Can I Get a Witness
Marvin Gaye | Artist Essentials
First released: 1963 (year verified)
Original 1963 studio recording
MusicAtlas editorial note: The sharply accented piano and answering voices push the vocal toward a shouted release.
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Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1963 (year verified)
The original recording is documented in the 1963 release history of Can I Get a Witness. Only year precision is assigned; later singles, charts, remasters and live versions do not establish its first release.
Recording: Original 1963 studio recording
Credit: Marvin Gaye
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original single: Can I Get a Witness
UMG - Marvin Gaye original recording overview
The label overview explicitly identifies How Sweet It Is as a late-1964 release and Can I Get a Witness with 1963. It supplies musical context across the original Motown and later solo repertoire; chart years and later compilations are not adopted as first-release dates. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
In the yearly lists
This selected recording is beyond the current yearly lists.
Other catalog appearances
About Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye was a singer and drummer whose Motown recordings moved from compact dance singles to extended soul and funk settings. His early lead vocals combine a rough edge with precise phrasing, while the duets with Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston reveal an agile musical conversation. What's Going On gives his layered voice a more spacious setting; later albums including I Want You and Midnight Love continue to reshape the balance between vocal intimacy and rhythm.
Artist background sources
Motown Museum - Marvin Gaye performer background
Used only for the singer and drummer's Motown background, duet partners and broadening creative role. Its inconsistent 1961 Stubborn Kind of Fellow date is explicitly excluded in favor of the label's detailed 1962 original-release account. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
UMG - Marvin Gaye original recording overview
The label overview explicitly identifies How Sweet It Is as a late-1964 release and Can I Get a Witness with 1963. It supplies musical context across the original Motown and later solo repertoire; chart years and later compilations are not adopted as first-release dates. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
What's Going On - original nine-track program
The original 1971 album includes Mercy Mercy Me and Inner City Blues; the title retains its earlier 1971 single date. The selected original production is distinguished from subsequently issued alternative Detroit mixes and live programs. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
I Want You - original vocal and instrumental program
The original 1976 program separately labels I Want You (Vocal), After the Dance (Instrumental) and After the Dance (Vocal), alongside Come Live with Me Angel. Only the complete original vocal tracks are selected; reprises and instrumental alternatives do not pad the list. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Midnight Love - original Columbia program
The original 1982 album identifies Sexual Healing. Current copyright/package lines and later instrumental bonus material do not redate or replace the selected original studio production. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-18. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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