MARVIN GAYE - Got To Give It Up

In 1977, Marvin Gaye originally released Got To Give It Up as a 12-minute long song featured on the final side of his live double-album Marvin Gaye Live At The London Palladium. Gaye wrote the song after giving in to pressure from producer Art Stewart to create dancefloor-friendly music for the increasingly popular discos. Gaye had originally criticized disco music, and vowed to never record it. The song was originally titled Dancing Lady, and it was intended to be a parody song, responding to Johnnie Taylor's Disco Lady. The song's original recording session in 1976 features Frankie Beverly from Maze on percussion, and Gaye's brother and future second wife on background vocals. The song also features various unusual sounds in the background, including the sound of Gaye's friends and family talking to one another to give the feeling of being at a party. The song inspired and influenced Michael Jackson, who was struggling to produce a hit record in 1978. Don't Stop Till You Get Enough and Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground), recorded the same year, both used elements taken from Gaye's Got To Give It Up - including lyric bits, musical structure and vocal chatter in the background.