Ain't That Peculiar
"Ain't That Peculiar" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Marvin Gaye | ||||
from the album Moods of Marvin Gaye | ||||
B-side | "She's Got to Be Real" | |||
Released | September 14, 1965 | |||
Recorded | May 5 & 12, 1965 | |||
Studio | Hitsville, USA, Detroit, Michigan | |||
Genre | Soul, pop, R&B | |||
Length | 2:50 | |||
Label | Tamla | |||
Songwriter(s) | Pete Moore, William "Smokey" Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Marv Tarplin | |||
Producer(s) | Smokey Robinson | |||
Marvin Gaye singles chronology | ||||
|
"Ain't That Peculiar" is a 1965 song recorded by American soul musician Marvin Gaye for the Tamla (Motown) label.
Background
The single was produced by Smokey Robinson, and written by Robinson, and fellow Miracles members Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. "Ain't That Peculiar" features Gaye, with the Andantes on backing vocals, singing about the torment of a painful relationship.
Billboard said that "penetrating hard-drive dance beat backs another soulful, first-rate Gaye performance."[1] Cash Box described it as a "rollicking, rhythmic pop-blues romantic handclapper about a love-struck fella who can't get along without his gal."[2] Record World said that "The Detroit beat gets going in high speed on this marvy Gaye slice."[3]
Chart success
The single was Gaye's second U.S. million seller successfully duplicating its predecessor "I'll Be Doggone", from earlier in 1965 by topping Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart in the fall of 1965, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] It became one of Gaye's signature 1960s recordings, and was his best-known solo hit before 1968's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".
Diamond Reo version
"Ain't That Peculiar" | |
---|---|
Single by Diamond Reo | |
from the album Diamond Reo | |
B-side | "(From Here To) Infinity" |
Released | 1975 |
Recorded | 1974 |
Genre | hard rock, blues rock |
Length | 2:43 |
Label | Big Tree Records |
Songwriter(s) | Pete Moore, William "Smokey" Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Marv Tarplin |
Producer(s) | David Shaffer |
Hard rock band Diamond Reo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania released their version of "Ain't That Peculiar" in early 1975. The single peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 8 of the same year, becoming their only hit.[5] The Diamond Reo version is considered one of the first recordings to use the talk box.[citation needed]
Other versions
- A cover by all-female rock band Fanny on their 1972 album Fanny Hill reached number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6]
- A cover by R&B singer Stevie Woods reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart in 1984.[7]
- A cover by English singer Mari Wilson reached No. 78 on the UK Singles Chart in 1984.[8]
- A cover by New Grass Revival peaked at number 53 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1986.[9]
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye
- Background vocals by the Andantes: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps
- Guitar by Marv Tarplin
- Horn arrangements by Willie Shorter
- Other instrumentation by the Funk Brothers[10]
- Bass by James Jamerson
- Congas by Eddie "Bongo" Brown
- Drums by Uriel Jones[11]
- Guitar by Eddie Willis and Robert White
- Organ by Johnny Griffith
- Piano by Earl Van Dyke
- Tambourine by Jack Ashford
References
- ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. October 2, 1965. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 2, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Record World. October 2, 1965. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 225.
- ^ "Diamond Reo Chart History; Billboard". Billboard.
- ^ "Fanny Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ "Stevie Woods". Billboard.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "MARI WILSON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
- ^ Liner notes. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965, Hip-O Select – B0006775-02, USA, 04 Aug 2006
- ^ "Motown drummer Uriel Jones dies in Michigan". Reuters.com. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- v
- t
- e
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- The Real Thing: In Performance (1964–1981) (2006)
- "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"
- 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
![]() | This 1960s R&B/soul music song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e