"What Good Am I Without You" is a

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 ...

duet between singers

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 ...

and

Kim Weston Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)", and with her duet with Marvin Gaye, " ...

. The song was released as a single in late 1964 and became the first duet Marvin and Kim recorded, a couple of years before the duo recorded the breakthrough hit, " It Takes Two". The song came after the departure of

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...

, who had left Motown that year shortly after releasing a successful duet album with Gaye. The single was featured on Gaye and Weston's only LP together, '' Take Two'' and peaked at number 61 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (and number 28 on the Cashbox R&B chart) when it was released. The single was co-written and produced by

William "Mickey" Stevenson William "Mickey" Stevenson (born January 4, 1937) is an American former songwriter and record producer for the Motown group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967. Life and career He was born William Stevenson and, a ...

. The b-side, "I Want You 'Round", was also included on '' Take Two''. According to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', the "lyrics carry great tale and story is well told by heduo to powerful rock beat."

Credits

*Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston *Background vocals by

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Mar ...

: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps *Produced by

*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 ...

References

1964 singles 1964 songs Male–female vocal duets Marvin Gaye songs Songs written by William "Mickey" Stevenson Tamla Records singles {{1960s-R&B-song-stub