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“Disco disco disco disco! On background vocals were Gaye’s wife Jan and brother Frankie. A noteworthy example is Robin Thicke’s 2013 hit song "Blurred Lines," which was accused of copying the sound of Gaye's song.

Naturally graceful, he felt awkward as he barely lifted his arms and feet. It was also a Top 10 single in the U.K., while Live At The London Palladium was the second-highest charting album of Marvin’s career in the U.S., a Top 3 entry during 1977. Some were straight interpretations, including instrumental versions by saxmen David Sanborn and Pharaoh Sanders, while others were built on samples, especially drawing on the rhythmic components of the original.

But Marvin kinda forgot about it.” Stewart was determined, however, and even visited Gaye at home on Christmas Day 1976 with a track for what was to become “Got To Give It Up,” to encourage and inspire the artist to finish it.

And so “Got To Give It Up” was finished, complete with Wilcox’s drums, Marvin himself on keyboards as well as vocals, Motown studio veteran Jack Ashford on tambourine, and guitar parts played by Johnny McGee from hit-making R&B band L.T.D.

Instead, he coolly stood at the bar, greeting friends.” Suddenly, “Got To Give It Up” blasted out of the club’s sound system, “and everybody dragged Marvin to the dance floor.” Ritz continued, “Watching Marvin move, I could feel the pain of his self-consciousness. The second part is an instrumental continuation of the first, something that was unusual for pop songs of the time.

Song Content

Marvin Gaye played multiple instruments in the recording of this song, including keyboards and percussion.

Marvin had performed the sellout U.K. show in early October ’76; Motown had recorded it for release, intending a single LP. Gaye insisted that this was to be a double album – but there wasn’t enough live material from the Palladium concert for that.

Consequently, to fill the fourth side of vinyl, the star worked on a new song with Motown engineer/producer Art Stewart, a colleague for several years.

More unusual was a version sung in Portuguese (and entitled “Fuzuê”) by Sandra de Sa, part of her Motown tribute album, Pare, Olhe, Escute (Stop, Look, Listen) in 2002.

In Divided Soul, David Ritz recalled a night two years after the release of “Got To Give It Up” when he, Gaye and several friends were at a San Francisco disco. But I also had this problem.” That was the result of the record company’s need for new material to fill out the fourth side of a double-album, Live At The London Palladium.

This is due to the lawsuit for copyright infringement filed by Marvin’s family against the creators of “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke’s 2013 smash featuring Pharrell Williams and T.I. One listen makes it clear where the inspiration (if not more) for that 21st century recording came from.

Among those making merriment and noise, he said, was the host of TV’s Soul Train. on his album Ready To Die, both from 2008. It was covered by several artists like Aaliyah and The Bar-Kays.

Accolades

In 2020, "Got to Give It Up" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Personal Struggles

Despite the song's success and upbeat vibe, Gaye was battling several personal challenges during this period, including tax issues and substance abuse.

“I left the mics open to give it a live flavour,” added Stewart. Despite his initial reluctance, the song eventually became one of the biggest hits of his career.

Song Structure

The song is unique in structure. “You can hear Marvin greet Don Cornelius.”

The result was a Number One crossover hit – Gaye’s third to top the Billboard Hot 100 – edited down from the album’s 11 minutes-plus version.

It runs for nearly 12 minutes, split into two parts.