Let's Get It On

Untitled

This article is about the album. For the song, see Let's Get It On (song).

Let's Get It On is a studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973 on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from June 1970 to April 1972 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, Michigan and from February to July of 1973 at Hitsville West in Los Angeles, California. Let's Get It On served as Gaye's first venture into the funk genre and romance-themed music. The album has been noted by music critics for its sexually explicit content, and has been called "one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded."

Following the breakthrough acclaim of his socially-conscious LP What's Going On, the initial success of Let's Get It On and the album's content helped establish Marvin Gaye as a sex icon and presence in the mainstream. With the help of the hit single title track, the album became the most commercially successful album of Gaye's career and for Motown, as it further expanded his creative control during his tenure with the label. The recording sessions for Let's Get It On helped to push Gaye's multi-tracking vocals to the forefront of his music and also influenced modern R&B and soul music production. The sexual balladry and seductive, funky sound present on the album later influenced many contemporary soul musicians and helped pioneer slow jam music, as well as the quiet storm and contemporary R&B genres.

Following its initial reception of general favor from critics, the album has been regarded by many music writers and critics as a landmark recording in R&B and soul music, as Gaye's smooth soul sound on the album marked a change for his record label's previously success with the "Motown Sound" formula, while also helping further funk music's popularity during the 1970s. Let's Get It On has also been ranked at or near the top of many publications' "best album" lists in disparate genres. On September 18, 2001, Let's Get It On was reissued by Motown Records as a two-disc deluxe edition release featuring extensive liner notes and digital remastering. Template:RS500

Conception

Background

I'm not what I seem. But that's okay. Artists thrive on contradiction. The job of the artist is to probe beneath the surface. To see into the meaning of things.

—Marvin Gaye, David Ritz interview

By the spring of 1972, Marvin Gaye was suffering from writer's block. After releasing his most successful album up to that point, 1971's What's Going On, and the moderate success of the soundtrack album to the 1972 film Trouble Man, Gaye had struggled to come up with new material after Motown Records had renegotiated a new contract with Gaye, which allowed him more creative control over his recordings. The newly-bestowed deal was worth $ 1 million, making him the highest-earning soul artist, as well as the highest-earning black artist, in music history, to that point. Gaye had also been caught in a dilemma of whether to relocate to Los Angeles, California, following Motown-CEO Berry Gordy's decision to move the entire label and replace the Detroit-based recording studio Hitsville U.S.A., also known as Motown Studio A, with the Hitsville West studio in Los Angeles. Along with relocation and lack of material, Gaye had struggled with his conscience and psyche, as he was dealing with expectations from his wife, also Gordy's sister, Anna, their separation, and his faith in his father and in God, as he was raised Christian. During this time, he had also been attempting to cope with past issues that had stemmed from his childhood.

File:Marvin relaxin.jpg

Marvin Gaye at Hitsville, 1971

As a child, Gaye had been physically abused by his preacher father Marvin Gay, Sr., who had disciplined Gaye under very moralistic and fundamentalist Christian teachings. As a result, the meaning and practice of sex had later become a disturbing question for Gaye. As an adult, he suffered with sexual impotence and became plagued by sado-masochistic fantasies, which haunted his dreams and provoked some guilt in his conscience. Of Gaye's outlook on the matter, author and Marvin Gaye-biographer David Ritz later wrote, "his view of sex was unsettled, tormented, riddled with pain." Despite his troubling past, Gaye learned to cope with his personal issues after discovering a newly-found spirituality. Gaye began incorporating this new outlook in his music, as initially heard on his socially-conscious opus What's Going On, as well as his public image, as shown by promotional photos of Gaye during this period, which featured him wearing a kufi in honor of African traditional religions and his faith.

