"What You Gave Me" is a hit duet written and produced by

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

and issued as a single originally by the vocal duo of Marvin Gaye and

Tammi Terrell Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. ...

in 1969 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. Recorded in the final throes of the Gaye-Terrell duet recordings, the song became the second single from their album, '' Easy''. As with much of the album, there is debate over who sang with Gaye: Terrell, who was undergoing treatment for brain cancer, or the track's co-writer and co-producer,

Valerie Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

. While Gaye later insisted that Simpson stood in for Terrell, Simpson has maintained that Terrell took part in the recordings. Whatever the case, the song gave the duo a modest charting, peaking at number forty-nine pop and number six R&B. '' Cash Box'' described it as a "finely honed vocal collaboration."

Chart history

Weekly charts

;Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell ;Diana Ross

Year-end charts

Later versions

David Ruffin David Eli Ruffin (born Davis Eli Ruffin;Ribowsky, p. 88 January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Clas ...

also recorded the song for his 1969 album ''Feelin' Good''. It was revived years later as a club hit by Diana Ross in 1978. Her version peaked at #86 on the R&B charts.

Credits

*All vocals by Marvin Gaye &

*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

External links

* (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell) * (Diana Ross) 1969 singles 1978 singles Marvin Gaye songs Tammi Terrell songs Songs written by Valerie Simpson Songs written by Nickolas Ashford Male–female vocal duets Diana Ross songs Song recordings produced by Ashford & Simpson 1969 songs Tamla Records singles {{1960s-single-stub