"Diana & Marvin" is a duets album by American soul musicians Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, released on October 26, 1973, on Motown. The recording sessions took place between 1971 and 1973 at Motown Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. At the time, Gaye and Ross were recognized as two of the top pop music performers. The album became a critical and commercial success, selling over a million copies worldwide. It was later remastered and re-released on compact disc with four bonus tracks on February 6, 2001.
Initial plans for the duet album began as early as 1970, but Gaye was in a personal lull following the death of Tammi Terrell, which prevented Motown from bringing them together. Instead, the label focused on Ross' solo career, which gained momentum with her hit cover of Gaye and Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Despite his earlier promise not to record duets, Gaye felt that collaborating with Ross could help expand his audience after the success of his album What's Going On.
Recording sessions faced difficulties from the start, with Gaye arriving late and Ross upset over his smoking in the studio, concerned for her pregnancy. After some tension, they managed to record tracks, though subsequent sessions were complicated by Ross's new motherhood and Gaye's other projects. Ultimately, they recorded separately, with engineer Russ Terrana mixing their vocals together.
The album features the last Ashford & Simpson production for Motown, titled "Just Say, Just Say." Despite the challenges, Ross and Gaye managed to finish the album, which was originally slated to be called Art & Honey. Motown held the release to prioritize solo albums from both artists, leading to the successful releases of Ross's Touch Me in the Morning and Gaye's Let's Get It On.
When Diana & Marvin was finally released, Motown promoted it heavily, placing Ross's name ahead of Gaye's on the album cover. The album performed modestly in the U.S., reaching number 26 on the Billboard 200, while finding greater success in the U.K., where it reached number 6 on the albums chart. In the U.S., three singles were released, including "You're a Special Part of Me," which reached number 12 on the pop charts, and "My Mistake (Was to Love You)," which peaked at number 19.
Despite the initial difficulties, both artists expressed enjoyment in working together and would later reunite for a couple of duets on the tribute album Pops We Love You in 1978, recording the songs together in the studio this time.
