Can I Get a Witness
Encyclopedia
"Can I Get a Witness" is a 1963 hit song by Marvin Gaye
on the Tamla (Motown
) label. Written and produced by Motown songwriting and producing team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was built among gospel
-styled music and heralded Gaye's beginnings in the church with a rhythm and blues
/rock and roll
setting. The song featured Gaye on piano, playing a boogie
pattern, The Funk Brothers
, and members of The Supremes
in the background accompanying Gaye. The song became a hit in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom, and British musicians Lulu
, Dusty Springfield
, The Rolling Stones
, Sam Brown and Steampacket
(which featured a very young Rod Stewart
) recorded cover version
s of the song. Gaye's version peaked at #22 on the Hot 100 chart and its title soon became a catchphrase. Lee Michaels
' 1971 version reached #39 on the Hot 100; both his and Gaye's versions peaked during Christmas week.
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
on the Tamla (Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
) label. Written and produced by Motown songwriting and producing team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was built among gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
-styled music and heralded Gaye's beginnings in the church with a rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
/rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
setting. The song featured Gaye on piano, playing a boogie
Boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
pattern, The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...
, and members of The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
in the background accompanying Gaye. The song became a hit in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom, and British musicians Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
, Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Sam Brown and Steampacket
Steampacket
The Steampacket was a British blues band of the 1960s, notable mainly for the fact that so many of its members already were, or subsequently became, famous as individual musicians. It was, arguably, the UK's first "supergroup".-History:...
(which featured a very young Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
) recorded cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of the song. Gaye's version peaked at #22 on the Hot 100 chart and its title soon became a catchphrase. Lee Michaels
Lee Michaels
Lee Michaels plays the Hammond organ, piano, and guitar , and is best known for his 1971 Top 10 pop hit single, "Do You Know What I Mean."-Career:...
' 1971 version reached #39 on the Hot 100; both his and Gaye's versions peaked during Christmas week.
In popular culture
- Gaye's recording is featured in the 1999 biographical film The HurricaneThe Hurricane (1999 film)The Hurricane is a 1999 biographical film directed by Norman Jewison, and starring Denzel Washington. The script was adapted by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon from the books Lazarus and the Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton and The Sixteenth Round by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.The film...
.
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Marvin GayeMarvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
- Background vocals by The SupremesThe SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
: Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, Florence BallardFlorence BallardFlorence Glenda Ballard Chapman was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown group The Supremes. From 1963 until 1967, Ballard sang on 16 Top 40 hit Supremes' singles, ten of which hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1967, Motown CEO Berry Gordy decided to remove Ballard from...
, and Mary WilsonMary Wilson (singer)Mary Wilson is an American singer, formerlymember of the Motown female singing group The Supremes during the 1960s and 1970s. Wilson was the only singer to be a consistent member of the group in its eighteen-year tenure... - Instrumentation by The Funk BrothersThe Funk BrothersThe Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...