Heard It Through the Grapevine by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

Another great production! Loved the arrangement, too.

Takes me way back, too. (I saw Gladys Knight & The Pips in '68 or '69, and soul music was what I played in the first few bands I was in (trumpet) before starting my slow shift over to R&R that was going on just about then.)

p.s. You got out of HS 2 years before me - not the best of times...

p.p.s. And the grapevines - perfect!

Hi Keith,

Thank you for the encouragement and kind words! Much appreciated!

I didn't realize you had been a trumpet player -- good for you! I have a grandson learning to play trumpet.

Yes, when we got out of high school the Vietnam War was going hot and heavy and there was an awful lot of political conflict.

I got the grapevine photos off the Internet from public domain, state university county extension websites.

I hope you are doing well! I enjoyed your Bach piece and your Long Black Veil performances.

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by woodenstrings

As always, absolutely Fantastic Glenn.
I'm glad to get a front row seat when ever you post.
Thanks for sharing

Hi Woodenstrings!

Thank you for the kind words! I like the "front row seat" analogy... I never thought of that!

I'm so glad you enjoyed this!

I feel like I'm running out of songs to do...

I hope all is well for you! Take care!

- Glenn

[MrEd]

That was excellent Glenn. Very enjoyable.

Thanks for all you do.

Mike

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by MrEd

That was excellent Glenn. Very enjoyable.

Thanks for all you do.

Mike

Thank you for watching and for the kind words of support, Mike!

Much appreciated! Thanks for all you do, as well!

I hope things are going well for you! Take care...

- Glenn

[KevWind]

Just super,,,,,, and what fun. Hey, If I get a Columbia zip up can I sing better harmony

Let me suggest for your consideration another possible full production. Curtis Mayfield "People Get Ready" you could really lay into the Whoooo whooo's with the Willow Choir

Back when I gigged it was alway a huge crowd pleaser

[dogdog49]

Love this. Can't stop smiling!

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Just super,,,,,, and what fun. Hey, If I get a Columbia zip up can I sing better harmony

Let me suggest for your consideration another possible full production. Curtis Mayfield "People Get Ready" you could really lay into the Whoooo whooo's with the Willow Choir

Back when I gigged it was alway a huge crowd pleaser

Hi Kev,

Yes, the Columbia fleece definitely makes a difference in the harmonies.

It's so cold here near the coast, that zip-up keeps me warm so often. And I can't make a fire in my wood stove to warm up my studio right now because it's so dry from the drought (which I'm sure you know about) that all fires are prohibited. You know, risk of forest fires. My house has forest on two sides, so the thought of a forest fire is pretty frightening. So I try to keep warm in my studio with the fleece.

I would love to do "People Get Ready," but I have always hesitated a little. I don't want anyone thinking I am preaching at them. But yes, I have thought of that song so many times. I will think about this.

Thanks for taking time to watch and comment and for your suggestion, Kevin. Nice of you!

I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by dogdog49

Love this. Can't stop smiling!

Hey DogDog!

Thanks so much for taking time to watch and comment! Much appreciated! I'm glad you thought this came out okay. It does have a very infectious beat, for sure!

I'm so glad it made you smile! It made me smile, too. Great old song!

I keep remembering the California Raisins advertisement, which makes me smile...



Thanks so much for your comments!

- Glenn

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

This song was published in 1966 when I graduated from high school. It was first recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips. The next year Marvin Gaye recorded this.

I always loved this song but it was pitched too high for me. I got to wondering recently if I could do this song acceptably well with an acoustic guitar, so I transposed it to where I could sing it. I added bass and drums and also added myself doing background vocals.

I hope you like this. I had a little trouble in my role of background singer(s) sitting still because of the infectious beat and all the syncopation built into this song. It was fun...

Thanks for watching!

- Glenn

Great production on this ... Speaking of production I see you were not using Head Phones for the overdubs . How were you monitoring the previous tracks ?

[foxo]

Not an easy song to sing with those high notes! Excellent work Glenn, it really works well with the acoustic guitar used for the riff.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Great production on this ... Speaking of production I see you were not using Head Phones for the overdubs . How were you monitoring the previous tracks ?

Hi Kevin,

I sang the background vocals with a very low volume click track, very low guitar, and the main vocal also down low, all coming through my studio monitors in the room. For some reason the WA-47 mic does not pick up much of that music and "hears" mostly the vocals I'm singing. You'd think this approach would muddy up the overall mix, but it doesn't seem to.

Also, the background vocals are recorded fairly loud and then they are set fairly low in the mix. So this approach further lowers the levels of what I used to sing with in the room.

I really don't like singing with headphones on because I can't hear myself as well.

Thanks for watching and for your comments Kev!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by foxo

Not an easy song to sing with those high notes! Excellent work Glenn, it really works well with the acoustic guitar used for the riff.

Hi Foxo,

Thanks for watching and for your thoughts and comments!

Yes, the vocal does hit some high notes. The quick falsetto notes I am hitting are high A notes, so they are way up there. I had to practice those a lot.

And I changed the key from the original in D, where the high notes that Marvin Gaye sang falsetto were high D notes. That's REALLY high!

To tell you the truth, I was surprised how well the acoustic guitar worked for this song. I was experimenting around to see if I could make anything out of this on an acoustic guitar. I was pleasantly surprised that it worked okay so decided to give this a try.

I hope you are doing well!

- Glenn

[reeve21]

Hi Glenn,

Not a song I would have guessed you would do, but I love your version. Some of my favorite vocal parts I’ve heard you do, really good stuff

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Hi Glenn,

Not a song I would have guessed you would do, but I love your version. Some of my favorite vocal parts I’ve heard you do, really good stuff

Hi Bob,

Thanks for watching and for your thoughts and comments!

Someone else commented something similar about my doing this song.

I guess I just pick out songs I like and see if I can make something out of them. Truth is, I never thought that a person could make much out of this song with an acoustic guitar. In fact, I really like Michael McDonald's version of this played with a Rhodes electric piano. But I could never pull that off.



At any rate, I'm so glad in the end you thought this came out okay.

Regarding the vocal parts, I worried about how I would do when I started on this project. At first I thought I was not doing all that well, but when I came back the next day and listened to what I recorded, I thought, well, it's not as bad as I thought and with a little work here and there, maybe this won't be too embarrassing.

By the way, I got inspiration from this version at Daryl's House. This version is right where I sang my version of the song, in Am. I loved this version, but I thought that I really needed to find a way to do this with an acoustic guitar.



Thanks for your comments Bob! I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn

[superbitterdave]

Hey Glenn,

Just getting around to watching this. Great arrangement, I love the full band (drums, bass, do-wop Glenns),and the execution was flawless as always. I also enjoyed seeing you hit those high notes - well done!

Cheers,

Dave