"Baby, I'm for Real" is a

soul ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Ballads ...

written by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and

Anna Gordy Gaye Anna Ruby Gaye (née Gordy; January 28, 1922 – January 31, 2014) was an American businesswoman, composer and songwriter. An elder sister of Motown Records, Motown founder Berry Gordy, she became a record executive in the mid-to-late 1950s dist ...

, produced by Marvin and recorded and released by American

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

vocal group The Originals for the

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

label issued in 1969.

History

The Originals version

By the late sixties, male vocal quintet the Originals had been recording mostly background vocals for Motown artists most notably backing up brothers

Jimmy Ruffin Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...

(" What Becomes of the Brokenhearted") and

David Ruffin David Eli Ruffin (born Davis Eli Ruffin;Ribowsky, p. 88 January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–1968) during the group's "Classic Five" p ...

(" My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)") respectively. They also were as known for providing background vocals to some of

's late sixties recordings such as " Chained". But their own singles up until then had failed to generate interest. Having befriended Gaye during recording sessions, the singer promised the group that he'll find them the hit they were searching for. With music written with his wife Anna, Marvin wrote the lyrics to a song called "The Bells I Hear" by Bobby Taylor with The Originals taking the place of The Vancouvers as background vocalists. Different from most Motown recordings of the period, directed by the psychedelic soul productions of

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter, composer, and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators ...

, the song was a return to a back-to-basics

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

inspired approach which was championed by Gaye, who took creative control of the recording as the song's producer. Shelving the song and rewriting it as "Baby I'm For Real" and its follow-up "The Bells", Gaye had each member of the band provide a lead vocal on each of the verses while also singing along in the background. The singer would also produce another song titled "You're the One". While that song failed to chart, he pushed ahead for "...Real". Gaye had protested to Motown CEO

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

that he wanted to produce his own material and he used the Originals to help get his point across that he can provide a hit as he eventually did for the Originals as "Baby I'm For Real" reached number one on the Billboard Top Black Singles chart and reached number fourteen on the Pop Singles chart,. eventually selling over a million copies and putting the Originals on the map for a brief period as recording artists. The song's success paved the way for two more successful Gaye-helmed productions: the follow-up " The Bells" (1970) and "We Can Make It, Baby".

Cover versions

Esther Phillips version

Esther Phillips recorded a version which peaked at position 38 on ''Billboard's'' R&B chart in 1972.

Bohannon version

In 1980, percussionist

Hamilton Bohannon Hamilton Frederick Bohannon (March 7, 1942 – April 24, 2020), often credited and known professionally simply as Bohannon, was an American drummer, percussionist, band leader, songwriter, arrangement, arranger, and record producer, who was one ...

recorded it as a duet with Caroline Crawford and the tune appeared on his ''Music In The Air'' LP.

Sherrick version

Los Angeles–based R&B singer/balladeer

Sherrick Sherrick (July 6, 1957 – January 22, 1999) was an American soul singer and musician. Biography He was born F Lamonte-Smith; or Lamotte Smith in 1957 in Sacramento, California, United States. Sherrick was given his professional break by p ...

, released a version of the song on single, which peaked at #53 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It was taken from his 1987 album entitled ''

'' for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. On January 22, 1999, Sherrick died at the age of 41, of unknown causes in Los Angeles, California.

After 7 version

In 1992, R&B group

After 7 After 7 is an American R&B group founded in 1987 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, and their friend Keith Mitchell. The Edmonds brothers are the older siblings of pop/R&B singer-songwriter and record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, ...

sought to revive this song while recording their ''Takin' My Time'' album. Issued as the first release off that album, they also covered parts of Bloodstone's " Natural High". The song returned to the upper reaches of the R&B charts some twenty-three years after it was first recorded, eventually peaking at number five.

"Baby, I'm for Real - '82"

The Originals themselves rerecorded the song for the independent Phase II label in 1982. The song was released as "Baby, I'm for Real - '82", and was credited to The Originals featuring group member Hank Dixon. The song was produced by former Motown musician

. It proved to be the group's last single before disbanding.

Personnel

The Originals version

*Lead and background vocals by The Originals: C. P. Spencer, Henry Dixon,

Freddie Gorman Freddie Gorman (born Frederick Cortez Gorman, April 11, 1939 – June 13, 2006) was an American musician and record producer, most famous as a singer, songwriter for the Motown Records, Motown label in the late 1960s and mid 1970s. He was a n ...

and Walter Gaines *Produced by Marvin Gaye and Richard Morris *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 ...

, Marvin Gaye (drums) and the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...

After 7 version

*Lead and background vocals by Melvin Edmonds, Keith Mitchell and Kevon Edmonds

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baby I'm for Real 1969 singles 1992 singles The Originals (band) songs After 7 songs Music videos directed by Big T.V. Songs written by Marvin Gaye Songs written by Anna Gordy Gaye Song recordings produced by Marvin Gaye 1969 songs