"Baby Don't You Do It" is a 1964 single by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

. Released on the

Tamla 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, this song discusses a man who is at a standstill with his girlfriend, who he feels is neglecting his love stating "Don't break my heart/...I've tried to do my best". Featured on the

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. During ...

-written and produced track, for the first time on a Marvin Gaye record, were Motown's top session girl group,

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 ...

. The song was originally written and intended for

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 ...

, but eventually reassigned to Marvin Gaye to record. In October 1964 Gaye's single peaked at number 27 on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the Top 100 singles chart in '' Cashbox'', with ''Cashbox'' affording the single a number 14 peak on its R&B chart (''Billboard'' was not maintaining an R&B chart at this time). ''

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 ...

'' stated that "it's that powerhouse beat that can't be beat." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "an electrifying pleader that rocks along in sensational vocal and instrumental fashion."

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by

: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps *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 ...

**Baritone saxophone by Mike Terry

The Band versions

The Band recorded the song numerous times under the title "Don't Do It". The lead singer was

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

, with backing vocals by

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

and

Richard Manuel Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in The Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and ...

. Different versions, both studio and live, appear on several of their albums and box sets, including the 1972 live release ''

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

''. "Don't Do It" was the encore performed by The Band in

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

's 1976 concert film ''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert a ...

'', though it was featured first in the film. Although it was not included on the 1978 soundtrack album, the track was included in the 2002 box set edition of ''The Last Waltz'' soundtrack. The version of "Don't Do It" from ''Rock of Ages'' was issued as a single, reaching #34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the autumn of 1972; the track was the second - following "

Up on Cripple Creek "Up on Cripple Creek" is the fifth song on the Band's eponymous second album, '' The Band''. It was released as an (edited) single on Capitol 2635 in November 1969 and reached No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Up on Cripple Creek" was writte ...

" - and final

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

single for the Band. ''

'' called this version a "dynamite dance treatment."

The Who versions

The Who recorded several versions of "Baby Don't You Do It". The first version released was recorded live in San Francisco and released as the b-side to "Join Together" in June 1972. The group had previously played the song in their live performances circa 1964–65, and a studio recording from that time was later released on the 1998 remastered CD of ''

Odds & Sods ''Odds & Sods'' is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK and Track/ MCA in the US in October 1974. Ten of the recordings on original eleven song album were previously unreleased. Th ...

''. The Who also performed a studio recording of the song on March 16, 1971 at The Record Plant in New York. This version became first available on the 1995 Reissue of ''

Who's Next ''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Who. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album ''T ...

'' and featured

Leslie West Leslie West (born Leslie Abel Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. Life and career Early years: 1 ...

on lead guitar, but was edited to 5:13.''Who's Next'' 1995 Reissue Liner Notes Page 20 The full version (8:21) of the song became available on the ''Who's Next''

Deluxe Edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

. During the sixth season of ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television Period piece, period teen sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the ficti ...

'' when the show's episodes were all named after recordings by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, the March 3, 2004 broadcast was entitled "Baby Don't You Do It".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baby Don't You Do It 1964 singles Marvin Gaye songs MCA Records singles The Band songs Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland The Who songs 1964 songs 1972 singles Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns Tamla Records singles Track Records singles