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What You Gave Me

1969 song by Ashford & Simpson From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"What You Gave Me" is a hit duet written and produced by Ashford & Simpson and issued as a single originally by the vocal duo of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1969 on the Tamla label.

B-side"How You Gonna Keep It (After You Get It)"
ReleasedNovember 1969
Recorded1968–1969, Hitsville USA
Quick facts from the album Easy, B-side ...
"What You Gave Me"
Single by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
from the album Easy
B-side"How You Gonna Keep It (After You Get It)"
ReleasedNovember 1969
Recorded1968–1969, Hitsville USA
GenreSoul
Length2:38
LabelTamla
SongwriterAshford & Simpson
ProducersAshford & Simpson
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell singles chronology
"Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By"
(1969)
"What You Gave Me"
(1969)
"The Onion Song"
(1970)
Marvin Gaye singles chronology
"That's the Way Love Is"
(1969)
"What You Gave Me"
(1969)
"How Can I Forget/Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got"
(1969)
Tammi Terrell singles chronology
"Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By"
(1969)
"What You Gave Me"
(1969)
"The Onion Song"
(1970)
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Quick facts Single by Diana Ross, from the album Ross ...
"What You Gave Me"
Single by Diana Ross
from the album Ross
Released1978
GenreSoul, Disco
LabelMotown Records
SongwriterAshford & Simpson
ProducerHal Davis
Diana Ross singles chronology
"Lovin', Livin' and Givin'"
(1978)
"What You Gave Me"
(1978)
"Ease On down the Road"
(1978)
Close

Recorded in the final throes of the Gaye-Terrell duet recordings, the song became the second single from their album, Easy. As with much of the album, there is debate over who sang with Gaye: Terrell, who was undergoing treatment for brain cancer, or the track's co-writer and co-producer, Valerie Simpson.

While Gaye later insisted that Simpson stood in for Terrell, Simpson has maintained that Terrell took part in the recordings. Whatever the case, the song gave the duo a modest charting, peaking at number forty-nine pop and number six R&B.[1]

Cash Box described it as a "finely honed vocal collaboration."[2]

Chart history

More information Chart (1969–70), Peak position ...
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Later versions

David Ruffin also recorded the song for his 1969 album Feelin' Good. It was revived years later as a club hit by Diana Ross in 1978. Her version peaked at #86 on the R&B charts.

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