"Distant Lover" is the sixth song issued on singer Marvin Gaye's 1973 album, Let's Get It On and was later issued as a live recording in 1974. The live version of the song was Gaye's most successful single during the threeyear gap between Let's Get It On and his following 1976 album, I Want You.

Marvin composed the melody of the song with songwriter Sandra Greene during a 1970 recording session while Gaye was finishing edits of his song, "What's Going On". Recorded on November 3, 1970, Gaye first recorded a rough version simply titled "Head Title". Later in the same recording sessions, with help from his sisterinlaw, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Gaye composed more lyrics and gave it its title, "Distant Lover". Gaye would rework the song several times during the 1970 recording sessions. In the "Head Title" version, Gaye began singing his lyrics "right off the top of my head" and performed in a raspinfluenced growl. Two mixes of the "Head Title" version was released posthumously on reissues of Gaye's What's Going On album.

Marvin Gaye (April 2, 1939 April 1, 1984), born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., was an American singersongwriter and musician.

Gaye helped to shape the sound of Motown Records in the 1960s with a string of hits, including "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", and duet recordings with Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell, later earning the titles "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul". During the 1970s, he recorded the concept albums What's Going On and Let's Get It On and became one of the first artists in Motown to break away from the reins of its production company. Gaye's later recordings influenced several R&B subgenres, such as quiet storm and neosoul.

Following a period in Europe as a tax exile in the early 1980s, Gaye released the 1982 Grammy Awardwinning hit "Sexual Healing" and the Midnight Love album. Since his death in 1984, Gaye has been posthumously honored by many institutions, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

At around 11:38 am on April 1, 1984, as Marvin was seated on his bed talking to his mother, Gaye's father shot at Marvin twice. The first shot, which entered the right side of Gaye's chest, was fatal, having perforated his vital organs. Gaye was taken to the emergency room of the California Hospital Medical Center and was pronounced dead on arrival at 1:01 pm. Gaye died a day before turning 45. The gun with which Marvin Gaye, Sr. shot his son was given to him by Marvin as a Christmas present.

Following his funeral, Marvin was cremated with part of his ashes spread near the Pacific Ocean. Gaye did not leave behind a will or an insurance policy at the time of his death. Gaye's father pleaded no contest to a voluntary manslaughter charge and was sentenced to probation. He later died of pneumonia in 1998. Marvin's fans have held vigils for the singer at the final residence to celebrate the day of his birth.