Recording

By winning over record executives with the success of his previous studio album, Gaye had also achieved artistic freedom, which he would use, following his brief separation from wife Anna Gordy, to record a studio album that was meant, according to Gaye's intentions, to surface themes beyond sex. As with What's Going On, the album was also intended to have a deeper meaning than the general theme that was used to portray it; in the case of the former, politics, and with its follow-up effort, love and romance, which would be used by Gaye as a metaphor for God's love. In his book Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, David Ritz wrote of Gaye and the musical inspiration behind Gaye's second landmark record:

If the most profound soul songs are prayers in secular dress, Marvin's prayer is to reconcile the ecstasy of his early religious epiphany with a sexual epiphany. The hope for such a reconciliation, the search for sexual healing, is what drives his art ... The paradox is this: The sexist of Marvin Gaye's work is also his most spiritual. That's the paradox of Marvin himself. In his struggle to wed body and soul, in his exploration of sexual passion, he expresses the most human of hungers—the hunger for God. In those songs of loss and lament—the sense of separation is heartbreaking. On one level, the separation is between man and woman. On a deeper level, the separation is between man and God.

— David Ritz

Gaye proceeded to record some more politically-conscious material at the Golden World Records studio, known as Motown's Studio B, as well as the preliminary vocals and instrumentation for some of the material to be featured on Let's Get It On. Following the earlier sessions in Detroit at Golden World, Gaye recorded at Hitsville West in Los Angeles from February to July of 1973. Accompanied by an experienced group of session musicians called The Funk Brothers, who had contributed to Gaye's What's Going On, and received their first official credit, Gaye recorded the unreleased songs "The World is Rated X" and "Where Are We Going" and the 1972 single "You're the Man" at Golden World. "Where Are We Going" was later covered by trumpeter Donald Byrd. Gaye had planned the release of an album titled You're the Man, but it was later shelved for unknown reasons. The songs that were to be included on You're the Man, along with other unreleased recordings from Hitsville West and Golden World, were later featured on the 2001 re-release of Let's Get It On. Following a brief discussion with friend and former Motown singer/songwriter Ed Townsend of "For Your Love" fame, Gaye agreed to record the rough draft of a song the two had worked on together, entitled "Let's Get It On". Townsend assisted Gaye with production for his next studio album, which was set to be titled after the song.

Music

File:Gaye on piano.jpg

Gaye in studio, 1972

Originally, the opening song and title track on Let's Get It On was written as a religious ode to life, but was later re-written as a more political first draft of the song by Motown songwriter, producer and singer Kenneth Stover. Upon hearing Gaye's preliminary mix of the political version of "Let's Get It On", Townsend protested and claimed that the song would sound and fare better with sexual and romantic overtones. In his words, he thought the song "should be about making sweet love." Gaye and Townsend then rewrote the song's lyrics together with the original arrangements and musical accompaniment of the demo intact. The well-known single version of "Let's Get It On" was inspired by teenager Janis Hunter, whom Gaye had become infatuated with, following their introduction to each other by Ed Townsend during the initial sessions. Gaye's intimate relationship with Hunter would become the basis for his next studio album, 1976's erotic I Want You.

The single version of "Let's Get It On" featured soulful and emotional vocalizing and performing by Gaye with multi-tracked background singing, also provided by Gaye, accompanied by the song's signature, and most notable feature, the funky guitar instrumentation by studio session player Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin. Music journalist Jon Landau later called the song "a classic Motown single, endlessly repeatable and always enjoyable." In a 1973 article on Let's Get It On for Rolling Stone magazine, Landau continued to elaborate on the song's notable style and sound, as he wrote:

It begins with three great wah-wah notes that herald the arrival of a vintage Fifties melody. But while the song centers around classically simple chord changes, the arrangement centers around a slightly eccentric rhythm pattern that deepens the song's power while covering it with a contemporary veneer. Above all, it has Marvin Gaye's best singing at its center, fine background voices on the side, and a long, moody fade-out...

— Jon Landau

The song was reprised on the fourth track of the album, "Keep Gettin' It On", which was a sequel and continuation of the original. The recording of the title track also inspired Gaye to revive previous recordings from his 1970 sessions at the Hitsville U.S.A. Studio, which he had yet to finish. The tracks from the earlier Detroit sessions included the doo-wop-leaning "Come Get to This", "Distant Lover" and "Just to Keep You Satisfied". "Distant Lover" featured Gaye crooning over serene instrumentation, which lead to a passionate wailing and soulful screams near the end. The song's lyrics chronicled the yearning its narrator feels for a lover who is "so many miles away", as he pleads for her return and laments the emptiness he feels without her. Music writer Donarld A. Guarisco later wrote of the song:

Marvin Gaye's studio recording enhances the dreamy style of the song with stately horn and strings, tumbling drum fills that gently nudge the song along, and mellow, doo wop-styled background vocals that echo "love her, you love her" under his romantic pleas. Gaye fulfills the song's promise with a rich vocal that builds from a heartbroken croon to an impassioned wail.

