I Heard It Through the Grapevine

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Written by: Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield
Produced by: Whitfield
Released: Oct. '68 on Tamla
Charts: 15 weeks
Top spot: No. 1

Motown producer Whitfield had a reputation for recording the same song with a number of acts, changing the arrangement each time. This irritated some of the label's artists, but every now and then he would get a golden idea -- as happened with Gaye's 1968 version of "Grapevine," which had been a hit the year before for Gladys Knight. Whitfield and co-writer Strong set the track in a slower, more mysterious tempo, and the song -- which Gaye initially resisted recording -- stayed at the top of the charts for seven weeks and became the best-selling Motown single of the decade.

Appears on: Every Motown Hit (Motown)

Next: Blueberry Hill

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