Song · Marvin Gaye
“Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” by Marvin Gaye
From the album What’s Going On (1971)
“Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” by Marvin Gaye appears on 12 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1971 on the album What’s Going On. Its best result is #192 on The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #7,261 alternative song of all time.
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Marvin Gaye followed the title track of What's Going On with "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", the album's second single in 1971, and turned soul music toward the state of the planet. He wrote it by himself, and it's a lament for the environment sung in layered, multitracked vocals with the Andantes behind him and Gaye himself at the piano. Paul Riser and David Van De Pitte conducted the strings, the Funk Brothers filled in the floor, Bob Babbitt rather than James Jamerson took the bass, and Wild Bill Moore blew the sax solo. That odd, echoing knock underneath is said to be a wood block hit with a rubber mallet and soaked in reverb.
Motown got a second million-seller off the album, a number one on the R&B charts and, in 2002, a Grammy Hall of Fame award.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 927 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 2001 | 1299 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2004 | 424 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) | 885 |
| 2007 | 353 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2009 | 856 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) | 885 |
| 2018 | 398 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2020 | 308 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 437 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2022 | 192 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2023 | 348 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2026 | 369 | KXT | KXT 917 Song Countdown | 917 |
| 2026 | 307 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
Also listed as: Mercy Mercy Me.
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