| "I Want You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 French vinyl single | ||||
| Single byMarvin Gaye | ||||
| from the albumI Want You | ||||
| B-side | "I Want You" (instrumental) | |||
| Released | April 1, 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1975 | |||
| Studio | Marvin's Room, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:34 (vocal version) | |||
| Label | Tamla | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
| |||
| Marvin Gaye singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"I Want You" is a song written byLeon Ware andArthur "T-Boy" Ross and performed by American singer and songwriterMarvin Gaye. It was released as a single in 1976 on his fourteenth studio albumof the same name (1976) on hisTamla label. The song introduced a change in musical styles for Gaye. "I Want You", among other similar songs, gave him adisco audience. Ware, who produced the song alongside Gaye, also was attributed with the single's success.
The song stood to be one of Marvin's most popular singles during his later Motown period followed by his sabbatical following the release of 1973'sLet's Get It On. The song eventually reached number one on theHot Selling Soul Singles chart[1] and number fifteen on the USBillboard Hot 100. It also became a disco hit, reaching number ten on the Disco Singles Chart alongside "After the Dance".[2]
Originally conceived by Motown songwriterLeon Ware and his songwriting partner"T-Boy" Ross, "I Want You" was originally intended to be included in Ware'sMusical Massage album.[3] When Ware, who was also signed to the label as a solo artist, presented the outline of his album to Motown-CEOBerry Gordy, the mogul was appreciative of the songs,[4][5] especially a preliminary version of "I Want You". Upon hearing it, he convinced Ware to give some of the songs to Gaye,[3] who was coming off the release of his acclaimed 1973 record,Let's Get It On. After his final duet recording withDiana Ross and a commercially successful live album, Gaye had struggled with creating a follow-up album toLet's Get It On. When Ware played Gaye the rough version of "I Want You", Gaye, inspired by his relationship with his girlfriendJanis Hunter,[6] was motivated to record a heartfelt performance of the song,[5][7] which was about a man trying to convince a wayward lover that he wanted her to "want" him as much as he did her.[8]
Purportedly recorded atMarvin's Room, the singer's new recording studio in Los Angeles,[8][9] Gaye reportedly sang the song while lying on the back of his sofa according to Ware, who said that he couldn't see him at first but then discovered a laid-back Gaye delivering the song in his trademarktenor vocals.[5]
The song was a fusion of different genres and an unusual mix for Gaye. A blend ofstrings[10] added an important factor to the soul anddisco influence in "I Want You".Bongos,bell trees, and percussivecongas then added a jazzy feel to the song with bass guitar notes and guitar riffs bringing an element offunk.[10] Additional guitar (provided byRay Parker Jr.) then added a rock element that effectively blended genres within the song.
Gaye's lead vocals brought in both a falsetto andgospel quality near the ending of the song.[11] The single version features alternate vocal renditions.[12] Additional vocals, later added to Gaye's deluxe edition re-issue of "I Want You", showcase two different takes by Gaye.[13] The background vocals, all sung by Gaye, recall his earlydoo-wop roots. The song begins with a 77-second intro before leading into the chorus and first verse.
Released a day before Marvin's 37th birthday in 1976, the single came a month after its aptly named parent album. It gained success on both theBillboard Hot 100 andHot Soul Singles chart, it became the singer's twelfth million-selling single with Motown, eventually peaking at number fifteen on the Hot 100 and number one on the R&B chart. The single's lightdisco/soul approach helped the song gain a club audience after it was combined with the album's second single, "After the Dance," and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart – Gaye's first single to make it. Eventually the song would help its album sell over a million copies. Gaye would also be nominated for aGrammy Award for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance.
As stated byRecord World, the song "features a seductive vocal that massages a chunky trance-like rhythm" and has an "appropriately lush arrangement."[14]
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[15] | 15 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[16] | 1 |
In 1976, Argentinian tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri covered "I Want You" on his albumCaliente!.[17]
In the same year, a large personnel participated in a cover of the song from Stanley Turrentine'sThe Man with the Sad Face.
In 1990, British singerRobert Palmer covered "I Want You" as a medley with another Marvin Gaye song, "Mercy Mercy Me".[18] The song was released as the third single from his tenth studio album,Don't Explain, in January 1991. The song reached number nine in the United Kingdom, six in Canada and sixteen pop (and fourAdult Contemporary) in the United States.
In 2003,Michael McDonald covered "I Want You" on his albumMotown.
In 2022,Kendrick Lamar sampled and interpolated "I Want You" on the standalone non-album single "The Heart Part 5", released prior to his albumMr. Morale & the Big Steppers. It later became available as a bonus track on the album.[19]
| "I Want You" | |
|---|---|
| Promotional single byMadonna andMassive Attack | |
| from the albumInner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye andSomething to Remember | |
| Recorded | 1995 |
| Genre | Trip hop |
| Length | 6:23 |
| Label | |
| Songwriters | |
| Producer | Nellee Hooper |
| Music video | |
| "I Want You" onYouTube | |
American singerMadonna recorded a cover version of "I Want You" with Britishtrip-hop groupMassive Attack for theMarvin Gaye tribute albumInner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye (1995) and Madonna's first ballad compilation album,Something to Remember (1995). It was slated to be the first single fromSomething to Remember; a music video was shot and released to many media outlets, but legality problems between the Motown label and Madonna's record label prevented this from happening. Massive Attack later included the song on the special edition of their greatest hits compilationCollected in 2006.
Over a year before the release of the albumMotown Records, the record label in charge of assembling the artists for the compilation album approached Massive Attack and asked them to pick a song from Marvin Gaye's back catalogue to re-imagine and suggested they do a collaboration withChaka Khan. A backing track was made to accommodate her vocals, but the recording sessions did not go well. The possibility came up briefly of working withAaron Neville but this fell through as well because of legality issues.
Record producerNellee Hooper suggested Madonna as vocalist, as he had recently finished producing her 1994Bedtime Stories album, and he set up a meeting with Massive Attack. Band membersDaddy G andMushroom never got the opportunity to meet Madonna during the recording sessions for the song, only3D along with Hooper would meet with her in New York for a period of two days, record the vocals with her and then bring them back to their home city ofBristol to be worked on. Madonna was so impressed by the finished product that she chose to include the song as the first track on her 1995 compilation albumSomething to Remember.[20]
AllMusic editorStephen Thomas Erlewine said that "I Want You" is the most notable among the three new tracks onSomething to Remember.[21] In a review forInner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye, Erlewine also wrote "A few tracks stand out from the mire, particularly Madonna and Massive Attack'strip-hop re-interpretation of "I Want You"..."[22] Jim Farber of theNew York Daily News stated that "[Madonna] has never sounded better than in the cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You"."[23] Dave Simpson fromMelody Maker felt "the breathless, steam-showered, snogtastic, Massive Attack-accompanied take on Marvin Gaye's libidinal "I Want You" is irrefutably incredible."[24] Mark Sutherland fromNME praised it as "a splendid, sultry thing".[25]
The accompanying music video for "I Want You" was shot on August 5 and 6, 1995 atSilvercup Studios inLong Island City, New York and directed by Earle Sebastian, produced by Joel Hinman, edited by Bruce Ashley, the video was inspired by and pays homage toA Telephone Call, a short story written by American writer,Dorothy Parker. The video was released toVH1 on October 2, 1995.[26] "I Want You" received a nomination for "MTV Amour" at theMTV Europe Music Awards 1996, but lost toThe Fugees's "Killing Me Softly".[27] The video was commercially released in 2009 on Madonna's video compilation,Celebration: The Video Collection.
{{cite news}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
