Take This Heart of Mine

1966 single by Marvin Gaye

"Take This Heart of Mine"

Single by Marvin Gaye

from the album Moods of Marvin Gaye

Released

May 5, 1966

Recorded

January 4; February 9 and March 24 1966, Hitsville USA

Genre

Pop, soul

Length

2:47

Label

Tamla

Songwriter(s)

Warren "Pete" Moore
William "Smokey" Robinson
Marv Tarplin

Producer(s)

Smokey Robinson

Marvin Gaye singles chronology

"One More Heartache"
(1966)

"Take This Heart of Mine"
(1966)

"Little Darling (I Need You)"
(1966)

"Take This Heart of Mine" is a song written by The Miracles members Warren "Pete" Moore, William "Smokey" Robinson and Marv Tarplin, produced by Robinson and released as a single by American soul singer Marvin Gaye, on Motown Records 'Tamla label in 1966.

Background

Released in succession of three consecutive singles by Gaye helmed by the Miracles team from his Moods of Marvin Gaye album, the song took on a slightly different musical mix than the previous three. A little upbeat from the previous two singles, this song has the narrator describing how his love "is better than the tale of Jack and Jill" and how its prescription fills up better than a doctor's among other things. Billboard said of the song that it was an "exceptional dance beat tune with solid Detroit sound and well-written lyric [and] has more excitement than [Gaye's] previous hit, 'One More Heartache.'"^[1] Cash Box described the song as a "rollicking, rhythmic, chorus-backed pop-r&b romantic handclapper."^[2]

Personnel

Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye
Background vocals by The Andantes
Written by Warren "Pete" Moore, William "Smokey" Robinson and Marv Tarplin
Produced by William "Smokey" Robinson
Guitar by Marv Tarplin
Other instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Chart performance

Unlike Marvin Gaye's previous three releases , "Take This Heart of Mine", fell short of reaching the pop top forty peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 but reached number ten on the R&B singles chart making it the fourth consecutive top ten hit on Moods...^[3]^[4]

Popular culture

In 1966, Marvin sang this song on his only appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

References

^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. May 14, 1966. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 21, 1966. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
^ The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 6: 1966 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 225.

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)

Compilations

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)

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)

Video albums

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)

Related
topics

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