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TOP 1200 CHOICE TRACKS

#501 SEXUAL HEALING Marvin Gaye
In 1981, Marvin Gaye had finally decided to sever ties with Motown. CBS was keen and paid $2 million to release him from his record contract. Gaye was living in Belgium and biographer David Ritz met with the singer for an interview. While in Gaye's apartment, the writer spotted a book of pornographic drawings. He remarked that they weren't what the  R&B superstar needed; his best remedy would be "sexual healing". 
Gaye loved the term. They had a music track created by Odell Brown that needed lyrics and the 2 got to work on the words. Gaye himself played a variety of instruments on the track: drums, synthesizer, congas, organ, percussion and electric piano; as well as producing the recording. 
Gaye had been absent from the US Top 40 since 1977. "...Healing" heralded his comeback. In 1982, the single peaked at #3 Pop and spent 10 weeks atop the R&B chart. It fared well internationally, reaching #4 in Britain, 1 in Canada and New Zealand, Top 10 in Europe, Australia and Ireland.
Initially, Ritz was not given a songwriting credit for "... Healing". This resulted in litigation in 1983. The following year, Gaye was shot dead by his father - the day before his 45th birthday. His estate settled with Ritz in 1988 and he is now listed among the song's co-writers.

This is a list made up of the songs I enjoy the most, ranked in order of preference: the higher we go, the more I cherish them. Some were released as singles, others as album tracks. Some are obscure; others were worldwide hits or have universal appeal. They aren't always the most famous or popular, but simply a personal choice. I have excluded songs from the last few years in order to get a better idea of a song's lasting impression. I hope you find some new tracks to love, or re-discover some past favourites.
2 new songs are added each day (every 12 hours)  with a mid-week bonus every Wednesday.