Release and Initial Acclaim
Following its release as a single on September 30, 1982, the song became a crossover success. By November, it reached number-one on the Hot Black Singles chart and had become the fastest-selling R&B single by any artist since 1977, the same year Gaye had his last number-one with the dance anthem, "Got to Give It Up". By December, it had reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number-three the following January. It also was successfully on various radio stations and dance clubs. As a result, the song also appeared at number-eight on the Hot Dance/Disco chart and number thirty-four on the Adult Contemporary charts. Eventually, the song would be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and total unit sales reached two million copies.
The success wasn't just domestic. The song was also released to radio stations overseas finding its main success in several European countries, New Zealand and Canada. By that December, the song had reached the top ten on the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number four and also peaked at number-three in the Netherlands and reached the same position in Belgium that same month. By early 1983, it had also reached number-one in Canada and New Zealand, staying at the top spot in the latter country for six weeks. It also would eventually reached the top 40 in other European countries such as Sweden, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
The success of the single extended critically as well, and in March of 1983, Gaye walked away with two Grammy Awards for the song, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and the instrumental version of the song won the Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. It lost out in the Best R&B Song by David Paich and Steve Lukather of Toto, who wrote George Benson's hit, "Turn Your Love Around". Gaye performed "Sexual Healing" live on the show and the performance was later issued on the album, Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I, in 1994. He later billed his last tour as the Sexual Healing Tour, which started in April 1983. Gaye also won an American Music Award for the single. The song was later ranked number 231 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In its 2011 list, it dropped two places to No. 233. In 2007, it was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
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