Marvin Gaye
Born: 4-2-1939
Died: 4-1-1984
....shot by his father.
    Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. was born in Washington, D.C. The second of three children born to Marvin Sr., an ordained minister in the House of God, a conservative Christian sect fusing elements of orthodox Judaism and Pentecostalism which imposes strict codes of conduct and observes no holidays. He began singing in church at the age of three, quickly becoming a soloist in the choir. Later taking up piano and drums, music became Gaye's escape from the nightmarish realities of his home life, throughout his childhood, his father beat him on an almost daily basis.
     After graduating high school, Gaye enlisted in the U.S. Air Force; upon his discharge, he returned to Washington and began singing in a number of street-corner doo wop groups, eventually joining The Rainbows, a top local attraction. With the help of mentor Bo Diddley, . cut "Wyatt Earp," a single for the Okeh label which brought them to the attention of singer Harvey Fuqua, who in 1958 recruited the group to become the latest edition of his backing ensemble, The Moonglows. After relocating to Chicago, The Moonglows recorded a series of singles for Chess including 1959's "Mama Loocie," while touring the Midwest, the group performed in Detroit, where Gaye's graceful tenor and three-octave vocal range won the interest of fledgling impressario Berry Gordy Jr., who signed him to the Motown label in 1961.
     While first working at Motown as a session drummer and playing on early hits by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, he met Gordy's sister Anna, and married her in late 1961. Upon mounting a solo career, Gaye struggled to find his voice, and early singles failed; finally, his fourth effort, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," became a minor hit in 1962, and his next two singles, the 1963 dance efforts "Hitch Hike" and "Can I Get a Witness" both reached the Top 30. With 1963's "Pride and Joy," Gaye scored his first Top Ten smash, but often found his role as a hitmaker stifling. His desire to become a crooner of lush romantic ballads ran in direct opposition to Motown's all-important emphasis on chart success, and the ongoing battle between his artistic ambitions and the label's demands for commercial product continued throughout Gaye's long tenure with the company.
     With 1964's "Together," a collection of duets with Mary Wells, Gaye scored his first charting album; the duo also notched a number of hit singles together, including "Once Upon a Time" and "What's the Matter With You, Baby?" As a solo performer, Gaye continued to enjoy great success, scoring three superb Top Ten hits, "Ain't That Peculiar," "I'll Be Doggone," and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" in 1965. In total, he scored some 39 Top 40 singles for Motown, many of which he also wrote and arranged. With Kim Weston, the second of his crucial vocal partners, he also established himself as one of the era's dominant duet singers with the stunning "It Takes Two."
     However, Gaye's greatest duets were with Tammi Terrell, with whom he scored a series of massive hits penned by the team of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, including 1967's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Your Precious Love," followed by 1968's "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By." The team's success was tragically cut short in 1967 when, during a concert appearance in Virginia, Terrell collapsed into Gaye's arms onstage, the first evidence of a brain tumor which abruptly ended her performing career and finally killed her on March 16, 1970. Her illness and eventual loss left Gaye deeply shaken, marring the chart-topping 1968 success of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," his biggest hit and arguably the pinnacle of the Motown Sound.
     At the same time, Gaye was forced to cope with a number of other personal problems, not the least of which was his crumbling marriage. He also found the material he recorded for Motown to be increasingly irrelevant in the face of the tremendous social changes sweeping the nation, and after scoring a pair of 1969 Top Ten hits with "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is," he spent the majority of 1970 in seclusion, resurfacing early the next year with the self-produced "What's Going On," a landmark effort heralding a dramatic shift in both content and style which forever altered the face of black music. A highly percussive album which incorporated jazz and classical elements to forge a remarkably sophisticated and fluid soul sound, "What's Going On" was a conceptual masterpiece which brought Gaye's deeply held spiritual beliefs to the fore to explore issues ranging from poverty and discrimination to the environment, drug abuse and political corruption; chief among the record's concerns was the conflict in Vietnam, as Gaye structured the songs around the point of view of his brother Frankie, himself a soldier recently returned from combat.
     The ambitions and complexity of "What's Going On" baffled Berry Gordy, who initially refused to release the LP; he finally relented, although he maintained that he never understood the record's full scope. Gaye was vindicated when the majestic title track reached the number two spot in 1971, and both of the follow-ups, "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," also reached the Top Ten; the album's success guaranteed Gaye continued artistic control over his work and helped loosen the reins for other Motown artists, most notably Stevie Wonder, to also take command of their own destinies. Consequently, in 1972, Gaye changed directions again, agreeing to score the blaxploitation thriller "Trouble Man," the resulting soundtrack was a primarily instrumental effort showcasing his increasing interest in jazz, although a vocal turn on the moody, minimalist title track scored another Top Ten smash.
     The long-simmering eroticism implicit in much of Gaye's work reached its boiling point with 1973's "Let's Get It On," one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded; a work of intense lust and longing, it became the most commercially successful effort of his career, and the title cut became his second number one hit. "Let's Get It On" also marked another significant shift in Gaye's lyrical outlook, moving him from the political arena to a deeply personal, even insular stance which continued to define his subsequent work. After teaming with Diana Ross for the 1973 duet collection "Marvin and Diana," he returned to work on his next solo effort, "I Want You," however, the record's completion was delayed by his 1975 divorce from Anna Gordy. The dissolution of his marriage threw Gaye into a tailspin, and he spent much of the mid-1970s in divorce court.
     Despite his fear of flying Marvin agreed to appear in London in October 1976. Sold-out shows at The Royal Albert Hall and The London Palladium brought rave reviews from the press. The Palladium concerts were recorded for a live double-album set, but there was only enough material for three sides. He needed to record something in the studio to fill up side four.
     Originally entitled "Dancing Lady," Marvin told David Ritz in an interview that the inspiration for the song was Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady." "I love the way Johnnie sings, and I thought it was a fabulous song" Gaye said. "As good as disco ever got. I appreciated the picture of a super-sexy woman on the dance floor, though in my version I tried to give it a little twist."
     Retitled "Got To Give It Up" the song ran11 minutes and 48 seconds. The song was an instant club smash and helped herald in the era of "disco-length" tracks. It would be his last single to make it into the Top 100 for Motown.
     Divorced from Anna and living as a tax exile in Europe, Marvin left Motown, after 20 years in 1981. A year of negotiations later he signed with Columbia Records. His 1982 debut for his new label, "Midnight Love" produced another club smash with the Billboard #-3 hit "Sexual Healing." Gaye wrote, arranged, produced and performed all the music himself.
     "Sexual Healing" won two Grammy Awards for Gaye, his first ever. A month later he joined old friends to sing "What's Going On" for the "Motown 25th Anniversary Special."
     On April 18, 1983 he began his final tour, when it ended he retreated to his parents home in the Crenshaw district of L.A. On April 1, 1984, one day before his 45th birthday, an argument between Marvin Jr. and Marvin Sr. escalated into violence. Marvin Jr. was shot twice in the chest. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, but his heart had stopped beating and attempts to resuscitate him failed. He was declared dead at 1:01pm PST. The world mourned the life of one of soul musics icons.
     Diana Ross recorded "Missing You" in loving memory to old friend Gaye later that year. His father was tried and eventually received a six-year prison term, but it was eventually suspended and he was placed on five years' probation.
     Many loyal fans found that to be an outrage, but given Marvin Sr.'s age it was inevitable.
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