"Can I Get a Witness" is a song composed by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier as a non-album single for American recording vocalist

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

, who issued the record on

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

's Tamla imprint in September 1963.

Recording

Recorded at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studios on July 17, 1963, the song's lyrical writer Eddie Holland discussed going over the song once with Gaye, who had complained to the producers about singing their songs above his vocal range, something he would later complain about during recording sessions for his rendition of " I Heard It Through the Grapevine". According to Holland, once Gaye heard Holland perform the song to him, he nodded and stated, "okay I'm ready" to a perplexed Holland, who often had to work over the song a few times with other artists who recorded their songs. According to Holland, Gaye recorded the song in one take, which impressed Holland, his brother and Dozier. Holland would later call Gaye "the most versatile vocalist I ever worked with." On the song, backed by a boogie woogie-styled piano riff played by Funk Brothers pianist Earl Van Dyke, Gaye performs the song in a gospel harmony with members of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

and Holland-Dozier-Holland backing him up on background vocals. Gaye performs the song mostly in a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

range but occasionally sings in both the

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") 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 ...

ranges.

Release

Released in September 1963 as the follow-up to Gaye's top ten hit, " Pride and Joy", the song peaked at No. 22 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

on 28 December 1963 and also became one of Gaye's earlier international hit singles, making a buzz in the United Kingdom, primarily among dance clubs in London and northern England (particularly Leeds), and also charted in France where it peaked at number 29 on its chart. At 16 weeks, "Can I Get a Witness" lasted longer than any other Marvin Gaye entry on the Hot 100 during the 1960s. Gaye performed the song live at the '' T.A.M.I. Show'' and lip-synching the song while appearing on the '' Hollywood A Go-Go'' in 1964 and also on the BBC show, ''Ready, Steady, Go!'' in 1965.

Covers and later versions

"Can I Get a Witness" was notably covered by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

on their first album, ''

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

'' in 1964. The Stones also recorded a self-composed instrumental sequel called "Now, I've Got a Witness" on that same album.

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

also recorded a version in 1964 for her second EP ''Dusty'' on

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

recorded a version of the song for his album '' I Was Made to Love Her'', released in 1967. Checkmates, Ltd. released a version of the song as part of a medley on their 1967 debut album, '' Live! At Caesar's Palace''. The Buckinghams recorded a version on their 1968 album "In One Ear and Gone Tomorrow". English singer Sam Brown included the song on her '' Stop!'' album in 1988. Released as a single in 1989, her version peaked at number 15 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, number 17 in Australia, and number nine in New Zealand.

, who appeared as background vocalists on Marvin Gaye's original, later recorded a version in 1966; however their version remained unreleased until 1987.

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

performed the song at

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

Concert on July 13, 1985. Lee Michaels followed up " Do You Know What I Mean" with his version of "Can I Get a Witness", which peaked at number 39 on Christmas Day 1971, eight years to the week after Gaye's version peaked at number 22. His version used organ chords that were similar to his previous hit "Do You Know What I Mean". It was featured on his 1971 album, '' 5th''.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland, often abbreviated as H-D-H, was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the ...

( Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland) and

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

(

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Florence Ballard Florence Glenda Chapman (''née'' Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number- ...

, and Mary Wilson) *Instrumentation by

the Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

Liner notes. ''The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 3: 1963'', Hip-O Select - B0005352-02, USA, 14 Oct 2005 **Baritone saxophone – Eugene Moore **Bass – Clarence Isabel **Drums –

Benny Benjamin William "Benny" Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall o ...

**Guitar – Eddie Willis **Organ – George Fowler **Piano – Johnny Griffith **Tenor saxophone – Hank Cosby **Trombone – Patrick Lanier, Paul Riser **Trumpet – Marcus Belgrave, Russell Conway

References

{{authority control 1963 songs 1963 singles 1971 singles Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Marvin Gaye songs The Supremes songs Checkmates, Ltd. songs Lee Michaels songs Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Tamla Records singles A&M Records singles Northern soul songs