Marvin Gaye died in April 1984, leaving behind two albums left on his contract with Columbia Records. In May 1985, Columbia issued the compilation album, Dream of a Lifetime, which performed modestly on the chart. A little over six months later, Columbia assembled tracks from Gaye's Motown period, mostly of traditional pop and vocal jazz tunes that Gaye had recorded in the 1960s and 1970s and named it Romantically Yours.