You're a Special Part of Me

1973 single by Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye

"You're a Special Part of Me"

Single by Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye

from the album Diana & Marvin^[1]

B-side

"I'm Falling in Love With You"

Released

September 1973

Recorded

1972

Genre

Soul

Length

3:24 (single version) 3:35 (LP version)

Label

Motown

Songwriter(s)

Harold Johnson
Andrew Porter
Greg Wright

Producer(s)

Berry Gordy

Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye singles chronology

"You're a Special Part of Me"
(1973)

"My Mistake (Was to Love You)"
(1974)

"You're a Special Part of Me" was a successful duet single for soul singers and Motown label mates Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye, released in 1973. The original duet was one of the few originals featured on their famed album, Diana & Marvin, and was among the most successful of the songs the Motown label mates made reaching #4 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and #12 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.^[2]

Record World said that "the combination [of Ross and Gaye] is beautiful.^[3]

Remixes

There are several mixes of this song which have been released: the single mix, the album mix, the Japanese Quadraphonic album mix, and an alternate mix released in 1995 on the "Motown Year By Year: 1973" CD, which clocks in at 4:29.

Personnel

Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross
Background vocals by The Devastating Affair
Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Chart performance

Chart (1973)	Peak position
US Billboard Easy Listening^[4]	43
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)^[5]	4
US Billboard Hot 100^[6]	12

References

^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 226.
^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 22, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 100.
^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.

Diana Ross

Studio albums

Diana Ross (1970)
Everything Is Everything (1970)
Surrender (1971)
Touch Me in the Morning (1973)
Diana & Marvin (1973)
Last Time I Saw Him (1973)
Diana Ross (1976)
Baby It's Me (1977)
Ross (1978)
The Boss (1979)
Diana (1980)
Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981)
Silk Electric (1982)
Ross (1983)
Swept Away (1984)
Eaten Alive (1985)
Red Hot Rhythm & Blues (1987)
Workin' Overtime (1989)
The Force Behind the Power (1991)
A Very Special Season (1994)
Take Me Higher (1995)
Every Day Is a New Day (1999)
Blue (2006)
I Love You (2006)
Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz (rec. 1978, rel. 2015)
Thank You (2021)

Compilations

Greatest Hits (1972)
Diana Ross' Greatest Hits (1976)
20 Golden Greats (1979)
To Love Again (1981)
All the Great Hits (1981)
Forever Diana: Musical Memoirs (1993)
One Woman: The Ultimate Collection (1993)
Diana Extended: The Remixes (1994)
Voice of Love (1996)
Love & Life: The Very Best of Diana Ross (2001)
The Definitive Collection (2006)
The Greatest (2011)
Upside Down: The Collection (2012)
Supertonic: Mixes (2020)

Live releases

Live at Caesars Palace (1974)
An Evening with Diana Ross (1977)
Greatest Hits Live (1989)
Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings... Jazz and Blues (1993)
Christmas in Vienna (1993)

Soundtrack albums

Diana! (1971)
Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
Mahogany (1975)
The Wiz (1978)
Endless Love (1981)

Video albums

Live in Central Park (2012)
Paris 1968: Broadcast Archives (2013)

Singles

"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)"
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
"Remember Me"
"Reach Out (I'll Be There)"
"Surrender"
"I'm Still Waiting"
"Good Morning Heartache"
"Touch Me in the Morning"
"You're a Special Part of Me"
"Last Time I Saw Him"
"My Mistake (Was to Love You)"
"You Are Everything"
"Don't Knock My Love"
"Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)"
"Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)"
"Love Hangover"
"Gettin' Ready for Love"
"Your Love Is So Good for Me"
"You Got It"
"Lovin', Livin' and Givin'"
"Ease on Down the Road"
"Pops, We Love You (A Tribute to Father)"
"What You Gave Me"
"The Boss"
"It's My House"
"Upside Down"
"I'm Coming Out"
"My Old Piano"
"It's My Turn"
"Endless Love"
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love"
"Mirror, Mirror"
"Work That Body"
"Muscles"
"So Close"
"Pieces of Ice"
"All of You"
"Swept Away"
"Touch by Touch"
"Missing You"
"Eaten Alive"
"Chain Reaction"
"Experience"
"Dirty Looks"
"If We Hold on Together"
"Workin' Overtime"
"When You Tell Me That You Love Me"
"Someday We'll Be Together"
"Take Me Higher"
"I Will Survive"
"Not Over You Yet"
"Goin' Back"
"I've Got a Crush on You"
"Thank You"
"If the World Just Danced"
"Turn Up the Sunshine"

Featured singles

"A Brand New Day"
"We Are the World"

Tours and concerts

Super Bowl XXX halftime show (1996)
Return to Love Tour (2000)
I Love You Tour (2006–2008)
More Today Than Yesterday: The Greatest Hits Tour (2010–2012)
In the Name of Love Tour (2013–2017)
The Essential Diana Ross: Some Memories Never Fade (2015–2017)

Related topics

The Supremes
Rhonda Ross Kendrick (daughter)
Tracee Ellis Ross (daughter)
Evan Ross (son)
Arne Næss Jr. (second husband)
Arthur "T-Boy" Ross (brother)
Diana Ross Playground
Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5

Category

v t e 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