Take This Heart of Mine explained

Take This Heart of Mine
Type:single
Artist:Marvin Gaye
Album:Moods of Marvin Gaye
Released:May 5, 1966
Recorded:January 4; February 9 and March 24 1966, Hitsville USA
Genre:Pop, soul
Length:2:47
Label:Tamla
Producer:Smokey Robinson
Prev Title:One More Heartache
Prev Year:1966
Next Title:Little Darling (I Need You)
Next Year:1966

"Take This Heart of Mine" is a song written by The Miracles members Warren "Pete" Moore, William "Smokey" Robinson and Marv Tarplin, produced by Robinson and released as a single by American soul singer Marvin Gaye, on Motown Records 'Tamla label in 1966.

Background

Released in succession of three consecutive singles by Gaye helmed by the Miracles team from his Moods of Marvin Gaye album, the song took on a slightly different musical mix than the previous three. A little upbeat from the previous two singles, this song has the narrator describing how his love "is better than the tale of Jack and Jill" and how its prescription fills up better than a doctor's among other things.Billboard said of the song that it was an "exceptional dance beat tune with solid Detroitsound and well-written lyric [and] has more excitement than [Gaye's] previous hit, 'One More Heartache.'"[1] Cash Box described the song as a "rollicking, rhythmic, chorus-backed pop-r&b romantic handclapper."[2]

Personnel

Chart performance

Unlike Marvin Gaye's previous three releases, "Take This Heart of Mine", fell short of reaching the pop top forty peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 but reached number ten on the R&B singles chart making it the fourth consecutive top ten hit on Moods...[3] [4]

Popular culture

In 1966, Marvin sang this song on his only appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Notes and References

  1. News: Billboard. 2021-03-04. May 14, 1966. 18. Spotlight Singles.
  2. CashBox Record Reviews . May 21, 1966 . 18 . 2022-01-12 . Cash Box.
  3. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 6: 1966 [CD liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records
  4. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn

    . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 225.