I Heard It To Through The Grapevine

MARVIN GAYE Recorded His Number One Hit ‘I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE’ This Day In 1967

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Great 7″ singles/sleeves/vinyl

10 April 2023

The late great soul giant MARVIN GAYE recorded I Heard It Through The Grapevine (more than 287 million streams on Spotify) his first Number One in the US on this day
in 1967.

The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. It was first recorded by soul group The Miracles without success. It was Gaye who made it world famous, as we know it.

MARVIN GAYE: Bio – Discography

No 1 Hits This Day In 1967 – 1969 – 1977

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Top singles from the past…

26 March 2021

Band: THE TURTLES (Los Angeles, CA)
Active: 1965–1970, 1983–present

Single: HAPPY TOGETHER
Score: #1 in the US on 26 March 1967 – 54 years ago today

THE TURTLES: Discography

Artist: MARVIN GAYE (Washington DC)
Born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. on April 2, 1939
Passed away on April 1, 1984 (shot by his father)

Single: I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
Score: #1 in the UK on 26 March 1969 – 52 years ago today

MARVIN GAYE: Discography

Band: DURAN DURAN (Birmingham, UK)
Active: 1978–present

Single: IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW?
Score: Their first No 1 in the UK – 26 March 1977 – 44 years ago today

DURAN DURAN: Discography

Punk Misfits THE SLITS Released Their Funky Punky Reggae Debut Album ‘CUT’ 40 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

6 September 2019

40 years ago, on 7 September 1979, all-female DIY punk misfits THE SLITS, led by the late great charismatic Ari-Up (John Lydon‘s stepdaughter) released their wayward, kooky and utterly cool debut album ‘CUT’. A superb anti-arty-farty record made by non-professional musicians. If they had been proper instrumentalists/vocalists this LP wouldn’t have been half as entertaining nor exciting nor gloriously turbulent. Their funky punky reggae havoc sounded as nothing else before and inspired a million girls to pick up a guitar and form a band! The Slits were highly inspiring underground heroines for generations to come.

PITCHFORK wrote: “When the group first formed, they couldn’t play their instruments for shit. The songs on the album offer an amalgam of punk’s abrasive DIY WTF-ness and the spacious relaxed rhythms of dub reggae. This album is a keystone for any and all punk-based grrrl movements. And– though it goes without saying, it’s often said anyway– this album is terribly, terribly important in the history of the rock music and the grand scheme of canonical flippity floo flap.” Score: 9.3/10 – Full review here.

Three Top Tracks‘: Typical Girls / Instant Hit / I Heard To The Grapevine

* TYPICAL GIRLS

* INSTANT HIT

* I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE (cover Marvin Gaye)

Album in full…

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THE SLITS: Fan Facebook – Biography
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R.I.P. Ari-Up

TODAY’S YESTERDAY ALBUM – ‘Cut’ – Punk Reggae Party Debut By… THE SLITS

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Remarkable albums from the past…

‘Cut’
THE SLITS
Released: 7 Sept 1979
Debut longplayer

PITCHFORK wrote: “When the group first formed, they couldn’t play their instruments for shit. The songs on the album offer an amalgam of punk’s abrasive DIY WTF-ness and the spacious relaxed rhythms of dub reggae. This album is a keystone for any and all punk-based grrrl movements. And– though it goes without saying, it’s often said anyway– this album is terribly, terribly important in the history of the rock music and the grand scheme of canonical flippity floo flap.” Score: 9.3/10 – Full review here.

TURN UP THE VOLUME says: “experimental vision, wicked sing-along songs,
turbulent live presence, glorious DIY yourself punk reggae party.”

THREE TOP TRACKS‘: Typical Girls / Instant Hit / I Heard To The Grapevine

* TYPICAL GIRLS

* INSTANT HIT

* I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE (cover Marvin Gaye)

Album in full…

.
THE SLITS: Fan Facebook – Biography
.

DIY icons – R.I.P. Ari Up…

Wayward Punk Legends THE SLITS Gave Motown Hit A Trippy Dimension…

Posted on by JL

Legendary female punks THE SLITS formed in 1976 and after some line-up changes it was clear that the remaining trio of Ari-Up, Viv Albertine and Palmolive had no intention to jump on the punk train. I know, they were part of the same circle of young, noisy brats like Keith Levene, Johnny Rotten Lydon, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones among others and they toured with several big punk bands but they definitely were very different in sound & image than all those noisy boys gangs. They didn’t play fast, loud and furious, but developed their proper DIY sound around hyperkinetic rhythms, stripped to the bone dub reggae and weird funk patterns. If you never heard them check their sparkling 1979 debut LP CUT, featuring Neneh Cherry and produced by reggae virtuoso Dennis Bovell here. And this is what happened when they covered a mega soul hit…

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
Originally written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966.
The 1968 version by Marvin Gaye is the most famous rendition of this fabulous song…

THE SLITS: Biography – Discography