— Donald A. Guarisco

The song later became a concert favorite for Gaye and a live version, featuring female fans screaming in the background, was released as a single off of his 1974 Live! album. Gaye and Townsend worked on four songs together, including the ballad "If I Should Die Tonight", while Gaye composed the majority of the remaining four songs, re-examining older songs. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" was originally recorded by at least three Motown groups, including The Miracles, The Originals and The Monitors, and had been originally recorded as a song dedicated to long-standing love. By the time Gaye recorded his own version, he had re-written the lyrics and arrangement of the song to talk about the demise of his volatile marriage to Anna Gordy Gaye, who was, ironically, the original song's co-writer. "You Sure Love to Ball", recorded at Hitsville West, was one Gaye's most sexually overt and controversial singles, as its intro and outro features moaning sounds made by a man and woman engaged in sex.

The sexual and risqué nature of the album and the themes of love and lust that were presented in Gaye's lyrics were, at the time, controversial, and the recording of such an album was deemed as a commercial risk by Motown A&Rs and executives. In the original LP liner notes, Marvin Gaye explained his views on the themes of Let's Get It On and his philosophy on sex and love:

I can't see anything wrong with sex between consenting anybodies. I think we make far too much of it... I contend that SEX IS SEX and LOVE IS LOVE. When combined, they work well together, if two people are of about the same mind. But they are really two discrete needs and should be treated as such. Time and space will not permit me to expound further, especially in the area of the psyche... I don't believe in overly moralistic philosophies. Have your sex, it can be exciting, if you're lucky. I hope the music that I present here makes you lucky.

— Marvin Gaye

Background vocals for the album were by Gaye with the exception of "Just to Keep You Satisfied", which were done by The Originals, and featured a doo-wop vocalizing style. Most of the instrumentation for Let's Get It On was done by members of The Funk Brothers, including influential bassist James Jamerson, guitarists Robert White and Eddie Willis, and percussionist Eddie "Bongo" Brown. Gaye also contributed on piano during the recording sessions.

Reception

Commercial

File:Marvin Gaye in Studio.jpg

Promotional photo of Gaye, 1973

Released on August 28, 1973, Let's Get It On surpassed Gaye's previous studio effort, What's Going On, as the best-selling record of his tenure with Motown Records. The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, charting for sixty-one weeks, while also remaining at the top of the Soul Albums chart for eleven weeks, making it the best-selling R&B or soul album of 1973. The single, "Let's Get It On", was at that time Motown's largest-selling recording ever, selling over three million copies between 1973 and 1975. The single has gone on to sell over 1 million copies and, on June 25, 2007, was certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Two of the album's singles reached the top forty of the Billboard Pop Singles chart, including "Let's Get It On", which became Gaye's second number-one pop single, and the top thirty hit single "Come Get to This", which peaked at #23 on the chart. The third single off of the album, "You Sure Love to Ball", was a more modest charting hit, peaking at #50 on the Pop Singles chart, while entering at #13 on the R&B Singles chart. Along with the album's music and sexual content, Let's Get It On's commercial success, as well as its promotion of Gaye, helped establish Marvin Gaye as a sex icon, while helping further expand his artistic control during his tenure at Motown. The album's success lead to a much publicized concert tour for Gaye to expand on promoting Let's Get It On and on his repertoire as a live performer.

Critical

Let's Get It On received generally favorable reviews from music publications and critics, earning praise for Gaye's sexual innuendo and energy in his lyricism. The record's seductive sound and groove were praised as well. Music writer Rob Bowman cited Let's Get It On as "one of the most erotic recordings known to mankind." Upon initial release, a Billboard magazine reviewer cited the album as "fine in terms of vocal attack and material ... touches on the excellent in terms of instrumental support", while citing the title track and "Distant Lover" as the album's best recordings. Music writer Lindsey Planer called Let's Get It On a "hedonistic R&B masterpiece." Following initial reception and criticism, Let's Get It On has maintained a reputation of a milestone in soul music among critics, while affirming Gaye's influence over later R&B styles and artists. In a review of the album for Allmusic.com, contributer Jason Ankeny later wrote of the record in retrospect:

Gaye turned to more intimate matters with Let's Get It On, a record unparalleled in its sheer sensuality and carnal energy. Always a sexually charged performer, Gaye's passions reach their boiling point... With each performance laced with innuendo, each lyric a come-on, and each rhythm throbbing with lust, perhaps no other record has ever achieved the kind of sheer erotic force of Let's Get It On, and it remains the blueprint for all of the slow jams to follow decades later — much copied, but never imitated.

