Musical Analysis of “Let’s Get It On”

Let’s Get It On” is a classic Motown single, endlessly repeatable and always enjoyable. It begins with three great wah-wah notes that herald the arrival of a vintage Fifties melody. But while the song centers around classically simple chord changes, the arrangement centers around a slightly eccentric rhythm pattern that deepens the song’s power while covering it with a contemporary veneer. Above all, it has Marvin Gaye’s best singing at its center, fine background voices on the side, and a long, moody fade-out that challenges you not to play the cut again.

— Jon Landau (1973), music critic for Rolling Stone Magazine 

Video: Let’s Get It On (Audio) – Marvin Gaye (1973)  •  Uploaded by Youtube/Boblet233

In a classic Motown fashion, the musical structure of “Let’s Get It On”  is simple and consists mostly of a four-chord progression in E-flat major (Flory, 2012). However, the use of highly sexual instrumentation, double entendre and Gaye’s sensual vocality, make the song remarkably more carnal than traditional Motown hits. 

The lyrics of “Let’s Get It On” are one side of a libidinous conversation between the narrator and his potential partner, and the musical composition of the song supports the sensual lyrics.  “Let’s Get It On” begins with three wah-wah notes played on an electric guitar, which hint at the song’s stylistic roots in 1950s jazz and soul (Landau, 1973). Because of its use in Isaac Hayes’s Blaxploitation films, like “Shaft,” the wah-wah pedal also functions as a musical allusion to sexual encounters and foreshadows the sexual overtones of the listening experience.

The song’s loose syncopation creates a slow, almost phallic, groove that enhances the sexual tension of the music. The addition of the saxophone mid-way through the first verse (~1:10 min), propels the song and the sexual musical encounter forward, signalling the release of the sexual tension at the beginning of the song. The use of texture in “Let’s Get It On” also propels the lyrical storyline forward. For example, the saxophone is added when Gaye declares, “There’s nothing wrong with me/ Loving you baby.” These lyrics suggest a release of the inhibitions that Gaye has been “tryin’ to hold back” at the beginning of the song.

Interestingly, the demo recording of “Let’s Get It On,” as originally written by Ed Townsend, is completely devoid of the sexual tension of the well-known final release.  Although the musical composition is the same, the changes in the vocal composition of the released single inject  “Let’s Get It On” with a newfound sexual energy (Flory 2012; Jackson 2002). In the next few pages, we will walk you through how Marvin Gaye’s vocal composition of “Let’s Get It On,” changed both the song’s meaning and the ways that other black artists would later represent sexual desire in their music. But first, we must understand Marvin Gaye’s musical style within the wider contexts of the black musical tradition and the 1970s.

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