Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine

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It’s impossible to talk about “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” and not talk about those responsible for its creation, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Both had been writing for the Motown label for some time, with hits such as “Money (That’s What I Want)” being among their classics, though Strong had also been making a name for himself as a first rate producer for The Temptations.

“Grapevine” took a long and circuitous route to the top of the charts, initially being penned for Smokey Robinson & The Miracles back in 1966, though Berry Gordy in all of his infinite wisdom seemed to think that it needed work, though it was recorded by Marvin Gaye the following year, yet it seems that Gladys Knight and The Pips were the first to take it into the Top 10 and peaking at number 2. In the meantime, Gaye had already dropped it into his album In The Groove with no intentions of releasing it as a 45 rpm. This is where radio DJ’s had their say, feeling that Marvin’s take was much more appealing, and began spinning that cut off the album, forcing Motown to create a 45, and stopping Gladys Knight in her tracks, with the two versions in the Top 10 at the same time, though Marvin was the one to take it on home to the number one slot. It’s interesting to note that The Isley Brothers also recorded the track, yet never released it.

At nearly the same time, a group of long haired hippie fellows thought the song was so wonderful that they created an eleven minute version, Creedence Clearwater Revival, taking the song to a new level of what was considered classic, where on FM radio, the track spun into the night as some sort of cosmic jam.

Regardless, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” is a solid infectious number with a sinister backbeat, delicious horns and tremendous vocals, though it’s primarily all about the piano and bass that weaves its way into the frontal lobe of your brain and sits there as effortlessly as The Temptations would later do with “Papa Was A Rolling Stone.”

But the story didn’t end with the release of the single, Whitfield spent more than a month with the Funk Brothers, along with the Detroit Symphony and backing vocal group The Andantes, just getting the music in order, and trust me, I’ve spent the better part of a life trying to find that record, before Marvin’s vocals were laid down on top of it. Now, there was one more element to fall into place, and that was the vocals Marvin wanted to use, smooth and easy, though with the lushness and warmth of the backing track Whitfield wanted something that would stand in stark juxtaposition to the music, spending days attempting to get Gaye to sing above his range, where an element of raspiness would make the song all it is today, with Gaye speaking directly to the lyrics, filling the song with a relentless haunting pain.

Another aspect easily missed is the definitive emphasis placed on the atmosphere created between the bass and the drums, and how that tribalness delivers a tight balance to the string arrangements. All of this shimmered far too many nights for me, dancing alone in the dark, or tribally with others on the baked red clay dirt of Viet Nam, where everything we heard or thought was about to happen was channeled through the grapevine.

Review by Jenell Kesler