''Marvin Gaye at the Copa'' is a live album recorded at the exclusive New York club, the Copacabana, where 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 ...

performed in August 1966, over a year following

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

' 1965 performance there. Marvin was only one of just a few R&B musicians after

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

and

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

to perform at the club where performers such as

Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

, Nat King Cole and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

had performed at regularly. Marvin was the next act from Berry Gordy's fabled

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

label after the Supremes to perform at the nightclub and would be followed by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

in 1968 and

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

that same year. According to the liner notes later on, Marvin's performance there was a success, however, an ongoing feud between Gaye and his brother-in-law, Motown recording boss Gordy, was said to have been one of the reasons why the album was eventually shelved with the duo fighting over how the album was to be produced. The album had been scheduled for release in January 1967 as Tamla 273 before its permanent shelving. In 2005, Hip-O Select Records, a Motown-associated label created to re-release or release unreleased material from Motown's vaults re-mastered sessions from this album and released it that year.

Track listing

#"Introduction/I Concentrate on You" (

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

) - 3:19 #"Just in Time" (Betty Comden, Adolph Green,

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

) - 1:58 #" How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" ( Holland-Dozier-Holland) - 4:48 #"Motown Medley 1" Can I Get A Witness", "You're A Wonderful One", "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow", "Baby Don't You Do It", "Try It Baby", "One More Heartache"(Gaye, Lamont Dozier,

Berry Gordy, Jr. Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

, George Gordy, Brian Holland, William "Mickey" Stevenson,

Edward Holland, Jr. Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...

) - 5:57 #"Laia Ladaia (Reza)" (

Edu Lobo Eduardo de Góes "Edu" Lobo (born August 29, 1943) is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and composer. In the 1960s he was part of the bossa nova movement. His compositions include ''Upa Neguinho'' (with Gianfrancesco Guarnieri), ''Pra Dizer Ad ...

, Ruy Guerra, Norman Gimbel) - 5:08 #"Georgia Rose" ( Hoagy Carmichael,

Jimmy Flynn James P. Flynn (5 February 1934 – 12 September 2022) was an American teamster and film actor. He was a reputed member of the famous Winter Hill Gang. He appeared in films including ''Good Will Hunting'', ''The Cider House Rules (film), The Cid ...

, Stuart Gorrell,

Harry Rosenthal Harry Rosenthal (15 May c. 1893 – 10 May 1953) was an orchestra leader, composer, pianist and actor. Biography Rosenthal was born in Belfast in 1893, and by the 1920s he was in London where he had a thriving musical career as a composer ...

, Alexander Sullivan) - 3:35 #"The Song Is You" (

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

) - 2:22 #" Ain't That Peculiar" ( William "Smokey" Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Ronald White, Marvin Tarplin) - 3:42 #"Every Once in a While" (Harold Rome) - 2:32 #"The Shadow of Your Smile" (

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United St ...

) - 3:13 #"Night Song" (Charles Strouse) - 5:06 #" Pride and Joy" (Gaye, Stevenson, Norman Whitfield) - 5:39 #" This Could Be the Start of Something Big" ( Steve Allen) - 2:04 #" Strangers in the Night" (Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder) - 3:27 #"Introduction of Orchestra" - 1:23 #"Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" ( Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley) - 3:18 #"Motown Medley 2" I'll Be Doggone", "I Can't Help Myself", "Uptight", "Hitch Hike"(

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

, Henry Cosby, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Warren "Pete" Moore, Marvin Tarplin, Edward Holland, Jr.) - 8:32 Live albums published posthumously 2005 live albums Marvin Gaye live albums Hip-O Records live albums {{2000s-R&B-album-stub