The Motown singer who gave Marvin Gaye a hit duet, then walked away

Agatha Nathalia Weston was born in Detroit in 1939 and signed to Motown in 1961. Her first minor hit, “Love Me All the Way”, was originally the B-side of “It Should Have Been Me”, but the sides were switched after a DJ reacted to the flip. Her biggest solo hits for the label were “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)”, which reached number four on the R&B chart, and “Helpless”. The first was later covered by the Isley Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Jermaine Jackson, the Doobie Brothers and Phil Collins.

Her best-remembered recording is a duet. “It Takes Two”, which she sang with Marvin Gaye, was a hit, and its success led Motown to pair Gaye with Tammi Terrell, producing even more success for the label. Her 1966 album with Gaye was called Take Two. The song continues to circulate among listeners who may not know the singer's name.

Weston left Motown in 1967 and later sued the company over royalty disputes. She and her then-husband William “Mickey” Stevenson, the former head of A&R at Motown, moved to Los Angeles and began working with MGM Records. There she made the album This Is America, which included her version of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”. The single appeared in the film Wattstax, and all the money from it was donated to the United Negro College Fund. She also made records for other labels, including Stax's Volt, and an album of duets with Johnny Nash.

Her chart presence faded, and she reportedly relocated to Israel to work with young singers. In the 1980s she signed with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records, and her single “Signal Your Intention” peaked at number one on the UK Hi-NRG chart, followed by the 1990 album Investigate. In 2013 she was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University. A voice that helped define the Motown sound, she kept making music long after the label's golden years.