In October 1968, Gaye's recording of " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ", which became Gaye's first to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and also reached the top of the charts in other countries, selling well over a million copies.

Gaye's next studio album, I Want You, followed in 1976 with the title track becoming a top-20 smash.

Gaye's 1976 album, I Want You, was inspired by this relationship.

The Rock & Roll Hall has listed at least three of Gaye's songs in its list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll including " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ", " What's Going On " and " Sexual Healing ".

Three of Gaye's albums are listed on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time including What's Going On (# 6 ), Let's Get It On (# 165 ) and Here, My Dear (# 456 ) while four of his hit singles made it to the magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time including " Sexual Healing " (# 233 ), " Let's Get It On " (# 168 ), " I Heard It Through the Grapevine " (# 81 ) and " What's Going On " (# 4 ).

In 2008, LMC covered Marvin Gaye's " I Heard It Through The Grapevine ".

For example, most Motown records feature two drummers, playing together or overdubbing one another — Marvin Gaye's " I Heard It Through the Grapevine " used three drummers.

* Marvin Gaye's " Come Live with Me Angel " from the album I Want You ( 1975 )

* axial tunes (" A Hard Day's Night ", " Peggy Sue ", Marvin Gaye's " Can I Get A Witness ", and Roy Milton's " Do the Hucklebuck ")

It replaced Marvin Gaye's " I Heard It Through the Grapevine " as the most successful single released on Motown in the U. S., a record it held until the release of Lionel Richie's duet with Diana Ross, " Endless Love " ( 1981 ).

Before, Gaye had modest success with two singles-" Save the Children " ( which was released as a double-A side with Gaye's 1966 recording, " Little Darling ( I Need You )") in 1971 and " Let's Get It On " in 1973 ( which peaked at number 31 on the UK chart ).

He is noted for later having been one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan: his group gave Marvin Gaye's musical career a start, and Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy, distributed the very first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong's " Money ( That's What I Want )", on their record label, Anna Records.

Additional vocals, later added to Gaye's deluxe edition re-issue of I Want You, showcase two different lead vocal takes by Marvin.

In a review for Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye, Erlewine also wrote " A few tracks stand out from the mire, particularly Madonna and Massive Attack's trip-hop re-interpretation of " I Want You "..." Jim Farber of the New York Daily News stated that " has never sounded better than in the cover of Marvin Gaye's " I Want You ".

It became one of Gaye's signature 1960s recordings, and was his best-known solo hit before 1968's " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ".

The song also helped continue Gaye's successful hit streak as the singer would score another Top 40 pop hit at the end of that year with " Can I Get a Witness ".

In terms of chart success, " Too Busy Thinking About My Baby " was Gaye's second biggest hit of the 1960s, after " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ".

Featuring his frenetic funk cover of Marvin Gaye's " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ", the song exploded to number one on the R & B singles chart helping the album sell over a million copies.

A cover version of Marvin Gaye's " I Heard It Through the Grapevine " was not a hit, but was followed by their next album, Aphrodisiac.

These records were among Whitfield's many psychedelic soul productions of the time, and recalled the arrangement of Gaye's # 1 hit " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ".

Rogers also co-wrote The Temptations ' 1965 hit " My Baby ", Mary Wells ' hit, " What Love Has Joined Together ", The Contours ' 1965 hit " First I Look at the Purse ", ( later covered by the J Geils Band ), Marvin Gaye's 1966 Top 40 hit, " One More Heartache " and The Miracles ' own 1964 Top 40 hit, " That's What Love Is Made Of ", and their 1966 hit, " Going to a Go-Go ".

Besides his work in The Miracles, Moore is also notable for having helped Miracles member Smokey Robinson write several hit songs, including The Temptations ' " It's Growing " and " Since I Lost My Baby ", and two of Marvin Gaye's biggest hits, the Top 10 million sellers ," Ain't That Peculiar ", and " I'll Be Doggone ".

When Gaye's album with his version of Grapevine was released in August 1968 radio disc jockeys were playing the song, so Gordy had it released as a single in November when it went to number one.

