Baby Don't You Do It
Encyclopedia
Original version
"Baby Don't You Do It" is a 1964 single by AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
. Released on the Tamla
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
label, this song discusses a man who is at a standstill with his girlfriend, who he feels is neglecting his love stating "don't break my heart/...I've tried to do my best".
Featured on the Holland–Dozier–Holland-written and produced track, for the first time on a Marvin Gaye record, were Motown's top session girl group The Andantes
The Andantes
The Andantes were a prolific female sessions group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
.
In October 1964 Gaye's single would peak at #27 on both the Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
and the Top 100 singles chart in Cashbox, with Cashbox affording the single a #14 peak on its R&B chart (Billboard was not maintaining an R&B chart at this time).
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Marvin GayeMarvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
- Background vocals by The AndantesThe AndantesThe Andantes were a prolific female sessions group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps - Instrumentation by The Funk BrothersThe Funk BrothersThe Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...
Other versions
Both the Small Faces and The WhoThe Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
recorded their own versions of the song.
The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
recorded the song numerous times under the title "Don't Do It"; the different versions, both studio and live, appear on several of their albums and box sets including the 1972 live release Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages (album)
-Side two:-Side three:-Side four:-2001 bonus disc track listing:-Personnel:* Rick Danko - vocal, bass, violin* Levon Helm - vocal, drums, mandolin* Garth Hudson - organ, piano, accordion, tenor saxophone and soprano saxophone solos...
). "Don't Do It" was the first number performed by the Band in their 1976 concert filmThe Last Waltz
The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco...
but was not included on the 1978 soundtrack album; the track was included in the 2002 box set edition of The Last Waltz soundtrack. The version of "Don't Do It" from Rock of Ages was issued as a single reaching #34 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the autumn of 1972; the track was the second - following "Up on Cripple Creek
Up on Cripple Creek
"Up on Cripple Creek" is the fifth song on The Band's eponymous second album, The Band. It was released as a single in November 1969 and reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" and final Top 40 single for the Band.
Nicolette Larson
Nicolette Larson
Nicolette Larson was an American pop singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young, as well as her 1978 cover of Young's "Lotta Love". The song, her debut single, was a Number One Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks hit and #8 pop hit that year...
remade "Baby Don't You Do It" for her 1978 album Nicolette
Nicolette (album)
Nicolette by Nicolette Larson was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1978. It reached #15 on the US pop charts and was certified gold in the US and Canada....
; this version prominently featured vocalist Valerie Carter
Valerie Carter
Valerie Carter to James J and Dorothy Carter, is an American singer-songwriter...
.
"Baby Don't You Do It" has also been performed live numerous times by The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
.
The Who
The Who recorded several version of "Baby Don't You Do It". The first version released was recorded live in San Francisco and released as the b-side to "Join Together". The group had previously played the song in their live performances circa 1964, and a studio recording from that time was later released on the 1998 remastered CD of Odds & Sods.The Who also performed a studio recording of the song on March 16, 1971 at The Record Plant in New York. This version became first available on the 1995 Reissue of Who's Next
Who's Next
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released in August 1971. The album has origins in a rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The ambitious, complex project did not come to fruition at the time and instead, many of the songs written for the project...
and featured Leslie West on lead guitar, but was edited to 5:13. The full version of the song became available on the Who's Next Deluxe Edition.
- During the sixth season of That '70s ShowThat '70s ShowThat '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
when the show's episodes were all named after recordings by The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
the 3 March 2004 broadcast was entitled Baby Don't You Do It.