1968 single by Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye
"
You're All I Need to Get By
" is a song recorded by the American
R&B
/
soul
duo
Marvin Gaye
and
Tammi Terrell
and released on
Motown Records
' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "
I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By
" from
Method Man
and
Mary J. Blige
.
Overview
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]
Written by
Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
, it became one of the few Motown recordings of the 1960s that was not recorded with the familiar "
Motown sound
". Instead, "You're All I Need to Get By" had a more soulful and gospel-oriented theme surrounding it, that was influenced by the writers, who also sing background vocals on the recording, sharing vocals in a church choir in New York City. Marvin and Tammi recorded the song at Hitsville. Ashford & Simpson later stated how the session was hard as Terrell was recovering from surgery on the malignant brain tumor that ultimately caused her death less than two years after they recorded the song.
[
citation needed
]
During moments in the recording, Gaye can be heard encouraging Terrell to sing her verses, ad-libbing "come on Tammi" several times. A year later, Gaye was performing this song with
Stax
vocalist
Carla Thomas
at the
Apollo Theater
, when Terrell, who was seated in the front row in her wheelchair, began singing along, prompting Gaye to leave the stage and sing the song with Terrell, who was offered a microphone. It was Terrell's final performance before her death in March 1970. The song was played during Terrell's funeral while Gaye gave a brief, tearful eulogy.
The original recording by Gaye and Terrell peaked at number seven on the
Billboard
Hot 100
and number-one on Billboard's
Hot R&B/Soul Singles
chart for five weeks,
[1]
becoming one of the longest-running number one R&B hits of 1968 and the most successful duet recording of Marvin Gaye's career. It reached #19 on the British singles charts in late 1968, staying there for 19 weeks.
Billboard
described the single as a "driving rhythm follow-up" to the duo's previous hit single "
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing
" which "will hit hard and fast."
[2]
Cash Box
called it a "tremendous ballad with a hearty beat," saying that the "scintillating opening excites listener response with an impending explosion that develops slowly unfolding solid performance."
[3]
Personnel
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]
Charts
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Weekly charts
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]
|
Year-end charts
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Chart (1968)
|
Rank
|
U.S.
Billboard
Hot 100
[10]
|
91
|
U.S.
Cash Box
[11]
|
82
|
|
Certifications
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]
Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams version
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]
Johnny Mathis
and
Deniece Williams
recorded "You're All I Need to Get By" for their 1978 duet album
That's What Friends Are For
. It was the follow-up to their U.S. #1 hit "
Too Much, Too Little, Too Late
".
Their version of "You're All I Need to Get By" peaked at #47 on the
Billboard
Hot 100, #10 on the Hot Soul Singles Chart, #16 on the Adult Contemporary chart,
[13]
and #45 on the UK Singles Chart. It did best on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart, where it reached #5.
[14]
Critical reception
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]
Billboard wrote, "The version here brings fresh spirit to the Ashford & Simpson number within a nicely crafted Jack Gold production."
[15]
Charts
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Chart history
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Weekly charts
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Notable cover versions
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]
- Aretha Franklin
recorded the song as a single in 1971 (Atlantic 45-2787). The song was also included on her compilation album
Aretha's Greatest Hits
, released later the same year. Her version peaked at #19 on the
Billboard
Hot 100
and #3 on the
Hot Soul Singles
chart. It also features in a 2020 holiday advertisement for
Walmart
.
[19]
- Tony Orlando & Dawn
's version became the third to reach the U.S. Top 40, peaking at #34 in 1975. It also reached #13 on the Adult Contemporary chart
[20]
and #55 in
Canada
.
[21]
- Kathy Troccoli
recorded her version on her debut album
Stubborn Love
in 1982. The lyrics had minor changes to make it fit into the
CCM
genre.
- The song was covered in the 2021 film
CODA
, which tells the story of the hearing child of deaf parents who discovers her own singing abilities. The song was performed as a duet by
Emilia Jones
and
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo
several times throughout the film.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Whitburn, Joel
(2004).
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004
. Record Research. p. 225.
- ^
"Spotlight Singles"
(PDF)
.
Billboard
. July 20, 1968. p. 66
. Retrieved
2021-02-22
.
- ^
"CashBox Record Reviews"
(PDF)
.
Cash Box
. July 20, 1968. p. 20
. Retrieved
2022-01-12
.
- ^
"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada"
(PDF)
.
Collectionscanada.gc.ca
. 1968-09-23
. Retrieved
2024-03-12
.
- ^
"Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: Artist Chart History"
.
Official Charts Company
.
- ^
"BRITAIN'S TOP R&B SINGLES"
(PDF)
.
Record Mirror
. October 26, 1968. p. 11
. Retrieved
October 31,
2021
– via worldradiohistory.com.
- ^
"Tammi Terrell Chart History (Hot 100)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
"Tammi Terrell Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)"
.
Billboard
.
- ^
Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 28, 1968
- ^
Musicoutfitters.com
- ^
Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1968
- ^
"British single certifications ? Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell ? You're All I Need to Get By"
.
British Phonographic Industry
. Retrieved
October 27,
2023
.
- ^
Billboard
Adult Contemporary, August 19, 1978
- ^
"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada"
.
Collectionscanada.gc.ca
. 1978-10-07
. Retrieved
2018-02-19
.
- ^
"Top Single Picks".
Billboard
. 1978-07-01. p. 92.
- ^
"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada"
.
Collectionscanada.gc.ca
. 1978-09-02
. Retrieved
2024-06-12
.
- ^
"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada"
.
Collectionscanada.gc.ca
. 1978-10-07
. Retrieved
2018-02-19
.
- ^
Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990
-
ISBN
0-89820-089-X
- ^
"Walmart TV Commercial 'All You Need' Song by Aretha Franklin"
. iSpot.tv
. Retrieved
2020-11-01
.
- ^
"Adult Contemporary Music Chart"
. Billboard. 1975-10-18
. Retrieved
2016-10-02
.
- ^
"RPM Top 100 Singles - October 4, 1975"
(PDF)
.
External links
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Columbia
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