"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a landmark song in the
history of Motown Records. Written by Norman Whitfield and
Barrett Strong in 1966, the single was first recorded by Smokey
Robinson & the Miracles. Released on September 25, 1967 as
Soul 35039 by Gladys Knight & the Pips, who recorded the
third version of the song, it has since become a signature
song, however, for singer Marvin Gaye, who recorded the second
version of the song prior to the Pips' version but released the
song after theirs on October 30, 1968 as Tamla 54176. Creedence
Clearwater Revival released their popular version of the song
in 1970. It was referenced in Talkin' 'Bout Your
Generation.
Gaye's version has since become a landmark in pop music. In
2004, it ranked #80 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest
Songs of All Time. On the commemorative 50th Anniversary of the
BillboardHot 100 issue of magazine in June 2008, Gaye's
version was ranked as the 65th biggest song on the chart. It
was also inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical,
artistic and significant" value.
In 1966, Barrett Strong, a former recording artist for
Motown Records and the singer behind the label's breakthrough
hit, "Money (That's What I Want)", had begun to work in the
songwriting staff after failing to produce a follow-up hit.
Motown CEO Berry Gordy hired Strong to work with Norman
Whitfield to work on recordings for The Temptations following
the success of Whitfield's recording of the group's "Ain't Too
Proud to Beg". Strong originally composed "I Heard It Through
the Grapevine" due to his own personal relationship. Whitfield
began collaborating with Strong on the song and eventually
decided to record it with The Miracles, who recorded the song
on August 6, 1966. Due to Gordy's strong veto power during
Motown's annual Friday meetings at Hitsville USA's Quality
Control Department, the Miracles' version was deemed
unreleasable. Gordy's thoughts on the song were that he thought
the song was "horrible" and advised Whitfield and Strong to
create a stronger single, however the duo refused to budge.
Years later, a second version by The Miracles, with a similar
arrangement to their first version, appeared as an album track
on their 1968
Special OccasionLP. Their original recording was issued
years later on a compilation album entitled
Motown Sings Motown Treasures. The Isley Brothers were
rumored to have recorded the song, but there is no evidence
that they ever did. Some Motown historians believe that a
session may have been scheduled but canceled.
Whitfield recruited his early collaborator Marvin Gaye to
record the song on April 10, 1967. Later recordings of Marvin's
version took more than a month due to Whitfield overdubbing
Marvin's vocals with that of The Andantes' background vocals,
and including several tracks featuring The Funk Brothers on the
rhythm track and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on the
orchestral background. The session featuring Gaye led to
arguments between the producer and singer, particularly over
vocal registry. Whitfield struggled to convince Gaye to perform
the song in a high rasp, a move that had worked on David Ruffin
during the recording of The Temptations' hit, "Ain't Too Proud
to Beg". Whitfield was later described by several Motown
employees as "cocky" and "arrogant" but "always got what he
wanted out of the performer". Marvin eventually agreed to
record it in Whitfield's key and the song later led to a change
in the singer's vocals, first reflected on the Ivy Jo
Hunter-produced "You" and the Frank Wilson-produced "Chained".
The mixture of Marvin's bluesy raspy vocals and The Andantes'
sweeter harmonies, made Whitfield confident that he had a hit,
however, Motown CEO Berry Gordy was not impressed. The label
instead released the sweeter "Your Unchanging Love", a song
that was included on the singer's 1966 album
Moods of Marvin Gaye. This recording was featured on the
music video game
Band Hero.
Gladys Knight & the Pips was the next Motown act to
record "Grapevine". Signed to Motown in 1966, the group had
already scored a few hits prior to signing with the label and
in early 1967, had a hit with their third Motown single,
"Everybody Needs Love". After hearing Aretha Franklin's version
of "Respect", Whitfield again rearranged the song to fit its
style. According to David Ritz, Whitfield set to record a song
that would "out-funk" Aretha. After Whitfield presented the
demo tapes for "Grapevine", members Gladys Knight, Bubba
Knight, William Guest, and Edward Patten worked for several
weeks on their vocal arrangement. To make the song suitable for
Gladys, the first line of the second verse (
"I know a man ain't supposed to cry/But these tears I can't
hold inside") was altered to (
"Take a good look at these tears in my eyes/Baby, these
tears I can't hold inside"). After much talk, Gordy
reluctantly allowed the Pips' version to be a single. Motown
put little support behind it and the Pips relied on connections
with DJs across the United States to get the record played. The
Pips' version of "Grapevine" reached number one on the
Billboard R&B chart on November 25, 1967, and stayed there
for six weeks, making it the group's second R&B number one
after 1961's "Every Beat of My Heart". It reached two on the
Billboard Pop Singles singles chart the same month, with The
Monkees' "Daydream Believer" holding top spot. It was Motown's
best-selling single to that point.