Whitfield wanted Gordy to release Gaye's " Grapevine " as a single, but Gordy didn't want to release another version after the Pips had already made a hit out of it.

In September 1968, Whitfield added " Grapevine " to Gaye's new album In the Groove.

Gaye's " Grapevine " also held number one on the R & B chart during the same seven weeks, and stayed at number one in the United Kingdom for three weeks starting on March 26, 1969.

Gaye's father eventually quit the House of God in the mid-fifties, after he wasn't named Chief Apostle of the church.

Gladys Knight was not pleased that Gaye's version usurped her own, and claimed that Gaye's version was recorded over an instrumental track Whitfield had prepared for a Pips song, an allegation Gaye denied.

The Gladys Knight & the Pips version was the best-selling Motown single ever to that point, but it was replaced a year later by Gaye's version.

His attorney until his death, Curtis Shaw, said Gaye's Ostend period was " the best thing that ever happened to Marvin ".

Despite this, however, Gaye and Gordy maintained a relationship until Gaye's death in 1984.

Months following his death, Decker told Parade magazine that she had carried Gaye's unborn child and that she lived with Gaye at his parents ' house until, she said, family resentment caused Gaye to move her to an apartment in West Hollywood.

Studio musicians were not credited by Motown until Marvin Gaye's What's Going On in 1971, although Motown released a handful of singles and LPs by Earl Van Dyke.

Other artists such as Maxwell, Nas and Common adapted his early 1970s fashion style of wearing kufis and beanie skull caps and jean outfits which was also later appropriated by Eddie Murphy in his role as James " Thunder " Early in Dreamgirls, while Michael Jackson, who admitted Gaye was an influence on his music and once described his music as " ridiculous " in a good way, in 2001, allegedly was also influenced by Gaye's fashion style in the 1980s adapting the military-styled suits Gaye wore on his final concert tour.

" Dancin ' Machine " sampled The Jackson 5, " Help the Children " ( also the name of an outreach foundation Hammer started ) interpolates Marvin Gaye's " Mercy Mercy Me ( The Ecology )", and " She's Soft and Wet " also sampled Prince's " Soft and Wet ".

" U Can't Touch This " sampled " Super Freak " by Rick James ; " Dancin ' Machine " sampled the Jackson 5 ; " Have You Seen Her " is a semi-cover of The Chi-Lites song ; " Help the Children " interpolates Marvin Gaye's " Mercy Mercy Me ( The Ecology )"; " Pray " and " She's Soft and Wet " sample the Prince songs " When Doves Cry " and " Soft and Wet " respectively.

He had a long and distinguished writing career, initially for New York artists on the Wand / Sceptre labels such as such as Dionne Warwick ( e ) and Tommy Hunt, as well as Gene Pitney before moving to Motown, where he provided songs for Smokey & The Miracles, the Marvelettes, David Ruffin, the Four Tops and Chuck Jackson before hitting the big time with a co-authorship of Marvin Gaye's " What's Goin ' On?

Among its highlights were Michael Jackson's performance of " Billie Jean " ( which contained his first recorded moonwalk ), Linda Ronstadt duetting with Smokey Robinson, a Temptations / Four Tops " battle of the bands ", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of " What's Going On ", a Jackson 5 reunion, and an abbreviated reunion of Diana Ross & the Supremes, who performed their final # 1 hit, " Someday We'll Be Together " from 1969.

Gaye's song became an important influence and motivation for Michael Jackson, who was searching to write a potential hit after The Jacksons had struggled with previous offerings.

Jackson later wrote, with brother Randy, the classic, " Shake Your Body ( Down to the Ground )", taking and altering bits of Gaye's chant, " let's dance, let's shout, get funky what it's all about.

" The song, " Don't Stop ' til You Get Enough ", written solely by Jackson and recorded the same year as " Shake Your Body ", took even more of Gaye's approach with the entire song, using percussive instruments as the basis of the song and a continued funk guitar riff, that was also present on " Got to Give It Up ".