A Smile for a Saturday (I Heard It Through The Grapevine)
Music is often about melody and harmony being forged by a combination of multiple instruments. Often this includes the human voice. But there is also something powerful about a solo, when all accompaniments are set aside.
We came across a stirring example of this, in an unusual setting. The artist is the incomparable Marvin Gaye, and the song is his hit, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.” Someone was able to isolate his vocal track from a recording, and the result is, well, let’s just say you should take a listen.
It is a mixture of power, grace, and emotion, as well as all the undefinable attributes that are embodied in the human ability to shape words and sounds into a form of expression that pierces the soul. Few were able to do it as well as Gaye. We think this might very well leave you as it left us, smiling and in awe.
Here is Marvin Gaye singing a cappella.
And if you are interested, here is the version of the song with full orchestration.
My god he was a national treasure. He filled my teenage years full of joy and human rights. Both he and Sam Cooke wrote music to change the world. I miss them both.
Unbelievable. It not only gave me chills, the ache in his voice brought me to tears. What a tremendous loss. Thank you for sharing this.
PS I wonder if the same could be found for “What’s Going On”. Sadly, the lyrics have as much meaning today as they did decades ago.