Crate Cannon | Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”

The Belgian Bedroom Genesis
Marvin, dodging Motown lawsuits and the IRS, relocated to Belgium in 1981. Holed up at Studio Katy, he spent weeks playing alone with a fresh-out-the-box Roland TR-808, a MiniMoog, and a Jupiter-8. Guitarist Gordon Banks recalls Marvin looping the kick for hours, humming a melody only he could hear.

The “Sexual Healing” Eureka Moment
Music journalist David Ritz arrived to ghostwrite a biography, found Marvin flipping through fetish comics, and commented that the singer “looked like he needed sexual healing.” Marvin’s eyes lit up; he ordered Ritz to write the phrase down, then turned it into the hook within an hour.

Gear Footnotes
• The 808 on the session—serial #133 808—was later displayed at Roland’s Tokyo HQ.
• Hand-claps were routed through a spring reverb bolted inside a filing cabinet for extra “bedroom slap.”
• Marvin’s Belgian snack of choice: Chocomel and Gauloises; cigarette ash reportedly jammed the Jupiter-8’s bend wheel.

Chart Ascension and Grammys
Released October 1, 1982. Went #1 R&B (10 weeks) and #3 Hot 100. First single dominated by a drum machine to win Grammys—Best Male R&B Vocal and Best R&B Instrumental (the 12-inch dub).

Watch, Listen
• Official 4K remaster video (silk-draped nurse, Marvin in tux, sexy & elegant dancers): YouTube
• Marvin Gaye on Sexual Healing and the sexual content of the song (1983 Interview): YouTube

Production Easter Eggs
• Marvin accidentally recorded the famous “wake up, wake up, wake up…” ad-lib in falsetto because his talkback mic was still open. Engineer Roland Bouquet loved the bleed, printed it.
• That pre-chorus “pad” is Marvin stacking four takes of his own voice through a Publison IM90 pitch-shifter.

Collector Intel
First U.S. promo 12″ (Columbia AS 1440) with crimson label trades around $60 VG+, but insiders chase the Belgian sleeve picturing Marvin in snow gear—only 800 pressed, last known sale €260 (Discogs).

Other Notable Cover Versions
• Jimmy Riley (1982) – Lovers-rock 7″ with Sly & Robbie. Sweet spot for reggae sets: YouTube
• Hot 8 Brass Band (2007) – New Orleans second-line swagger; sousaphone replaces synth bass, brings the tune back to the street: YouTube

Esoteric Spins & Samples
• MC Lyte filched the “and when I get that feeling” line for ‘Cold Rock a Party’ (1996).
• Soul II Soul used the same snare-verb setting on “Back to Life” after engineer Jack Joseph Puig visited Gaye’s Katy session notes.

The Glen Adams & Finesse Detour
In 1982, NYC: Upsetter alum Glen Adams teamed with Bronx MC T-Ski Valley. Side A = “Sexual Rapping” (rap/reggae mash). Side B = “Sexual (Instrumental)”—a dub classic. Recorded at Blank Tape Studios on 24-track, drenched in Eventide Harmonizer. Original 12″ sells for $20-40; Isle of Jura’s 2022 re-press cleaned up the mix, pressed on audiophile wax. This song is the finale for Lovers Dub | 01. Props to the Isle of Jura label for the consistent stellar re-issues.

Last Drop of Juice

Marvin’s estate still nets an estimated $6 million annually from “Sexual Healing” (Viagra adverts turned down twice, Trojan condoms approved in South America). The song’s publishing is a case study for how one late-career pivot can eclipse an entire earlier catalogue in royalties.