"Distant Lover" is the sixth song issued on singer

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

's 1973 album, ''

Let's Get It On ''Let's Get It On'' is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP. Recording sessions for the album took pla ...

'' and the B-side of the second single from that album, " Come Get to This". A live recording was issued as a single in 1974. The live version of the song was Gaye's most successful

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

during the three-year gap between ''Let's Get It On'' and his following 1976 album, '' I Want You''. Distant Lover > Song Review All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.

History

Studio version

Marvin composed the melody of the song with songwriter Sandra Greene during a 1970 recording session while Gaye was finishing edits of his song, "What's Going On". Recorded on November 3, 1970, Gaye first recorded a rough version simply titled "Head Title". Later in the same recording sessions, with help from his sister-in-law,

Gwen Gordy Fuqua Gwen Fuqua (born Gwendolyn Gordy; November 26, 1927 – November 8, 1999) was an American businesswoman, songwriter and composer, most notably writing hit songs such as " Lonely Teardrops", " All I Could Do Was Cry" and "Distant Lover". She acq ...

, Gaye composed more lyrics and gave it its title, "Distant Lover". Gaye would rework the song several times during the 1970 recording sessions. In the "Head Title" version, Gaye began singing his lyrics "right off the top of my head" and performed in a rasp-influenced growl. Two mixes of the "Head Title" version was released posthumously on reissues of Gaye's '' What's Going On'' album. The first version, which mixed vocals from another session of the song in what was perceived as a "rough mix", was issued on the 30th anniversary deluxe edition issue of the album in 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, Motown historian Harry Weinger discovered the disregarded "original mix" of the song, which was more polished and featured more lyrics as the other version issued in 2001 had cut off parts of the second chorus' lyrics. This original mix was issued on the 40th anniversary re-issue of the album. In both versions of the "Head Title", Gaye was accompanied by songwriter and confidant

Elgie Stover Elgie Rousseau Stover (September 12, 1938 – July 11, 2011) was an American songwriter, composer, producer and background singer, most famous for his associations with cousin Harvey Fuqua and Marvin Gaye, co-writing two of Gaye's songs from t ...

as he ad-libbed a pained speaking vocal, at times screaming in falsetto during Gaye's performance. At the end of both versions, a female voice, later confirmed to be Denise Gordy, Gaye's niece-in-law and mother of his adopted son, Marvin III, could be heard speaking to Marvin. Gaye eventually recorded the final versions of the song during the ''

'' recording sessions, recording several takes. One of the alternate takes was later issued on the deluxe edition re-issue of ''Let's Get It On'' and featured the saxophone intro by Eli Fontaine as the "Head Title" versions had done. In the version that was overdubbed for the final track listing of ''Let's Get It On'', the saxophone intro in the beginning was edited out. There also appeared to be sounds of

microphone bleed Spill (also known as bleed and leakage) is the occurrence in sound recording (particularly in close miking) and live sound mixing whereby sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended. Spill is usually seen ...

that was reverberated while Gaye was singing and simple drum beats. In the alternate take of "Come Get to This" after the song ends, the voices of Gaye and Denise Gordy taken from the earlier 1970 sessions, could be heard before the beginning of the alternate vocal of "Distant Lover". In the finished version, Gaye sung in both a falsetto and a tenor voice, begging and pleading for his lover to "come back home" in a raspy growl. According to the liner notes of the Deluxe reissue of ''

'', it took twenty separate recording sessions before Marvin was satisfied with the song-more dates than it took to record the entire ''What's Going On'' album. Of the studio version, an

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer wrote: The original 1973 recording was later sampled by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

on his ''

The College Dropout ''The College Dropout'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received pr ...

'' album in 2004 on the song "Spaceship".

Live version

When ''Let's Get It On'' was issued, the song was released as the

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to Marvin's hit, " Come Get to This". The song was later immortalized in a live version issued on his ''

Marvin Gaye Live! ''Marvin Gaye Live!'' is the second live album issued by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released on June 19, 1974, by Tamla Records. Overview Returning to live performances In 1973, Gaye released his greatest-selling album, ''Let's Get It On'', which ...

'' album from 1974 in which Marvin builds up the song from a slowed-up version of his '' Trouble Man'' instrumental, "Theme from Trouble Man". After a small introduction, Marvin begins to sing the song, leading female audience members who attended his live show at the

Oakland Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...

to scream in delight. The song would become a show-stopper in later concerts from then on until Marvin's final concert tour in 1983. Allmusic called it a "steamy version... complete with wailing female fans." The live version of the song was so popular Motown issued that version as a single in June where it peaked at #28 on the

pop singles chart The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in ...

and #12 on the

R&B singles chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in September 1974.

Legacy, covers and samples

The 1974 live version of "Distant Lover" has been regarded as one of the greatest live performances of all time.

Personnel

1970 versions ("Head Title")

*Lead and background vocals by

*Spoken vocals by

and

Denise Gordy Denise Georgette Gordy (born November 11, 1949) is an American former film and television actress and singer. She is a niece of Motown founder Berry Gordy. Family and career Denise Georgette Gordy was born in Detroit, Michigan. She is a daughter ...

*Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra *Produced by Marvin Gaye

1973 studio version

*All vocals by Marvin Gaye *Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra *Arranged by

David Van De Pitte David J. Van De Pitte (October 28, 1941 – August 9, 2009) was an American music arranger and bass player. He is best known for his work at Motown Records during the 1960s and early 1970s, when he was responsible for arranging many of the be ...

*Produced by Marvin Gaye

1974 live version

*Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye *Background vocals by Eric Dolen, Charles Burns, Dwight Owens, Michael Torrance & Wally Cox *Instrumentation: **

Ed Greene Ed Greene is an American drummer and session musician. In 1971 he recorded with Donald Byrd (''Ethiopian Knights'', 1972), together with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Sample, Bobbye Porter Hall, David T. Walker, and W ...

: drums **

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases ...

: bass ** David T. Walker: guitar ** Ray Parker: guitar **

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

: keyboard **Jack Arnold: percussion **Joe Clayton: congas **Paul Hubinon: trumpet **

George Bohanon George Roland Bohanon, Jr. (born August 7, 1937) is a jazz trombonist and session musician from Detroit, Michigan. In the early 1960s, he participated in Detroit's Workshop Jazz ensemble, with Johnny Griffith, Paula Greer, David Hamilton, Lefty ...

: trombone ** Ernie Watts: sax **William Green: sax **James Getzoff: violin **Jack Shulman: violin *Arranged by

Gene Page Eugene Edgar Page Jr. (September 13, 1939 – August 24, 1998) was an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. His sound can be heard in the arrangements he did for Jeffer ...

*Produced by Marvin Gaye

References

{{authority control 1973 songs 1974 singles Marvin Gaye songs Song recordings produced by Marvin Gaye Songs written by Marvin Gaye Songs written by Gwen Gordy Fuqua 1973 singles 1970s ballads Soul ballads