Song · Marvin Gaye
“Let's Get it On” by Marvin Gaye
From the album Let’s Get It On (1973)
“Let's Get it On” by Marvin Gaye appears on 14 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 1973 on the album Let’s Get It On. Its best result is #19 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #264 indie & aaa song of all time and #19 of the '70s.
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"Let's Get It On" is the title track of Marvin Gaye's 1973 album, and it's about as subtle as a hand on your knee. Gaye wrote it with producer Ed Townsend, cut it at Hitsville West in Los Angeles and put it out on Motown's Tamla imprint, and it is soul music at its most openly seductive.
The groove is unhurried and warm, a slow crawl with guitars from David T. Walker and Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson curling around Wilton Felder's bass and Paul Humphrey's drums, while Gaye stacks his own voice into a choir of one. The lyric is romance with the lights down low and nothing left to the imagination. It became the biggest single he ever had at Motown, and it stamped him as a sex symbol.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 20 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2004 | 111 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) | 885 |
| 2007 | 216 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2009 | 401 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) | 885 |
| 2012 | 476 | WYEP | WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown | 500 |
| 2014 | 252 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2018 | 264 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2020 | 745 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 154 | WYEP | WYEP 2021 Labor Day Countdown | 168 |
| 2022 | 19 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2023 | 437 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2023 | 273 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2026 | 399 | KXT | KXT 917 Song Countdown | 917 |
| 2026 | 566 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
Also listed as: Let's Get It On; Lets Get it On.
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