Released: 1968
As the decade wore on it felt like there was a lot less of everything to go round. If Elvis’ suspicious Minds was the story of a relationship destroyed by corrosive doubt, I Heard It Through The Grapevine was the denouement, a confirmation that whatever could have gone wrong had gone wrong.
The song itself was a familiar one to audiences by the time Marvin Gaye released his take; co-written by Motown hit meisters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, it had already been recorded by The Miracles (1966) then Gladys Knight and The Pips (1967) as well as by the singer for his Into The Groove album.
Label supremo Berry Gordy initially deemed Gaye’s version – as he had done The Miracles – not suitable to be a single, until radio exposure forced his hand. It was a song full of drama from the first note, a desultory Rhodes giving way to an on-edge horn section, before Gaye’s raspy, emotion filled voice then went this way and that, anger and regret coursing through every syllable.
Not for the first time Gordy’s intuition proved to be incorrect, as ..Grapevine became the label’s biggest selling release to that point. There was less and less of it to go round as the decade wore on, but there was still enough to make for a mega hit.
The Voice Of Unreason 
This song still gives me chills.
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