"You're All I Need to Get By" is a hit for American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell released on the Tamla label in 1968.
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History
Overview
The Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell original
Written by real-life couple Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, it became one of the few recordings in Motown that was not recorded with the familiar "Motown sound". Instead, "You're All I Need to Get By" had a more soulful and gospel-oriented theme surrounding it that was influenced by the writers sharing vocals in a church choir in New York. The song, recorded first separately by the two singers (reportedly to cut studio time and give time for the wheelchair-riddled Terrell to record while going over surgery to repair the malignant brain tumor that eventually killed her) and then overdubbed by Motown engineers and mixers to make it a Marvin and Tammi duet. Ashford and Simpson also sung background on the song's memorable vamp where they repeated the name of the song in the beginning and during Marvin and Tammi's verses.
Release and reaction
The original recording by Gaye and Terrell peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and number-one on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart for five weeks, becoming one of the longest-running number one R&B hits of 1968, becoming the most successful duet recording of Marvin Gaye's entire career. Given its global appeal, it also reached #19 on the British singles charts in late 1968, staying there for nineteen weeks.
The Method Man and Mary J. Blige version
In 1995, rap artist Method Man teamed up with R&B singer Mary J. Blige to record the song "You're All I Need/I'll Be There", which interpolated samples from the original sung by Blige. Because of the samples, original writers Ashford and Simpson were credited with writing the hip-hop soul-styled song, which went to number three on the pop charts and number one on the R&B singles chart. The version also ended up at winning the duo the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
Other allusions to the song
Both major versions of this song were referenced in "All I Need" by Jay-Z when he says: "And all...I...need is a chick to hold a jimmy like/Meth and Mary, like, Marvin and Tammi"
Credits
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell original
- All lead vocals by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
- Background vocals by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson
- Produced by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Method Man and Mary J. Blige version
- All raps by Method Man
- All vocals by Mary J. Blige
- Produced by RZA