— Jason Ankeny

Let's Get It On was later ranked #58 on The Times's 1993 publication of the 100 Best Albums of All Time. Blender magazine ranked the album #15 on their list of the 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time. In 2004, Let's Get It On was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and cited by The Recording Academy as a recording of "historical significance". In 2003, the album was ranked #165 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time publication, his second highest entry on the list. It is one of three Marvin Gaye albums to be included on the list, along with What's Going On (#6) and Here, My Dear (#462).

Influence

File:Gaye live1974.jpg

Gaye performing in Oakland, 1974

The music atmosphere of the 1970s was heavily influenced by the record's success and its sexual content. The sexual-explicitness of Let's Get It On bended lyrical and content barriers in the music industry and lead to further use of sexual and love themed music. Let's Get It On sparked a series of sensual concept albums released by such artists as Barry White (1974's Can't Get Enough), Smokey Robinson (1975's A Quiet Storm) and Earth, Wind & Fire (1975's That's the Way of the World), which were preceded by Gaye's successful promoting tour of the album. Gaye's successful concert performances of the album's material helped him gain an increasing popularity and fan base in the pop market, while earning him a reputation as one of the top live performers of the time.

Following the success of funk records such as Sly & the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On and James Brown's late 1960s and early 1970s singles, Gaye's Let's Get It On furthered the funk genre's reach and influence in the music industry and the mainstream. Several other musicians such as Prince, D'Angelo and R. Kelly were greatly influenced by the album's sound and seductive themes, incorporating much of Gaye's musical style in their music and releasing successful singles. Of these musicians' work, song's such as 1987's "Adore", 2000's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" and 1994's "Bump n' Grind" show and reflect on the sound of Let's Get It On and Gaye's melismatic, smooth soul style

Because of the album's initial commercial success, Let's Get It On marked a change in sound for the Motown label, which had previously enjoyed success with its trademark "Motown Sound". The label's well-known was beginning to lose popularity among R&B fans and was facing pressure from contemporary styles that incorporated more diverse elements, such as Philly soul and funk. The Motown sound was typified by characteristics such as the use of tambourines to accent the back beat, prominent and often melodic electric bass guitar lines, distinctive melodic and chord structures, and a call and response singing style that originated in gospel music. In addition, pop production techniques were simpler than that of Gaye's 1970s concept albums. Complex arrangements and elaborate, melismatic vocal riffs were avoided by Motown musicians. Following Gaye's breakthrough with What's Going On, he used his artistic control to modify the sound and incorporate funky instrumentation, melismatic vocalization, and heavy vocal multi-tracking.

In contrast to Motown's previously successful process of emphasizing an artist's single releases rather than album, Gaye and fellow producer Ed Townsend followed a similar formula previously used on What's Going On, in which the album's songs flow together in a suite-form arrangement. The change of musical style by Gaye became contemporary and popular at the time, before the disco era. Motown artists such as Lionel Richie and Rick James would be influenced by much of the elements of Gaye's conceptual recording style for their work in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The slow jam sound and modern soul music was greatly influenced by the album's use of vocal multi-tracking and production. Renowned recording engineer Russell Elevado's work in the neo soul genre, including his techniques on D'Angelo's Voodoo album and Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun, has been influenced by this vintage production style. Gaye himself would have similar success with his follow-up release, 1976's I Want You, which featured more sexually explicit material as well as a furthered use of multi-tracking vocals, and 1978's Here, My Dear, which Gaye based entirely on his tumultuous marriage to Anna Gordy.

Track listing

Original LP

All songs written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend, except where noted. Side one produced by Gaye and Townsend, side two by Gaye.

