What You Gave Me

"What You Gave Me"

Single by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

from the album Easy

B-side

"How You Gonna Keep It (After You Get It)"

Released

November 1969

Recorded

1969, Hitsville USA

Genre

Soul

Length

2:38

Label

Tamla

Songwriter(s)

Ashford & Simpson

Producer(s)

Ashford & Simpson

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell singles chronology

"That's the Way Love Is"
(1968)

"What You Gave Me"
(1969)

"How Can I Forget/Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got"
(1970)

"What You Gave Me"

Single by Diana Ross

from the album Ross

Released

1978

Genre

Soul, Disco

Label

Motown Records

Songwriter(s)

Ashford & Simpson

Producer(s)

Hal Davis

Diana Ross singles chronology

"Lovin', Livin' and Givin'"
(1978)

"What You Gave Me"
(1978)

"Ease On Down The Road"
(1978)

"What You Gave Me" is a hit duet written and produced by Ashford & Simpson and issued as a single originally by the vocal duo of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1969 on the Tamla label.

Recorded in the final throes of the Gaye-Terrell duet recordings, the song became the second single from their album, Easy. As with much of the album, there is debate over who sang with Gaye: Terrell, who was undergoing treatment for brain cancer, or the track's co-writer and co-producer, Valerie Simpson.

While Gaye later insisted that Simpson stood in for Terrell, Simpson has maintained that Terrell took part in the recordings. Whatever the case, the song gave the duo a modest charting, peaking at number forty-nine pop and number six R&B.^[1]

Cash Box described it as a "finely honed vocal collaboration."^[2]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

Chart (1969-70)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[3]	49
U.S. Billboard R&B	6
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	47

Diana Ross

Chart (1978)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard R&B	86

Year-end charts

Chart (1969)	Rank
U.S. Billboard R&B^[4]	65

Later versions

David Ruffin also recorded the song for his 1969 album Feelin' Good. It was revived years later as a club hit by Diana Ross in 1978. Her version peaked at #86 on the R&B charts.

Credits

All vocals by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell/Valerie Simpson
Produced by Ashford & Simpson
Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

References

^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 225.
^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 22, 1969. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ The Top 100 Soul/R&B Singles

External links

Listen to "What You Gave Me" on YouTube (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)
Listen to "What You Gave Me" on YouTube (Diana Ross)

Marvin Gaye

Studio albums

The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye (1961)
That Stubborn Kinda Fellow (1962)
When I'm Alone I Cry (1964)
Hello Broadway (1964)
How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You (1965)
A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole (1965)
Moods of Marvin Gaye (1966)
In the Groove (1968)
M.P.G. (1969)
That's the Way Love Is (1970)
What's Going On (1971)
Trouble Man (1972)
Let's Get It On (1973)
I Want You (1976)
Here, My Dear (1978)
In Our Lifetime (1981)
Midnight Love (1982)
Dream of a Lifetime (1985)
Romantically Yours (1985)
Vulnerable (1997)
You're the Man (2019)

Duet albums

Together (with Mary Wells, 1964)
Take Two (with Kim Weston, 1966)
United (with Tammi Terrell, 1967)
You're All I Need (with Tammi Terrell, 1968)
Easy (with Tammi Terrell, 1969)
Diana & Marvin (with Diana Ross, 1973)

Live albums

Marvin Gaye Recorded Live on Stage (1963)
Marvin Gaye Live! (1974)
Live at the London Palladium (1977)
Marvin Gaye at the Copa (2005)
What's Going On Live (2019)

Compilation albums

Greatest Hits (1964)
Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1967)
Marvin Gaye and His Girls (1969)
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Greatest Hits (1970)
Super Hits (1970)
Anthology (1974)
Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits (1976)
Motown Remembers Marvin Gaye: Never Before Released Masters (1986)
The Marvin Gaye Collection (1990)
The Norman Whitfield Sessions (1994)
Love Starved Heart: Rare and Unreleased (1994)
The Very Best of Marvin Gaye (1994)
The Master (1961–1984) (1995)
Marvin Gaye: The Love Songs (2000)
The Complete Duets (2001)
The Very Best of Marvin Gaye (2001)

Video releases

The Real Thing: In Performance (1964–1981) (2006)

US/UK top-ten singles

"Pride and Joy"
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)"
"I'll Be Doggone"
"Ain't That Peculiar"
"Your Precious Love"
"If I Could Build My Whole World Around You"
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"
"You're All I Need to Get By"
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
"Too Busy Thinking About My Baby"
"That's the Way Love Is"
"Abraham, Martin and John"
"The Onion Song"
"What's Going On"
"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"
"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)"
"Trouble Man"
"Let's Get It On"
"You Are Everything"
"Got to Give It Up"
"Sexual Healing"

Family

Marvin Gay Sr. (father)
Alberta Gay (mother)
Anna Gordy Gaye (first wife)
Denise Gordy (son's birth mother)
Nona Gaye (daughter)
Frankie Gaye (brother)
Gordon Banks (brother-in-law)

Discography
Songs
Albums
Songs by Marvin Gaye
Albums produced by Marvin Gaye
Songs produced by Marvin Gaye
Personal life
Death
Tributes
Songs in memory
The Marquees
Harvey Fuqua
Tammi Terrell
Leon Ware
Marvin's Room
Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album
Divided Soul
Sexual Healing Tour

