| "My Love is Waiting" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 7" vinyl single cover | ||||
| Single byMarvin Gaye | ||||
| from the albumMidnight Love | ||||
| B-side | "Rockin' After Midnight" | |||
| Released | December 1982 (UK)[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1982 at Studio Katy, (Ohain, Belgium) | |||
| Genre | Electro,synth-pop,soul,R&B | |||
| Label | CBS | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Gordon Banks | |||
| Producer(s) | Marvin Gaye | |||
| Marvin Gaye singles chronology | ||||
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"My Love is Waiting" is a 1982R&B/Soul song written by musicianGordon Banks and recorded and released byAmerican singerMarvin Gaye, as aEuropean-only single in early 1983, it was also the last track on Gaye's final album in his lifetime,Midnight Love; released in 1982.
The song was written by Banks with another act in mind that he was producing back in theUnited States. While working with Gaye in Europe, first on several tours and then together at a Belgian recording studio where they recorded Gaye'sMidnight Love album, Gaye had struggled to complete his new record, his first outsideMotown. Upon hearing the demo of Banks' song, Gaye requested to record the song, which Banks agreed. Gaye and Banks produced the song and arranged his vocals, recording multi-layered background vocals on one date, and a solo lead the next. Surprisingly, Gaye made just a few additions to this song. This was the final song Gaye recorded and finalized forMidnight Love.
In the song, he begins it by thanking several people for helping him make the album for CBS Records, includingHarvey Fuqua, Gordon Banks, Mike Butcher, CBS' black music chief Larkin Arnold, and "most of all, we want to thank ourHeavenly father, Jesus!" before the song's melody emerges. The song is about a man coming back to an old lover after several months apart. The song's ironic message was also partially due to Gaye returning to the arms of his fans after a five-year layoff. Gaye would return to the United States in late 1982 following the release ofMidnight Love. During his "Sexual Healing Tour", Gaye would end his shows with the song being played as an instrumental outro where he took the time to thank several of his close friends and family, and also, like the song itself, also thanked God saying "I still love Jesus!" Gaye died two years later in 1984, making the words seem prophetic.
7" single
12" single
While it was never issued as a single in the US, it did register on theUK Singles Chart peaking at number 34 on the chart and the Dutch singles chart where it peaked at number 5. There is also an alternate version that can be found on theMidnight Love and the Sexual Healing Sessions, that is longer than the final version released on theMidnight Love album.