Side one

1. "Let's Get It On" – 4:44
2. "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)" – 3:32
3. "If I Should Die Tonight" – 3:57
4. "Keep Gettin' It On" – 3:12

Side two

1. "Come Get to This" (Gaye) – 2:40
2. "Distant Lover" (Gaye, G. Gordy, Greene) – 4:15
3. "You Sure Love to Ball" (Gaye) – 4:43
4. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, E. Stover) – 4:35

Deluxe edition

On September 18, 2001, Let's Get It On was reissued by Motown as a two-disc deluxe edition release, featuring 24-bit digital remastering of the original album's recordings, previously unissued material and a 24-page booklet which contains the original LP liner notes by Marvin Gaye, as well as essays from Gaye biographers David Ritz and Ben Edmunds.

Disc one

1. "Let's Get It On" (Gaye, Townsend) – 4:51
2. "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)" (Gaye, Townsend) – 3:27
3. "If I Should Die Tonight" (Gaye, Townsend) – 4:01
4. "Keep Getting' It On" (Gaye, Townsend) – 3:13
5. "Come Get to This" (Gaye) – 2:41
6. "Distant Lover" (Gaye, G. Gordy, Greene) – 4:17
7. "You Sure Love to Ball" (Gaye) – 4:46
8. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, Stover) – 4:27
9. "Song #3" (instrumental) (DePitte, Gaye) – 5:28
10. "My Love Is Growing" (Gaye) – 4:20
11. "Cakes" (DePitte, Gaye) – 3:14
12. "Symphony" (undubbed version) (Gaye, Robinson) – 2:51
13. "I'd Give My Life for You" (alternate mix) (Gaye) – 3:29
14. "I Love You Secretly" (The Miracles version) (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, E. Stover) – 4:18
15. "You're the Man" (alternate version 1) (K. Stover, Gaye) – 7:24
16. "You're the Man" (alternate version 2) (K. Stover, Gaye) – 4:44
17. "Symphony" (demo vocal) (Gaye, Robinson) – 2:48

Disc two

1. "Let's Get It On" (demo) (Gaye, Townsend) – 5:12
2. "Let's Get It On, Pt. 2" (aka "Keep Gettin' It On") (Gaye, Townsend) – 3:13
3. "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)" (alternate mix) (Gaye, Townsend) – 3:52
4. "If I Should Die Tonight" (demo) (Gaye, Townsend) – 4:13
5. "Come Get to This" (alternate mix) (Gaye) – 3:07
6. "Distant Lover" (alternate mix) (G. Fuqua, Gaye, Greene) – 4:32
7. "You Sure Love to Ball" (alternate mix w/alternate vocal) (Gaye) – 5:06
8. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (a capella w/alternate vocal) (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, Stover) – 4:38
9. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (The Originals 1970 version) (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, Stover) – 4:00
10. "Just to Keep You Satisfied" (The Monitors 1968 version) (Gaye, Gordy-Gaye, Stover) – 3:10
11. "Where Are We Going?" (alternate mix) (Gordon, Mizell) – 3:56
12. "The World Is Rated X" (alternate mix) (Bolton, Bolton, Gordy, McLeod) – 3:52
13. "I'm Gonna Give You Respect" (Hutch) – 2:56
14. "Try It, You'll Like It" (Hutch, Wakefield) – 3:57
15. "You Are That Special One" (Hutch) – 3:38
16. "We Can Make It Baby" (Hutch) – 3:22
17. "Running from Love" (instrumental version 1) (Bohannon, Gaye, Henderson) – 3:47
18. "Mandota" (Bohannon, Gaye) – 3:26
19. "Running from Love" (instrumental version 2) (Bohannon, Gaye, Henderson) – 3:54
20. "Come Get to This" (live from Oakland) (Gaye) – 3:00

Chart history

Album

Title	Information
Let's Get It On	US Pop Albums (1973) #2 US Soul Albums #1 (11 weeks) US Pop Albums (1984) #127

Singles

Title	Information
"Let's Get It On"	Tamla single 54234, June 15, 1973 B-side: "I Wish It Would Rain" US Pop Singles #1 (2 weeks) US Soul Singles #1 (8 weeks)
"Come Get to This"	Tamla single 54241, October 11, 1973 B-side: "Distant Lover" US Pop Singles #21 US Soul Singles #3
"You Sure Love to Ball"	Tamla single 54244, January 2, 1974 B-side: "Just to Keep You Satisfied" US Pop Singles #50 US Soul Singles #13

