Diana & Marvin

Diana & Marvin
Studio album by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye
Released	October 26, 1973
Recorded	1972–1973 Motown Recording Studios (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Soul
Length	30:01
Label	Motown M5-124V1 Universal Music
Producer	Hal Davis Berry Gordy Margaret Gordy Bob Gaudio Ashford & Simpson
Diana Ross chronology
Touch Me in the Morning (1973) Diana & Marvin (1973) Last Time I Saw Him (1973)
Marvin Gaye chronology
Let's Get It On (1973) Diana & Marvin (1973) I Want You (1976)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[2]
Q	[3]

Diana & Marvin is a duets album by soul musicians Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, released October 26, 1973 on Motown.^[4] Recording sessions for the album took place in 1972 and 1973 at Motown Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.^[5] Featuring vocal collaborations by Gaye and Ross, widely recognized at the time as two of the top soul and pop performers, respectively. Diana & Marvin became a multi-chart success but it did not equal the sales of the two singers' previous efforts, even though it managed to sell near a million copies worldwide. The album was remastered and re-released on compact disc with four bonus tracks on February 6, 2001.^[6][7]

History

Several of the album's songs, including "Stop, Look, Listen" and "You Are Everything", were cover versions of songs by The Stylistics.^[8] The Ross/Gaye version of "Stop, Look, Listen" would later be sampled in 2002 for both Ja Rule and Ashanti's hit "Mesmerize" and Smilez and Southstar's hit "Tell Me", creating controversy when both songs entered the market at the same time. A year later, singers Michael McDonald and Toni Braxton redid the Ross/Gaye version of "Stop, Look, Listen" for McDonald's second album of Motown covers, titled Motown II. "Stop, Look, Listen" was also included on the Bridget Jones's Diary (film) soundtrack.

Track listing

Side one

1. "You Are Everything" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) – 3:10
2. "Love Twins" (Mel Bolton, Marilyn McLeod) – 3:28
3. "Don't Knock My Love" (Wilson Pickett, Brad Shapiro) – 2:20
4. "You're a Special Part of Me" (Harold Johnson, Andrew Porter, Gregg Wright) – 3:35
5. "Pledging My Love" (Don Robey, Ferdinand Washington) – 3:34

Side two

1. "Just Say, Just Say" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) – 4:10
2. "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) – 2:53
3. "I'm Falling in Love With You" (Margaret Gordy) – 2:42
4. "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" (Gloria Jones, Pam Sawyer) – 2:55
5. "Include Me In Your Life" (Mel Bolton, Marilyn McLeod) – 3:04

Bonus tracks

Bonus cuts featured on the 2001 reissue.

1. "Alone" – 3:49
2. "The Things I Will Not Miss" – 3:10
3. "I've Come to Love You So Much" – 4:10
4. "I'll Keep My Light in My Window" – 4:28

Chart history

Album

Title	Information[9]
Diana & Marvin	US Pop Albums (1973) #26 US Black Albums (1974) #7

Singles

Title	Information[9]
"You're a Special Part of Me"	US Pop Singles #12 US Black Singles #4
"Don't Knock My Love"	US Pop Singles #46 US Black Singles #25
"My Mistake (Was to Love You)"	US Pop Singles #19 US Black Singles #15

Personnel

• Arranged By - David Blumberg (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B4, B5), Gene Page (tracks: B2), James Carmichael (tracks: A4), Paul River (tracks: B1)
• Engineer (Recording, Mixing) - Russ Terrana
• Engineer (Recording) - Art Stewart, Cal Harris
• Producer - Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson (tracks: B1), Berry Gordy (tracks: A4), Hal Davis (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B4, B5), Margaret Gordy (tracks: B3)
• Producer (Assistant & Coordinator) - Suzee Wendy Ikeda
• Producer (Executive) - Berry Gordy
• Producer, Arranged By - Bob Gaudio (tracks: A5), Mark Davis (tracks: B3)
• Vocals – Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Robert Christgau review
3. ^ Q review
4. ^ Discogs.com - Diana & Marvin ('73 US LP)
5. ^ Discogs.com - Diana & Marvin ('73 FR LP)
6. ^ allmusic - Diana & Marvin album page
7. ^ Geocities - Marvin Gaye Album Reviews
8. ^ allmusic - Stop, Look, Listen song page
9. ^ ^{a b} allmusic - Diana & Marvin chart positions

External links

• YouTube: Former Motown employees Russ & Ralph Terrana discuss the making of Diana & Marvin