Got To Give It Up (Part 1)

Album

Live at the London Palladium

Label

Tamla

Genre

Funk

Composer(s)

Marvin Gaye

Entered Chart

Apr 16, 1977

Peak Date

Jun 25, 1977

Released

March 15, 1977

Recorded

December 1976 Studio Marvin's Room, Los Angeles, California

Catalog #

Tamla 54280

B-Side

(Pt. II)

Gaye wrote and produced "Got to Give It Up" with engineer/producer Art Stewart. It was originally a 12-minute song included as the final side of his 1977 live double-album Marvin Gaye Live at the London Palladium. A single version was edited down to 4 minutes, and it topped the American Pop, R&B and Dance singles charts. It replaced Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" on the Billboard Hot 100 but was overtaken a week later by Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)." By the mid-'70s, Gaye and his labelmates at Motown were feeling the pressure to record dance-floor friendly hits as disco was on the rise. Gaye resisted until he had an idea to parody the genre. "Got to Give It Up" was originally titled "Dancing Lady" as a response to Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady." Gaye sang both lead and background on this and also played the keyboards. Frank Beverly of Maze supplied the percussion and on backing vocals were Marvin's future second wife Janis Hunter and his brother Frankie Gaye. His little sister, Zeola Gaye, can also be heard on the track. In 1996, Aaliyah covered this on her album One In A Million. Her version samples Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and features rapper Slick Rick. This was used in the films Boogie Nights (1998), Practical Magic (1999), Summer Of Sam (1999) and Charlie's Angels (2000). Gaye went for a loose and casual party atmosphere on this track, and included the sounds of people talking in the studio in the mix. Some of the unusual sounds on the recording include Gaye (an accomplished drummer) banging on a half-filled grapefruit juice bottle, and percussionist Jack Ashford playing a homemade instrument he called a "Hotel Sheet," which was a piece of polystyrene he would shake to produce the wobbly sound. This song was the subject of a landmark court case filed by Marvin Gaye's estate in 2013 against the writers of Robin Thicke's hit "Blurred Lines." Gaye's family argued that "Blurred Lines" sounded too similar to "Got To Give It Up," and in 2015 a jury agreed, awarding a stunning $7.3 million in damages. Gaye, who died in 1984, left the copyrights to his songs to his children, so the beneficiaries in the case are his kids Marvin III, Frankie and Nona. (Nona is a musician - she had a minor hit in 1992 with a song called "I'm Overjoyed"). Gaye likely influenced The Jacksons' 1979 hit "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) " with his ad-libbed refrain: Let's dance, let's shout (shout) Gettin' funky's what it's all about

I used to go out to parties
And stand around
'Cause I was too nervous
To really get down

But my body yearned to be free
I got up on the floor and found
Someone to choose me

No more standin' along the side walls
Now I've got myself together, baby
And I'm havin' a ball
Long as you prove it
There's always a chance
Somebody watches
Might wanna make romance

Move your body, ooo baby, you dance all night
To the groove and feel all right
Everybody's groovin' on like a fool
But if you see me, top down, let me in
Baby just party high and low
Let me step into your erotic zone

Move it up
Turn it 'round
Ooo shake it down
Owwww

You can love me when you want to babe
This is such a groovy party baby
We're here face to face
Everybody's swingin'
This is such a groovy place
All the young ladies are so fine!
You're movin your body easy with no doubts
I know what you thinkin' baby
You wanna turn me out
Think I'm gonna let you do it babe

Keep on dancin'
Got to give it up
Keep on dancin'
Got to give it up
Keep on dancin'
Got to give it up
Keep on dancin'
Got to give it up
Keep on dancin'
Got to give it up
Keep on dancin'
You got to get it
Got to give it up
Keep on dancin'
Got to give it up