Distant Lover
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| “Distant Lover” | |||||
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| Song by Marvin Gaye | |||||
| Album | Let's Get It On | ||||
| Released | 1973 | ||||
| Recorded | 1971 (known as "Head Title"), Hitsville USA (Studio A) 1973, Hitsville West, Los Angeles, California |
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| Genre | Soul | ||||
| Length | 5:15 | ||||
| Label | Tamla | ||||
| Writer | Marvin Gaye, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Sandra Greene | ||||
| Producer | Marvin Gaye | ||||
| Let's Get It On track listing | |||||
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| “Distant Lover (live)” | |||||
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| Single by Marvin Gaye from the album Marvin Gaye Live! |
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| Released | June 28, 1974 | ||||
| Recorded | Oakland Coliseum, January 4, 1974 | ||||
| Genre | Soul | ||||
| Length | 6:20 (album version) 4:30 (single version) |
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| Label | Tamla | ||||
| Writer(s) | Marvin Gaye, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Sandra Greene | ||||
| Producer | Marvin Gaye | ||||
| Marvin Gaye singles chronology | |||||
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"Distant Lover" is the sixth song issued on singer Marvin Gaye's 1973 album, Let's Get It On and was later issued as a live recording in 1974.
The song had been a work-in-progress for two years. Gaye originally wrote the song while recording for the What's Going On album. The song, titled originally under "Head Title" featured Sandra Greene as a co-writer. The song was left on the shelves following the release of What's Going On.
The recording was a demo featuring a screaming Marvin in a spoken tone on one side while the singer's gospel-emulated growl talked about a special woman in his life that was so far away on the other. Both Marvin's singing and screaming spoken tones carried the original version of the song. The original version showcased Gaye in more of a self-conscious state of mind. At the time, he was still recovering from the death of singing partner Tammi Terrell, who might've been an inspiration to this song.
Marvin revived the song in a more polished setting upon recording the Let's Get It On album, co-writing new lyrics with his friend Harvey Fuqua's wife and his sister-in-law Gwen Fuqua while keeping Greene's name as a co-writer. This time instead of screams, Marvin moaned over a sensible tenor and falsetto before finally ending the song in a growl as he begged and pleaded for his lover to "come back home". According to the liner notes of the Deluxe reissue of Let's Get It On, it took twenty separate recording sessions before Marvin was satisfied with the song-more dates than it took to record the entire What's Going On album.
When Let's Get It On was issued, the song was released as the b-side to Marvin's hit, "Come Get to This". The song was later immortalized in a live version issued on his Marvin Gaye Live! album in which Marvin build up the song from a slowed-up version of his Trouble Man instrumental, "Don't Play With Mister T". After a small introduction, Marvin began to sing the song leading female audience members who attended his live show at the Oakland Coliseum to scream in delight. The song would become a show-stopper in later concerts from then on until Marvin's final concert tour in 1983.
The live version of the song was so popular Motown issued that version as a single that June where it peaked at number twenty-eight on the pop singles chart number twelve on the R&B singles chart that September.
The original 1973 recording was later sampled by Kanye West on his College Dropout album in 2004 on the song, "Spaceship".
It was then even later sampled by Lil Boosie on his Bad_Azz_(album) album in 2006 on the song, "Distant Lover".
[edit] Credits
[edit] 1973 (album) version
- All vocals by Marvin Gaye
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
- Arranged by Gene Page
- Produced by Marvin Gaye
[edit] 1974 (live) version
- Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye
- Background vocals by assorted singers
- Instrumentation by assorted musicians
- Arranged by Gene Page
- Produced by Marvin Gaye
