Norman WhitfieldThat Stubborn Kinda Fellow2:08
4."Can I Get a Witness"Holland–Dozier–HollandGreatest Hits, 19642:50
5."You're a Wonderful One"Holland–Dozier–HollandHow Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You, 1965; released as a single the previous year2:43
6."How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)"Holland–Dozier–HollandHow Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You2:58
7."I'll Be Doggone"Warren Moore, Smokey Robinson, Marvin TarplinMoods of Marvin Gaye, 19662:48
8."Ain't That Peculiar"Moore, Robinson, Bobby Rogers, TarplinMoods of Marvin Gaye3:00
9."It Takes Two" (with Kim Weston)Sylvia Moy, StevensonTake Two, 19662:59
10."Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (with Tammi Terrell)Nickolas Ashford, Valerie SimpsonUnited, 19672:28
11."Your Precious Love" (with Tammi Terrell)Ashford, SimpsonUnited3:05
12."If I Could Build My Whole World Around You" (with Tammi Terrell)Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol, Vernon BullockUnited2:21
13."Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (with Tammi Terrell)Ashford, SimpsonYou're All I Need, 19682:15
14."You're All I Need to Get By" (with Tammi Terrell)Ashford, SimpsonYou're All I Need2:51
15."You"Jeffrey Bowen, Jack Coga, Ivy Jo HunterI Heard It Through the Grapevine, 19682:27
16."I Heard It Through the Grapevine"Barrett Strong, WhitfieldI Heard It Through the Grapevine3:15
17."Too Busy Thinking About My Baby"Janie Bradford, Whitfield, StrongM.P.G., 19692:57
18."That's the Way Love Is"Strong, WhitfieldM.P.G.; also released on the following year's album of the same name3:44
19."His Eye Is on the Sparrow"Civilla D. Martin, Charles H. GabrielIn Loving Memory, 19683:48
Disc Two
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."What's Going On"Al Cleveland, Gaye, Renaldo "Odie" BensonWhat's Going On, 19713:52
2."Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"GayeWhat's Going On3:13
3."Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)"Gaye, James Nyx Jr.What's Going On5:28
4."You're the Man, Pts. I & II"Gaye, Kenneth StoverNon-album single, 19725:48
5."Where Are We Going?"Gaye, Larry MizellPreviously unreleased, 1994; originally recorded for Let's Get It On, 19733:57
6."Trouble Man"GayeTrouble Man soundtrack, 19723:51
7."Let's Get It On"Gaye, Ed TownsendLet's Get It On4:53
8."Come Get to This"GayeLet's Get It On2:42
9."Distant Lover" (Live at the Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California, January 4, 1974)Gaye, Gwen Gordy, Sandra GreeneMarvin Gaye Live!, 1974; originally from Let's Get It On6:19
10."I Want You" (Edited version)Leon Ware, Arthur "T-Boy" RossI Want You, 19763:57
11."Got to Give It Up"GayeLive at the London Palladium, 197711:53
12."Anger"Delta Ashley, Gaye, TownsendHere, My Dear, 19784:03
13."Ego Tripping Out"Gaye1994 re-release of In Our Lifetime (originally released in 1981)7:14
14."Praise"GayeIn Our Lifetime4:53
15."Sexual Healing" (Single version)Odell Brown, Gaye, David RitzMidnight Love, 19823:59

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil — 21,000[2]
France (SNEP)[3] Gold 100,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[4] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[5] 2× Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[6] Gold 500,000^
Summaries
Worldwide — 5,000,000[2]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Hull, Tom (November 2013). "Recycled Goods (#114)". A Consumer Guide to the Trailing Edge. Tom Hull. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Maia, Mônica (25 December 1995). "Músicos mortos são campeões de vendagem". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). UOL HOST. Retrieved 4 January 2023. A coletânea "The Very Best of Marvin Gaye" vendeu cinco milhões de discos no mundo, 21 mil deles, no Brasil. Translation: The compilation "The Very Best of Marvin Gaye" sold five million records worldwide, 21,000 of it in Brazil.
  3. ^ "French album certifications – Marvin Gaye – The Very Best of" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  4. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Marvin Gaye – The Very Best of". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  5. ^ "British album certifications – Marvin Gaye – The Very Best Of". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "American album certifications – Marvin Gaye – The Very Best of Marvin Gaye". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
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