 Due to the song 's success , In the Groove was re @-@ issued as I Heard It Through the Grapevine and peaked at number two on the R & B album chart and number sixty @-@ three on the album chart , which was at the time Marvin 's highest @-@ charted solo studio effort to date . Because of the success of both versions , " I Heard It Through the Grapevine " was the first and last number one on the Billboard R & B chart in 1968 : the Pips version was the first week of January , the Gaye version the last week of December . Gladys Knight was not pleased that Gaye 's version usurped her own , and claimed that Gaye 's version was recorded over an instrumental track Whitfield had prepared for a Pips song , an allegation Gaye denied . In 1985 , one year following Gaye 's death , the song was re @-@ released in the UK reaching number eight thanks to a Levi 's commercial ( starring Nick Kamen ) . 