Despite this success, Whitfield felt Marvin Gaye's version
was still a hit and he continued asking Gordy to release Gaye's
"Grapevine" as a single, but Gordy didn't want to release
Marvin's version after the Pips made a hit out of it. In
September 1968, Whitfield managed to have Gaye's "Grapevine"
added to Gaye's 1968 album
In the Groove. The single for
In the Groove, "You", made it to 34 on the pop charts,
while "Grapevine" became the most-played and requested track
from the album. After radio deejays prompted Motown to release
it, Gordy finally relented, releasing Marvin's version as a
single on October 30, 1968. Gaye's "I Heard It Through the
Grapevine" eventually outsold the Pips', and until The Jackson
5's "I'll Be There" 20 months later, was the biggest hit single
of all time on the Motown label. It stayed at the top of the
Billboard Pop Singles chart for seven weeks, from December 14,
1968 to January 25, 1969. Gaye's "Grapevine" also held number
one on the R&B chart during the same seven weeks, and
stayed at number one in the United Kingdom for three weeks
starting on March 26, 1969. The label was pleased with the
success, although Gaye, depressed because of issues such as the
illness of singing partner Tammi Terrell (which would kill her
less than a year later), was quoted as saying that his success
"didn't seem real" and that he "didn't deserve it".
Due to the song's success,
In the Groovewas re-issued as
I Heard It Through the Grapevineand peaked at number two
on the R&B album chart and number sixty-three on the album
chart, which was at the time Marvin's highest-charted solo
studio effort to date. Because of the success of both versions
, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was the first and last
number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1968: the Pips
version was the first week of January, the Gaye version the
last week of December. Knight was not pleased that Gaye's
version usurped her own. She stated that Gaye's version was
recorded over an instrumental track Whitfield had prepared for
a Pips song, an allegation Gaye denied. Despite initial
disappointment, Gladys and Marvin would later patch things up
and in 1983, the two now-former Motown label mates reunited to
perform their versions of the single.
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" has been rendered in
different ways, although the theme, a relationship beginning to
break up, remains prominent in each. The narrator has no clue
that his relationship is in a bad state, and only learns after
gossip "through the grapevine" that his lover is cheating. Of
the first four versions produced by Norman Whitfield, only the
Gaye version makes pain and confusion a clear part of the
texture: Whitfield surrounds Gaye with horror-film strings,
voodoo drums and percussion, and an ominous Wurlitzer electric
piano line doubled by the guitar. The Miracles' version is a
mid-tempo number, while Gladys Knight & the Pips' version
is built around bravado and a quick-tempo gospel feel.
Marvin's recording of the single gave way later on to the
soul subgenre known as psychedelic soul, pioneered by Whitfield
and Sly Stone the same year Marvin's version was released.
Marvin would record in this style until after the release of
What's Going Onin 1971 before settling into a funk sound
in the 1970s. Other artists who recorded in the "psychedelic
soul" genre included The Temptations, (Diana Ross &) The
Supremes, Stevie Wonder and The Isley Brothers after their
Motown tenure fizzled.
Following Marvin Gaye's 1968 release of the single, his
version has been frequently covered by artists of varied
genres. In 1969, Whitfield produced a version for The
Temptations for their hit album,
Cloud Ninethough their version recalled The Pips'. In
1971, The Undisputed Truth became the final Motown act to
record the song in its Marvin-styled version. The song was also
covered by The Chi-Lites on their 1969 debut album
Give It Away.
Creedence Clearwater Revival recorded an eleven-minute
version for their album,
Cosmo's Factory, released in 1970. Other versions have
been recorded in other genres such as punk rock where the
UK-based The Slits recorded a heavily dub version as a b-side
of their first single recording it in the Marvin Gaye version.
Other groups such as Tuxedomoon, The Crust Brothers and the
disco band, P'Zzazz, featuring Mildred Vancy on vocals, also
recorded the song.
In 1981, funk musician Roger Troutman, released a cover of
the song in an extended version off his debut solo project,
The Many Facets of Roger. Troutman's version brought the
song back to number one on the R&B chart in early 1982
marking the third time the single reached the top spot on that
chart. It also made the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number
seventy-nine. In 2010 Andrew Garcia covered the song during
American Idol's 9th season Billboard #1 hits week.
In 1986, several studio singers re-recorded the song and
featured it in a commercial for the clay-animated singing group
The California Raisins. Their version became their signature
tune, mainly due to a pun on the fact that raisins originate
from "the grapevine."
