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Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” Isolated Vocals

Jul 17, 2013

Originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles in 1966, that version was rejected by Motown owner Berry Gordy, who told Whitfield and Strong to make it stronger. After recording the song with Marvin Gaye in 1967, which Gordy also rejected, Whitfield produced a version with Gladys Knight & the Pips, which Gordy agreed to release as a single in September 1967, and which went to number two in the Billboard chart. The Marvin Gaye version was placed on his 1968 album In the Groove, where it gained the attention of radio disc jockeys, and Gordy finally agreed to its release as a single in October 1968, when it went to the top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart for seven weeks from December 1968 to January 1969 and became for a time the biggest hit single on the Motown label.

So, for all of you who have been turned down by a record label, always know even the best didn’t know what they were hearing.

Hindsight, huh?

Queen and David Bowie – ‘Under Pressure’ isolated vocals. Mind. Blown.

May 6, 2013

This week in 1982, Queen released their Hot Space album, containing this massive hit, “Under Pressure.” Fun fact: This was only the second UK #1 hit for Queen. They hit #2 with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Are The Champions,” “Somebody To Love,” and “Killer Queen,” but their only previous #1 in England was “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Brian May recalled to Mojo Magazine October 2008 that “It was hard, because you had four very precocious boys and David, who was precocious enough for all of us. David took over the song lyrically. Looking back, it’s a great song but it should have been mixed differently. Freddie and David had a fierce battle over that.”