1973 Motown Hit Released Today Became Marvin Gaye's Most Popular Single

Co-written with producer Ed Townsend, the '70s hit "Let's Get it On" by Marvin Gaye was released on June 15th, 1973. The tune would go on to be the most successful single for Motown for Gaye and one of his overall, most well-known songs from his career.

Townsend originally conceptualized the song while in rehab for alcoholism and it had more religious and spiritual undertones. However, Gaye felt it should have a different message and two ended up collaborating on entirely new lyrics. The final version, which appears on the album of the same title, is a soulful and emotional tune about sexual liberation that is filled with signature, funky guitar arrangements.

The song hit number one on Billboard on September 8th, 1973, where it remained for two weeks. "Let's Get it On" would stay within the top 10 on Billboard for over 13 weeks, with the majority of them placing the song in the top 5. For the entirety of 1973, Billboard ranked the song as the number four song of the year.

At the time of release, the single for "Let's Get it On" was Motown's largest-selling recording of all time, selling over four-million copies between 1973 and 1974 with a million being sold in the US alone.

In 2016, the family of Ed Townsend (who died in 2003) sued Engligh singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran over his song, "Thinking Out Loud." They alleged that "the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions of 'Thinking' are substantially and/or strikingly similar to the drum composition of 'Let's Get It On'." The Townsend claim was rejected in court in a juried trial that took place in 2023.

"Let's Get it On" was ranked number 167 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was also ranked #32 on Billboard magazine'sHot 100 All-Time Top Songs list.

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 4:51 PM.