If I Should Die Tonight
Encyclopedia
"If I Should Die Tonight" is a 1973 song written by Ed Townsend
and Marvin Gaye
and recorded by Marvin as a single issued on his Let's Get It On
album as the third track on the album.
Following the title track
and the album single, "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)
", in the song Marvin discusses his mortality, telling his lover that if he should die either that night or later on, he "(wouldn't) die blue/'cause I've known you". The song was later covered as an interlude on Puff Daddy's 1997 album, No Way Out, with Carl Thomas singing parts of the song.
According to producer Townsend, he wrote the song after an encounter with a woman he "admired from afar." The woman convinced Townsend that they could not "build happiness on the misery of others," as they both were in relationships with other people. He told her she was right, and as he prepared to walk away from her for the last time, she asked, "Is that all you have to say?," to which he responded, "No...if i should die tonight, Lord, before my time, i won't die blue 'cause i've know you."
This was one of the first songs Townsend played for Gaye when hired to produce the album, but Gaye turned it down. Gaye was notorious for not being able to sing a song unless the lyrics pertained to him personally, whether he wrote them or not. Accordingly, he explained to Townsend, "I can't sing that song. I've never felt that way about a woman in my life." Subsequently, during the session for the album's title track
, Gaye met his future second wife, Janis Hunter. After a date, Gaye returned to the studio and exclaimed to Townsend, "Ed, get that song out. I can sing that sonovabitch now!"
Ed Townsend
Edward Benjamin 'Ed' Townsend was an American attorney, songwriter, and producer. He was best known for performing his composition, "For Your Love," a rhythm and blues doo wop classic, and as the co-writer of "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye.-Biography:Although he was born in Fayetteville,...
and Marvin Gaye
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....
and recorded by Marvin as a single issued on his Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...
album as the third track on the album.
Following the title track
Let's Get It On (song)
"Let's Get It On" is a song and hit single by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released June 15, 1973 on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. The song was recorded on March 22, 1973 at Hitsville West in Los Angeles, California. The song features romantic and sexual lyricism and funk instrumentation by...
and the album single, "Please Stay (Once You Go Away)
Please Stay (Once You Go Away)
"Please Stay " is a 1973 song written by Ed Townsend and Marvin Gaye and issued on Marvin's 1973 album, Let's Get It On. As a mood piece type of song, it followed the similar musical path of "Let's Get It On" while produced under a shorter time period...
", in the song Marvin discusses his mortality, telling his lover that if he should die either that night or later on, he "(wouldn't) die blue/'cause I've known you". The song was later covered as an interlude on Puff Daddy's 1997 album, No Way Out, with Carl Thomas singing parts of the song.
According to producer Townsend, he wrote the song after an encounter with a woman he "admired from afar." The woman convinced Townsend that they could not "build happiness on the misery of others," as they both were in relationships with other people. He told her she was right, and as he prepared to walk away from her for the last time, she asked, "Is that all you have to say?," to which he responded, "No...if i should die tonight, Lord, before my time, i won't die blue 'cause i've know you."
This was one of the first songs Townsend played for Gaye when hired to produce the album, but Gaye turned it down. Gaye was notorious for not being able to sing a song unless the lyrics pertained to him personally, whether he wrote them or not. Accordingly, he explained to Townsend, "I can't sing that song. I've never felt that way about a woman in my life." Subsequently, during the session for the album's title track
Let's Get It On (song)
"Let's Get It On" is a song and hit single by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released June 15, 1973 on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. The song was recorded on March 22, 1973 at Hitsville West in Los Angeles, California. The song features romantic and sexual lyricism and funk instrumentation by...
, Gaye met his future second wife, Janis Hunter. After a date, Gaye returned to the studio and exclaimed to Townsend, "Ed, get that song out. I can sing that sonovabitch now!"
Personnel
- All 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....
- Instrumentation by assorted Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
musicians - Produced by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend