Song Of The Day 1/5/2016: Marvin Gaye – “You’re What’s Happening in the World Today”
ANYWAY, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was originally an R&B hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips. Gaye's version was recorded in 1967, more than a year before it came out as a single. It was practically an afterthought: When Motown was putting together Gaye's album In the Groove they determined they were a song or two short, so they went through some of the remains in his vaults to put on the release. That's right: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was originally nothing more than what we music types call "filler." But a Chicago DJ started playing it in his sets and it got an extremely positive response, so Motown decided to give it a shot as a single. It was #1 for seven weeks.
And... uh, today's song was on the flip side. This is why I'm not a promo guy.