45 years ago, Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" was released
Marvin Gaye was still in a pretty good place, personally and professionally, in early 1976 as he was prepping the release of his 14th album, I Want You.
His last couple of albums – 1971's What's Going On and 1973's Let's Get It On – were critical and commercial hits, with the latter LP's title track going all the way to No. 1. In between those two records, he wrote and produced the soundtrack for Trouble Man. A truly solo achievement, Trouble Man served as some sort of consolation after What's Going On's sequel, You're the Man, was shelved because of its political leanings.
Gaye also embarked on a successful tour and recorded the last of his popular duet albums, this one with Diana Ross, around this time. Within two years, it would all come tumbling down, as a messy divorce, drug abuse, another canceled record and dwindling sales piled up. But in 1976, all was still relatively good.
Back in 1970, when he was assembling the songs and ideas that would result in What's Going On, Gaye was leading a new artist-driven campaign at Motown, which slowly and tentatively began to loosen its grip on some in its stable of stars. Gaye – who'd been around from nearly the start of the company, singing on his own hits as well as penning songs for others – wasn't given total control of his music until Trouble Man, but for the most part he was trusted with his vision.
Thing is, Gaye didn't always trust that vision himself. In some ways, that led to You're the Man remaining unreleased at the time [[it finally got an official release in 2019). And when he was putting together music for his next album in 1975, he sought help from producer Leon Ware, a Motown staffer who'd recently scored solo hits for Michael Jackson and the Smokey Robinson-less Miracles. He ended up playing a big part in shaping what eventually became I Want You.
Read More: 45 Years Ago: Marvin Gaye Stirs Up a Storm on 'I Want You' | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/marv...edium=referral
