Easy (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell album)

Easy is an album recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and released by Motown Records on September 16, 1969 under the Tamla Records label. One song on the album, "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy To Come By", was a hit single and remains popular to this day. Terrell had been ill, suffering from complications caused by a brain tumor, since the fall of 1967. Marvin Gaye later claimed that as a result, most of the female vocals on this album were performed by Valerie Simpson, who served as co-songwriter and co-producer for the LP with her boyfriend and future husband Nickolas Ashford.^[1]

Simpson is quoted in Ludie Montgomery's biography of Terrell, My Sister Tommie, as not having subbed Terrell for vocals. Simpson again explicitly denied having done so in the liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles series.^[2] On a recent documentary on Terrell, Simpson admitted she sang with Gaye during sessions saying, "I sang things with Marvin because Tammi was not available. And, then we would bring Tammi in to go over her parts. Those are Tammi Terrell vocals because we know that we went back in with Tammi and got what we needed."

Gaye at the time criticized Motown for the album thinking they were taking advantage of Terrell's health. Motown assured him proceeds from the album would go to Terrell's family for insurance of her health. At the time the album was released, Terrell was on her seventh operation to cure the brain tumor that would eventually kill her after the eighth operation. The album was released on compact disc in 1992, and again in 2001 as part of The Complete Duets.

Track listing

All songs written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson unless otherwise noted.

Side one

"Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By"
"California Soul"
"Love Woke Me Up This Morning"
"This Poor Heart of Mine"
"I'm Your Puppet" (Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn)
"The Onion Song"

Side two

"What You Gave Me"
"Baby I Need Your Loving" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
"I Can't Believe You Love Me" (Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol)
"How You Gonna Keep It (After You Get It)"
"More, More, More" (Fuqua, Bristol, Clyde Wilson)
"Satisfied Feelin'"

Production notes

All tracks were produced by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson save for "I Can't Believe You Love Me" and "More, More, More".^[1] These two recordings, produced by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, were Terrell solo tracks with Gaye's vocals overdubbed.^[1] On all others, with the exception of "Good Lovin' Ain't Easy To Come By", it has been alleged Terrell does not appear;^[1] according to Gaye, Simpson filled in for Terrell.^[1]

Credits

Lead (and additional background) vocals by Marvin Gaye, Valerie Simpson and Tammi Terrell
Background vocals by The Originals, The Andantes and The Spinners
Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 Chin, Brian (2001). Liner notes for Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: The Complete Duets. New York: Motown Records/UMG Recordings.
↑ The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 9: 1969 (Motown/Hip-O Select, 2008

Ritz, David. Divided Soul: the Life of Marvin Gaye (originally published in 1985; 2003 edition ISBN 0-306-81191-X) (For this book, Gaye told Ritz that Simpson subbed for Terrell on Easy.)
Montgomery, Ludie. My Sister Tommie: the Real Tammi Terrell (2005, ISBN 1-904408-16-8) (In this book, Simpson denies subbing for Terrell.)
Hughes, Keith & Dahl, Bill. The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 9: 1969 (2008) (Simpson again denies subbing for Terrell, except for some early guide vocals; she suggests this is what Marvin later remembered when speaking to Ritz.)

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/I Heard It Through the Grapevine! (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)

Posthumous compilations	Dream of a Lifetime (1985) Romantically Yours (1986) Vulnerable (1997)

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)

Video albums	Greatest Hits Live (Live in Holland 1976) (2000) Live In Montreux 1980 (2003) The Real Thing: In Performance (1964–1981) (2006) Live In Belgium 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 & 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 in memory Songs produced by Marvin Gaye Personal life Death Tributes Harvey Fuqua Tammi Terrell Leon Ware Marvin's Room Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album

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