Legendary soul singer Marvin Gaye made his first and only appearance on the Ed Sullivan show today (June 19, 1966).
Marvin Gaye appeared on the show and performed his single “Take This Heart of Mine.”
The song was produced by Smokey Robinson, and fellow Miracle members William “Pete” Moore and Marv Tarplin.
Despite the high-profile appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, “Take This Heart of Mine” peaked at #44 on the Billboard hot 100 and #10 on the R&B singles chart.
The song is taken from the album Moods of Marvin Gaye, which produced a total of four top 10 R&B singles.
Surprisingly, Marvin Gaye was very disenfranchised with Motown at the time of the Ed Sullivan appearance.
The singer was tired of the gimmicks that Motown founder Berry Gordy was using for acts like The Supremes and The Temptations, in order for them to reach crossover success.
“Some of the shit was outrageous,” Marvin said in the book “Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye.”
“I think The Temps had to dress up as riverboat gamblers for one of their Copa shows and The Supremes had these top hats and canes,” Gaye griped. “They started taking my picture at plush country clubs, as though I always played golf and sailed yachts. Actually it took me longer – two years longer – to get to the Copa than some of the other acts. That disturbed me, since I been the cat wanting to croon.”
Marvin said that he would complain, miss studio sessions, walk out of meetings and make things generally difficult, but he eventually fell in line with Motown’s vision.
“I’d bitch about us being slaves to the system and stir up all kinds of shit. But finally, like everyone else, I’d fall in line. Somewhere along in here – don’t ask me the date or time – I lost my self-respect.”
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