Marvin Gaye didn’t issue a studio album in 1967. Instead, Tamla released a compilation, “Greatest Hits Vol. 2”, which contains the best of Gaye’s recordings since 1964, when his first “Greatest Hits” album appeared. The twelve tracks include three Holland, Dozier, Holland songs, plus one written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Freddie Gorman. Five songs come from Smokey Robinson and various members of the Miracles. The other three are the work of Berry Gordy (“Try It Baby”), Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter (“Pretty Little Baby”) and Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol and Marvin Gaye (“Hey Diddle Diddle”). Eleven of the tracks feature backing vocals by the Andantes, while the Spinners sing on “Hey Diddle Diddle”, the Temptations sing on “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”, and the Miracles sing on “I’ll Be Doggone”. It is a good selection that shows how Gaye was developing, as he worked with different songwriters and producers.
The album scraped into the Billboard 200 Albums Chart at number one hundred and seventy-eight, reached number nineteen on the Billboard Soul & R&B Albums Chart and made it to number forty on the UK Albums Chart.
Gaye released only two solo singles during 1967, the first of which was a Holland, Dozier, Holland song entitled “Your Unchanging Love”, taken from the 1966 album “Moods of Marvin Gaye”. It peaked at number thirty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, number seven on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and number fifty-one on the UK Official Pop Singles Chart.
The second single of the year was released by Tamla in December. It is much more interesting. The A-side is “You”, co-written by Ivy Jo Hunter, Jack Goga and Jeffrey Bowen, which takes Gaye into new territory. The lyrics are more complex, explaining why a man wants to keep his meeting with a woman secret because of the difference in social class. She is high status, he is not. The vocal style is also new, demonstrating a rougher edge to Gaye’s voice, which is enhanced by the backing vocals from Gladys Knight & the Pips. The response from the public was not strong, with sales taking the single to number thirty-four on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, number seven on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and number fifty-two on the UK Official Pop Singles Chart. Despite that, this was the way to go. Ivy Jo Hunter’s production with its strong percussion sets a new pattern for Gaye, with powerful rhythms and soaring vocals. This should have been a much bigger hit! The song was to become the opening track on Gaye’s 1968 album “In The Groove”. It marks the way forward, and bigger things were just round the corner, at last!