Category

v t e Marvin Gaye singles
1960s: (Tamla)	1961 "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" 1962 "Sandman" "Soldier's Plea" "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" "Hitch Hike" 1963 "Pride and Joy" "Can I Get a Witness" 1964 "You're a Wonderful One" "Once Upon a Time" "What's the Matter with You Baby" "Try It Baby" "Baby Don't You Do It" "What Good Am I Without You" "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" 1965 "I'll Be Doggone" "Pretty Little Baby" "Ain't That Peculiar" 1966 "One More Heartache" "Take This Heart of Mine" "Little Darling (I Need You)" "It Takes Two" 1967 "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" "Your Unchanging Love" "Your Precious Love" "You" "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You"/"If This World Were Mine" 1968 "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" "You're All I Need to Get By" "Chained" "Keep On Lovin' Me Honey" "You Ain't Livin' till You're Lovin'" "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" 1969 "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By" "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" "That's the Way Love Is" "Abraham, Martin and John" "What You Gave Me" "How Can I Forget"
1970s: (Tamla)	1970 "Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got" "The Onion Song" "California Soul" "The End of Our Road" 1971 "What's Going On" "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" "Save the Children" 1972 "You're the Man" "Trouble Man" "I Want to Come Home for Christmas" 1973 "Let's Get It On" "You're a Special Part of Me" "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" "Come Get to This" 1974 "You Sure Love to Ball" "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" "Don't Knock My Love" "You Are Everything" "Distant Lover" 1976 "I Want You" "After the Dance" "Since I Had You" 1977 "Got to Give It Up" 1978 "Pops, We Love You (A Tribute to Father)" 1979 "A Funky Space Reincarnation" "Anger" "Ego Tripping Out"
1980s: (Tamla/ Columbia)	1981 "Praise" "Heavy Love Affair" 1982 "Sexual Healing" 1983 "My Love Is Waiting" "'Til Tomorrow" "Joy"
Posthumous	1985 "Sanctified Lady" "It's Madness" "Just Like" 1986 "The World Is Rated X" 1991 "My Last Chance" 1994 "Lucky, Lucky Me" 1995 "This Love Starved Heart Of Mine(It's Killing Me)" 2001 "Music" 2005 "Let's Get It On (The M.P.G. Groove Remix)" 2015 "Where Are We Going"
Category

v t e Diana Ross
Discography Awards and nominations
Studio albums	Diana Ross (1970) Everything Is Everything (1970) Surrender (1971) Touch Me in the Morning (1973) Diana & Marvin (1973) Last Time I Saw Him (1973) Diana Ross (1976) Baby It's Me (1977) Ross (1978) The Boss (1979) Diana (1980) Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981) Silk Electric (1982) Ross (1983) Swept Away (1984) Eaten Alive (1985) Red Hot Rhythm & Blues (1987) Workin' Overtime (1989) The Force Behind the Power (1991) A Very Special Season (1994) Take Me Higher (1995) Every Day Is a New Day (1999) Blue (2006) I Love You (2006) Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz (rec. 1978, rel. 2015) Thank You (2021)
Compilations	Greatest Hits (1972) Diana Ross' Greatest Hits (1976) 20 Golden Greats (1979) To Love Again (1981) All the Great Hits (1981) Forever Diana: Musical Memoirs (1993) One Woman: The Ultimate Collection (1993) Diana Extended: The Remixes (1994) Voice of Love (1996) Love & Life: The Very Best of Diana Ross (2001) The Definitive Collection (2006) The Greatest (2011) Upside Down: The Collection (2012) Supertonic: Mixes (2020)
Live releases	Live at Caesars Palace (1974) An Evening with Diana Ross (1977) Greatest Hits Live (1989) Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings... Jazz and Blues (1993) Christmas in Vienna (1993)
Soundtrack albums	Diana! (1971) Lady Sings the Blues (1972) Mahogany (1975) The Wiz (1978) Endless Love (1981)
Video albums	Live in Central Park (2012) Paris 1968: Broadcast Archives (2013)
Singles	"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" "Remember Me" "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" "Surrender" "I'm Still Waiting" "Good Morning Heartache" "Touch Me in the Morning" "You're a Special Part of Me" "Last Time I Saw Him" "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" "You Are Everything" "Don't Knock My Love" "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" "Love Hangover" "Gettin' Ready for Love" "Your Love Is So Good for Me" "You Got It" "Lovin', Livin' and Givin'" "Ease on Down the Road" "Pops, We Love You (A Tribute to Father)" "What You Gave Me" "The Boss" "It's My House" "Upside Down" "I'm Coming Out" "My Old Piano" "It's My Turn" "Endless Love" "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" "Mirror, Mirror" "Work That Body" "Muscles" "So Close" "Pieces of Ice" "All of You" "Swept Away" "Touch by Touch" "Missing You" "Eaten Alive" "Chain Reaction" "Experience" "Dirty Looks" "If We Hold On Together" "Workin' Overtime" "This House" / "Paradise" "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" "Someday We'll Be Together" "Take Me Higher" "I Will Survive" "Not Over You Yet" "Goin' Back" "I've Got a Crush on You" "Thank You" "If the World Just Danced" "Turn Up the Sunshine"
Featured singles	"A Brand New Day" "We Are the World"
Tours and concerts	Super Bowl XXX halftime show (1996) Return to Love Tour (2000) I Love You Tour (2006–2008) More Today Than Yesterday: The Greatest Hits Tour (2010–2012) In the Name of Love Tour (2013–2017) The Essential Diana Ross: Some Memories Never Fade (2015–2017)
Related topics	The Supremes Rhonda Ross Kendrick (daughter) Tracee Ellis Ross (daughter) Evan Ross (son) Arne Næss Jr. (second husband) Arthur "T-Boy" Ross (brother) Diana Ross Playground Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5
Category