Five Good Covers: “Sexual Healing” (Marvin Gaye)

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

The American, or Caribbean, musical expatriate in Europe has been a constant since travel between the continents has been easy. From the Jazz Age to the present day, some artists prefer to ply their trade on the European continent rather than the American one.

Each individual had their own reasons for their move. Pianist Hazel Scott was a huge success in the US, becoming the first Black American woman to host a network TV show, but the McCarthy witch hunts chased her out of America. Others were trying to escape drug or alcohol problems, or vindictive individual drug dealers, or, in the case of Chet Baker, were hoping that the authorities in Europe might take a more lenient view of their drug habits, which they had no intention of curbing.

A significant theme from many African American artists, from Josephine Baker onwards, was that the segregation policies and lack of appreciation of Jazz or Rhythm and Blues as art forms in their home country made Europe an enticing prospect. They could feel more appreciated in their art, and love who their heart wanted to love rather than who society was willing to let them love. This has been eloquently described by Sonny Rollins, and features in all the biographies of Miles Davis. Artists who had been to Europe fighting in the Second World War on behalf of their country, contrasted their acceptance as heroes in the lands they helped liberate, with their status back home.

This world is beautifully captured in one of the greatest movies about music ever made, Round Midnight. In the movie, saxophonist Dexter Gordon (who spent many years himself in Copenhagen) plays jazz musician Dale Turner. His alcohol problems have made him unwelcome in his favorite playing spots in the US, and so he takes a residency in Paris.  There he finds a supportive community of post-bop musical superstars, and people who lionize him as a person and support him in his craft. The story itself is based on the life of Bud Powell. Through love, nurturing and appreciation as an individual, Turner/Gordon refinds his muse and his mojo. The Oscar-winning soundtrack albums, curated by Herbie Hancock, are exquisite works of art.

Marvin Gaye’s time in Europe followed one of the tropes. Creatively, emotionally and financially broken by years of drug abuse, he had lost his marriage, record deal and reputation, and moved to Europe in the late ’70s. His relocation to the port town of Ostende, Belgium in 1981 was an attempt to get away from his problems. It seemed to work, and Gaye was able to start recording after curbing his drug use, and getting fit both physically (by running) and spiritually. Forced by circumstances to be innovative with his music, he learned how to use the Roland TR-808 and Jupiter 8 synthesizers (then mainly used as drum machines) to create a whole sound.  From that the album Midnight Love and its biggest hit, “Sexual Healing,” emerged.

Recovery from cocaine addiction can awaken all sorts of things in the addict. In Gaye’s case his libido returned.  He was still a young man. He used that energy and creativity to create one of the great songs about sex.  It also gave Gaye one of his biggest hits and led to receiving his only two Grammy Awards.

One of the biggest risks the expatriate faces is when he thinks he is over the worst and can return across the Atlantic to face his demons, with greater strength. It does not always work out as they hope.  In the same way that Dale Turner/Bud Powell struggled when they returned to the US, Gaye’s potentially triumphant return to musical stardom and his family home soon ended in disaster.

The universality of the message and success of the song has meant that there have been many covers over the years.  Here are five of the best.

Kate Bush – Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cover)

Sex is the most quotidian of activities. Almost everyone has experience of it, albeit with different levels of personal assessment of “success.” Genius is the opposite. At any one time, in any given endeavor, there are relatively few people who attain that level. Fortunately, there are many human activities, so there are lots of opportunities to shine. Kate Bush is a musical and artistic genius, but she is always a person, so this overlap of her near-unique artistic skill set and universal desire is a real pleasure. With a Celtic feel, including uillean pipes, there is a whiff of prehistoric fertility rites about this cover.

Hot 8 Brass Band – Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cover)

In general, when making a booty call, you are making the call to one person, or at least a very small number, depending on one’s tastes. There are relatively few exceptions to this. The Last Days of Rome, perhaps. Or New Orleans at Mardi Gras? The bacchanalia in Louisiana may be overstated by some, and Spring Break tourists not welcomed by all the locals, but there is a certain licentiousness in the air on the streets of the French Quarter in February. Hot 8 Brass Band have taken that message around the world, allowing us to get a little sense of what we are missing at the start of Lent each year. In this version they are warming up the locals of Brighton in England. Getting repressed English folks, even those in liberal Brighton, to sing along to the theme is a remarkable achievement!

Anita Lane – Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cover)

Of course there is sex in the Left Field. Australian Anita Lane spent time in The Birthday Party and the Bad Seeds before her solo career, from which this is taken. It is wonderfully percussive and rhythmic, as one would hope, but there are also unsettling elements, perhaps even dirty ones. As Woody Allen might say, perhaps if it is dirty it is being done right.

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals – Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cover)

There are many covers of the song, taking different routes. Very few try to take on, straight up, Marvin Gaye on R&B chops and raw charisma. That takes a degree of self-confidence that few have, and even fewer can carry off. Ben Harper can carry it off, and does so with such aplomb that we can appreciate both the self-confidence in taking it on and the sublime outcome.

The Ebony Hillbillies – Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cover)

Once again there is universality in the theme. In the music of the Appalachians with banjo, guitar and dulcimer, the sap is rising. The shared themes of the music and the message come together here to bring everyone a good time.

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