"You're All I Need to Get By" (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)

"You're All I Need to Get By" (1968) is one of the best ballads ever released by Motown.  The Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson-penned track is dramatic without drifting into the realm of melodrama.  It works because, even with those dulcet strings, you have The Funk Brothers rhythm section keeping the song rooted in soul along with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell delivering their vocals with gospel-tinged fervor.  It's passionate, and it's honest.
As I've written before, Terrell and Gaye weren't actually romantically involved.  Although, that's almost hard to believe, listening to a performance like "You're All I Need to Get By."  I think it's fair to say that they were soulmates.
While performing with Gaye at Hampton-Sydney College in Virginia, Terrell, who had been prone to migraine headaches her entire life, collapsed on stage in Gaye's arms after complaining that she wasn't feeling well.  Turned out that she had a malignant tumor, growing in her thalamus.
Recovering from the first of many operations and wheelchair-bound, Terrell still wanted to record, and "You're All I Need to Get By" was the first single that she worked on, post-surgery.  Because of their schedules (and also to allow Terrell sufficient time to rest and recover), she and Gaye didn't cut their vocals together in the studio; their vocals were recorded separately and then edited together as a duet afterward.  Nevertheless, there's still a palpable feeling of unity on the track.  And under the difficult circumstances, I think it's even more poignant that they were singing to each other (even if it was via studio wizardry): you're all I need to get by.