101 # 1 Song of the Day 12-14-12

The 101 number one song of the day took only three weeks to get to the top where it stayed for over 7 weeks which was the longest duration for a Motown song to date.  Plus, the same song had gotten to number two just a fairly short time before.

In fact, a number of insiders were surprised that it was released as a single so soon after Gladys Knight and the Pips took it to the penultimate chart position the previous December.  Interestingly enough, today’s featured artist had recorded his version before Gladys Knight but before that it was recorded by Smokey Robinson.  In fact the song was covered by lots of others as well including the Isley Bros., Elton John, Ike and Tina Turner and Creedence Clearwater Revival to name just a few.  But the version that rose all the way to number one on December 14, 1968 belonged to Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”