Other artists to have recorded the song have included Trini
Lopez, the Soultans and the Flying Pickets, the Doug Anthony
All Stars, Giorgia, Marisa Monte, Kaiser Chiefs, Michael
Chapdelaine, Paul Weller and Amy Winehouse in a duet version
while performing on Jools Holland, The Robustos, Tina Turner,
Elton John, Diana DeGarmo, Michael McDonald, Birds of Tokyo,
and Fairport Convention in a live version with vocals by
Richard Thompson.
A humorous cover of the song was recorded by Paul Shanklin
for the album,
Bill Clinton: The Early Years, based on former President
Bill Clinton. Antonio Forcione recorded an instrumental version
on his live album. Australian cult comedy trio the Doug Anthony
All-Stars performed the song at many of their concerts during
the height of their fame. Queen Latifah used the song in Gaye's
version as a basis for her 1998 single Paper, produced by Pras
Michel for her album Order in the Court.
On the last night of the Melbourne International Comedy
Festival each year, the song is always performed by the closing
act at the Moosehead Award Benefit show. 'Grapevine' was the
favorite song of Brian 'Moosehead' McCarthy, in whose memory
the award is named. This tradition goes back over 20 years.
Marvin Gaye's version has been featured in films including
The Big Chill(1983) and
Remember the Titans(2001) and was featured in the 2008
play,
The Big Payback. In 1986, the song was featured on a UK
commercial when Levi's used a cover for a retro-themed
commercial titled "Launderette", directed by Roger Lyons and
featuring Nick Kamen renewing interest in the Marvin Gaye
version. Tamla-Motown re-released the single and the song shot
to number eight on the UK Singles chart marking its second
chart performance. In 2008, the Freemasons remixed the Marvin
Gaye version for dance clubs.
On September 28, 1974, John Lennon commented on WNEW-FM, a
New York City radio station, introducing Electric Light
Orchestra's "Showdown":
soundclip[1]
Queen Latifah also used the melody of the song in her 1998
single "Paper".
The Gossip have used the refrain "Heard it on the grapevine
that no longer would I be your baby" and transposed it into
their song "Love Long Distance" with the words "Heard it
through the bass line Not much longer would you be my baby"
"The Gossip".
The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye (1961)
·
That Stubborn Kinda Fellow (1962)
·
When I'm Alone I Cry (1964)
·
Hello Broadway (1964)
·
How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You (1965)
·
A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole (1965)
·
Moods of Marvin Gaye (1966)
·
In the Groove/I Heard It Through the
Grapevine (1968)
·
M.P.G. (1969)
·
That's the Way Love Is (1970)
·
What's Going On (1971)
·
Let's Get It On (1973)
·
I Want You (1976)
·
Here, My Dear (1978)
·
In Our Lifetime (1981)
·
Midnight Love (1982)
·
Dream of a Lifetime (1985)
·
Romantically Yours (1986)
·
Vulnerable (1997)
Together (1964)
·
Take Two (1966)
·
United (1967)
·
You're All I Need (1968)
·
Easy (1969)
·
Diana & Marvin (1973)
Marvin Gaye Recorded Live on Stage (1963)
·
Trouble Man (1972)
·
Marvin Gaye Live! (1974)
·
Live at the London Palladium (1977)
·
Marvin Gaye at the Copa (2005)
"Pride and Joy"
·"How Sweet It Is
(To Be Loved by You)"
·"I'll Be Doggone"
·"Ain't That
Peculiar"
·"Your Precious
Love"
·"If I Could Build
My Whole World Around You"
·"Ain't Nothing
Like the Real Thing"
·"You're All I
Need to Get By"
·"
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
"
·"Too Busy
Thinking About My Baby"
·"Abraham, Martin
& John"
·"The Onion Song"
·"That's the Way
Love Is"
·"What's Going On"
·"Mercy Mercy Me
(The Ecology)"
·"Inner City Blues
(Make Me Wanna Holler)"
·
"Trouble Man"
·"Let's Get
It On"
·"Come Get to
This"
·"You Are
Everything"
·"Got to Give It
Up"
·"Sexual
Healing"
Marvin Gay, Sr.
·Alberta Gay
·Anna Gordy Gaye
·Frankie Gaye
·Janis Hunter Gaye
·Nona Gaye
·Gordon Banks
Discography
·Songs
·Albums
·Songs by Marvin
Gaye
·Albums produced
by Marvin Gaye
·Marvin Gaye
vocalists
·Songs in memory
·Death
·Harvey Fuqua
·The Moonglows
·Tammi Terrell
·Leon Ware
·Marvin's Room