Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide
Encyclopedia
"Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" is the debuting single for singer Marvin Gaye
, released as Tamla 54041
, in May 1961. It was also the first release off Gaye's debut album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye
, in which most of the material was the singer's failed attempt at making an "adult" record compared to Motown's younger R&B sound.
, who had first booked him as a co-lead singer of "Harvey & the Moonglows
", a splinter version of the popular fifties doo-wop group, the Moonglows. Fuqua and Gay met up with several members of the Gordy family, and before long both of them were dating the female Gordy members Gwen and Anna respectively. Around that fall, Marvin was introduced to Motown Records CEO Berry Gordy
after Gaye walked in during a party at the local Hitsville studios and played around on the piano
. Gordy later signed Gay first as a session drummer for Anna Records and eventually signed him into Motown's Tamla label as an artist. After several arguments over the direction of the album - the headstrong Marvin wanted to record a "Frank Sinatra
-styled pop album" while Gordy wanted him to record R&B, the two came to a compromise, while most of Soulful Moods featured covers of jazz songs and Broadway tunes, three of the final songs on the album were produced in an rhythm and blues
mode.
ballad and featured background vocals by The Andantes
. During the song Marvin mixes a smooth tenor
with a few falsetto
whoops.
, Marvin added an "e" to his last name therefore becoming forever known as Marvin Gaye. Despite regional success in Detroit, the song failed to enter either the pop or R&B chart on the national Billboard magazine. Mary Wells
later covered the song for her own debut Motown release, Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance
.
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....
, released as Tamla 54041
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...
, in May 1961. It was also the first release off Gaye's debut album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye
The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye
The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye is Marvin Gaye's 1961 debut album, and the second long-playing album released by Motown. The first was Hi... We're The Miracles . It's most notable as the album that caused the first known struggle of Gaye's turbulent tenure with the label.-History:Between his...
, in which most of the material was the singer's failed attempt at making an "adult" record compared to Motown's younger R&B sound.
Background
In 1960, Marvin Gay, Jr. moved to Detroit with his mentor Harvey FuquaHarvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua, was an African-American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s...
, who had first booked him as a co-lead singer of "Harvey & the Moonglows
The Moonglows
The Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'...
", a splinter version of the popular fifties doo-wop group, the Moonglows. Fuqua and Gay met up with several members of the Gordy family, and before long both of them were dating the female Gordy members Gwen and Anna respectively. Around that fall, Marvin was introduced to Motown Records CEO Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
after Gaye walked in during a party at the local Hitsville studios and played around on the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. Gordy later signed Gay first as a session drummer for Anna Records and eventually signed him into Motown's Tamla label as an artist. After several arguments over the direction of the album - the headstrong Marvin wanted to record a "Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
-styled pop album" while Gordy wanted him to record R&B, the two came to a compromise, while most of Soulful Moods featured covers of jazz songs and Broadway tunes, three of the final songs on the album were produced in an 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...
mode.
Song style
This song was inspired by a Ray CharlesRay Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
ballad and featured background vocals by The Andantes
The Andantes
The Andantes were a prolific female sessions group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
. During the song Marvin mixes a smooth tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
with a few falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
whoops.
Release
Gordy released it with the b-side being the Anna Gordy and Harvey Fuqua-penned "Never Let You Go (Sha-Lu Bop)" in May 1961, a month after Marvin's 22nd birthday. Before its release, however, Marvin sought to begin his solo career with a new name. Inspired by Sam CookeSam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, Marvin added an "e" to his last name therefore becoming forever known as Marvin Gaye. Despite regional success in Detroit, the song failed to enter either the pop or R&B chart on the national Billboard magazine. Mary Wells
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...
later covered the song for her own debut Motown release, Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance
Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance
Bye Bye Baby I Don't Want to Take a Chance is the debut album by Motown recording artist Mary Wells, released on Motown in 1961. The album didn't chart but yielded two hit singles for the teenaged Wells including "Bye Bye Baby", which she issued in late 1960, and a song she had originally written...
.
Credits
- 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 AndantesThe AndantesThe Andantes were a prolific female sessions group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
- 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...
- Written and produced by Berry GordyBerry GordyBerry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...