You're All I Need To Get By
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"You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/
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 ...
duo
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 Tammi Terrell and released on
Motown Records 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 ...
' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single " I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" from
Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...
and
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...
.


Overview

Written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, it became one of the few Motown recordings of the 1960s that was not recorded with the familiar " Motown sound". Instead, "You're All I Need to Get By" had a more soulful and gospel-oriented theme surrounding it, that was influenced by the writers, who also sing background vocals on the recording, sharing vocals in a church choir in New York City. Marvin and Tammi recorded the song at Hitsville. Ashford & Simpson later stated how the session was hard as Terrell was recovering from surgery on the malignant brain tumor that ultimately caused her death less than two years after they recorded the song. During moments in the recording, Gaye can be heard encouraging Terrell to sing her verses, ad-libbing "come on Tammi" several times. A year later, Gaye was performing this song with Stax vocalist Carla Thomas at the
Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...
, when Terrell, who was seated in the front row in her wheelchair, began singing along, prompting Gaye to leave the stage and sing the song with Terrell, who was offered a microphone. It was Terrell's final performance before her death in March 1970. The song was played during Terrell's funeral while Gaye gave a brief, tearful eulogy. The original recording by Gaye and Terrell peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number-one on Billboard's Hot R&B/Soul Singles chart for five weeks, becoming one of the longest-running number one R&B hits of 1968 and the most successful duet recording of Marvin Gaye's career. It reached #19 on the British singles charts in late 1968, staying there for 19 weeks. ''
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 advertis ...
'' described the single as a "driving rhythm follow-up" to the duo's previous hit single " Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" which "will hit hard and fast." ''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...
'' called it a "tremendous ballad with a hearty beat," saying that the "scintillating opening excites listener response with an impending explosion that develops slowly unfolding solid performance."


Personnel

* Lead vocals 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 Tammi Terrell * Background vocals by Ashford & Simpson * Produced by Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson * 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 ...


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams version

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...
and Deniece Williams recorded "You're All I Need to Get By" for their 1978 duet album ''
That's What Friends Are For "That's What Friends Are For" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded by Rod Stewart in 1982 for the soundtrack of the film '' Night Shift'', but it is best known for the 1985 version by Dionne Warwic ...
''. It was the follow-up to their U.S. #1 hit " Too Much, Too Little, Too Late". Their version of "You're All I Need to Get By" peaked at #47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, #10 on the Hot Soul Singles Chart, #16 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #45 on the UK Singles Chart. It did best on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart, where it reached #5.


Critical reception

Billboard wrote, "The version here brings fresh spirit to the Ashford & Simpson number within a nicely crafted Jack Gold production."


Charts


Chart history


Weekly charts


Notable cover versions

*
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
recorded the song as a single in 1971 (Atlantic 45-2787). The song was also included on her compilation album '' Aretha's Greatest Hits'', released later the same year. Her version peaked at #19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. It also features in a 2020 holiday advertisement for
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
. This version of the song was featured in the 2024 film '' Deadpool & Wolverine'' and its soundtrack. * Tony Orlando & Dawn's version became the third to reach the U.S. Top 40, peaking at #34 in 1975. It also reached #13 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #55 in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. *
Kathy Troccoli Kathleen Troccoli (; born June 24, 1958) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, author, and speaker. Early life and family Born in Brooklyn, New York, Troccoli was raised in Islip Terrace, Long Island, New York, w ...
recorded her version on her debut album '' Stubborn Love'' in 1982. The lyrics had minor changes to make it fit into the CCM genre. * The song was covered in the 2021 film '' CODA'', which tells the story of the hearing child of deaf parents who discovers her own singing abilities. The song was performed as a duet by Emilia Jones and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo several times throughout the film.


References


External links


List of cover versions of "You're All I Need to Get By"
at SecondHandSongs.com {{Authority control 1967 songs 1968 singles Marvin Gaye songs Tammi Terrell songs Aretha Franklin songs Songs written by Nickolas Ashford Songs written by Valerie Simpson Male–female vocal duets Tony Orlando songs Johnny Mathis songs Deniece Williams songs The Angels (American group) songs Song recordings produced by Ashford & Simpson Tamla Records singles Columbia Records singles Elektra Records singles