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Let's Get It On is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Amazon.com	United States	The 10 Best Albums by Decade	1999	5
Bill Shapiro	U.S.	The Top 100 Rock Compact Discs	1991	*
Blender	U.S.	The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time	2002	15
Dave Marsh & Kevin Stein	U.S.	The 40 Best of Album Chartmakers by Year	1981	6
Elvis Costello (Vanity Fair, Issue No. 483)	U.S.	500 Albums You Need	2005	*
Infoplease.com	U.S.	Must-Have Recordings	1998	*
Jimmy Guterman	U.S.	The 100 Best Rock and Roll Records of All Time	1992	27
Kitsap Sun	U.S.	Top 200 Albums of the Last 40 Years	2005	67
Paul Gambaccini	U.S.	The World Critics Best Albums of All Time	1987	84
Robert Dimery	U.S.	1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die	2005	*
Rolling Stone (Steve Pond)	U.S.	Steve Pond's 50 (+27) Essential Albums of the 70s	1990	39
Rolling Stone	U.S.	The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time	2003	165
The Recording Academy	U.S.	Grammy Hall of Fame Albums and Songs	2004	*
Vibe	U.S.	51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement	2004	*
Hot Press	Ireland	The 100 Best Albums of All Time	1989	32
Mojo	United Kingdom	Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide	2001	*
New Musical Express	U.K.	All Times Top 100 Albums	1985	46
New Musical Express	U.K.	All Times Top 100 Albums + Top 50 by Decade	1993	145
Sounds	U.K.	The 100 Best Albums of All Time	1986	24
The New Nation	U.K.	Top 100 Albums by Black Artists	2005	27
The Times	U.K.	The 100 Best Albums of All Time	1993	58
Time Out	U.K.	The 100 Best Albums of All Time	1989	3
The Wire	U.K.	The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made	1992	*
Adresseavisen	Norway	The 100 (+23) Best Albums of All Time	1995	101
Pop	Sweden	The World's 100 Best Albums + 300 Complements	1994	101
VPRO	Netherlands	299 Nominations of the Best Album of All Time	2006	*
Spex	Germany	The 100 Albums of the Century	1999	93
Rock de Lux	Spain	The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s	1988	39
Rock de Lux	Spain	The 200 Best Albums of All Time	2002	53

(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Personnel

• Arrangement, Conduction (Orchestra): David Van DePitte (tracks: B1 to B4), Gene Page (tracks: B1), Rene Hall (tracks: A4)
• Bass: James Jamerson, Welton Felder
• Bongos: Bobby Hall Porter
• Bongos, Drums: Eddie "Bongo" Brown
• Drums: Paul Humphries, Uriel Jones
• Engineer: William McKeekin, Art Stewart, Steve Smith, Lawrence Miles, Cal Harris
• Guitar: David T. Walker, Eddie Willis, Lewis Shelton, Melvin Ragin, Robert White
• Percussion (Mallettes): Emil Richards
• Percussion (Special Treatment): Bobby Hall Porter, Ernie Watts, Plas Johnson
• Piano: Joe Sample, Marvin Gaye, Marvin Jerkins
• Photography: Jim Britt, Motown Archives
• Production, Lead vocals, Background vocals: Marvin Gaye, except where noted:
  • Background vocals: The Originals ("Just to Keep You Satisfied")
  • Co-production: Ed Townsend (tracks: A1 to A4)
• Vibraphone: Emil Richards, Victor Feldman

References

• David Ritz (1991). Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-30680-443-3.
• David Ritz, Ed Townsend, Ben Edmonds, Harry Weinger (2001). Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (Deluxe edition liner notes). excerpted quotes by Marvin Gaye. Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. MOTD 4757. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Nick Johnstone (1999). Melody Maker History of 20th Century Popular Music. Bloomsbury, London, UK. ISBN 0747541906.
• Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-74320-169-8.

External links

• Let's Get It On (Deluxe Edition) album page at Allmusic.com
• Album lyrics and audio samples at MTV.com