How Marv Gaye's 'What's Gog On' Changed the Sound of R&B Forever - Variety

Contents:

• MARV GAYE
• WHO ARE MARV GAYE'S PARENTS? MEET MARV GAY SR AND ALBERTA GAY
• 10 SURPRISG FACTS ABOUT MARV GAYE
• MARV GAYE NET WORTH 2023 HOW RICH IS MARV GAYE?
• MARV GAYE AND 5 R&B ARTISTS OM THE ’60S AND ’70S
• THE TRAGIC STORY OF MARV GAYE AND THE UNTIMELY ATH OF A SOUL LEGEND
• WHAT’S GOG ONMARV GAYETRACK 1 ON WHAT’S GOG ON PRODUCED BYMARV GAYEWHAT’S GOG ON IS AN EXQUISE PLEA FOR PEACE ON EARTH, SUNG BY A MAN AT THE HEIGHT OF CRISIS. IN 1970, MARV GAYE WAS MOTOWN’S TOP MALE VOL STAR, YET HE WAS TRATED… READ MORE JAN. 17, 19714 VIEWERS593.1K VIEWS85 CONTRIBUTORSWHAT’S GOG ON LYRICS[INTRO]HEY, HEY-HEYHEY, WHAT'S HAPPEN'?HEY, BROTHER, WHAT'S HAPPEN'?BOY, THIS IS A GROOVY PARTY (HEY, HOW YOU DO'?)MAN, I N DIG YEAH, BROTHER, SOLID, RIGHT ONWHAT'S HAPPEN'?HEY, MAN, WHAT'S HAPPENG?WOOEVERYTHG IS EVERYTHGWE'RE GONNA DO A GET DOWN TODAY, BOY, I'LL TELL YA[VERSE 1]MOTHER, MOTHERTHERE'S TOO MANY OF YOU CRYGBROTHER, BROTHER, BROTHERTHERE'S FAR TOO MANY OF YOU DYGYOU KNOW WE'VE GOT TO FD A WAYTO BRG SOME LOVG HERE TODAY, YEAH[VERSE 2]FATHER, FATHERWE DON'T NEED TO LATEYOU SEE, WAR IS NOT THE ANSWERFOR ONLY LOVE N NQUER HATEYOU KNOW WE'VE GOT TO FD A WAYTO BRG SOME LOVG HERE TODAY, OH (OH)YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE[CHOS]PICKET L (SISTER) AND PICKET SIGNS (SISTER)DON'T PUNISH ME (SISTER) WH BTALY (SISTER)TALK TO ME (SISTER), SO YOU N SEE (SISTER)OH, WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)YEAH, WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)OH, WHAT'S GOG ON[POST-CHOS]AH-AH-AH-AH (IN THE MEANTIME, RIGHT ON, BABY)WOO (RIGHT ON, BABY), WOOAH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA, YA-YA-YA-YA-YAWOO (RIGHT ON, BABY, RIGHT ON), WOOAH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YABA-DA-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOOBA-DA-BOO-BOO-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO-BA-BA-DO[VERSE 3]MOTHER, MOTHEREVERYBODY THKS WE'RE WRONGOH, BUT WHO ARE THEY TO JUDGE SIMPLY 'E OUR HAIR IS LONG?OH, YOU KNOW WE'VE GOT TO FD A WAYTO BRG SOME UNRSTANDG HERE TODAY, OH-OH[CHOS]PICKET L (BROTHER) AND PICKET SIGNS (BROTHER)DON'T PUNISH ME (BROTHER) WH BTALY (BROTHER)COME ON, TALK TO ME (BROTHER), SO YOU N SEE (BROTHER)OH, WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)YEAH, WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)TELL ME WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)[POST-CHOS]WOO-OOH-OOH-OOH (RIGHT ON, BABY, RIGHT ON)AH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA, YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YAWOO, WOO (RIGHT ON)AH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YABA-DA-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO-DOOBA-DA-BOO-BOO-BOO-DOO, BA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA[OUTRO]WOO (RIGHT ON, BABY, E ON, RIGHT ON)AH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YAWOO (RIGHT ON)LISTEN, AH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YADA-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO-DOODA-BOO-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO49EMBEDCANCELHOW TO FORMAT LYRICS:TYPE OUT ALL LYRICS, EVEN REPEATG SONG PARTS LIKE THE CHOSLYRICS SHOULD BE BROKEN DOWN TO DIVIDUAL LUSE SECTN HEARS ABOVE DIFFERENT SONG PARTS LIKE [VERSE], [CHOS], ETC.USE ALICS (<I>LYRIC</I>) AND BOLD (<B>LYRIC</B>) TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT VOLISTS THE SAME SONG PARTIF YOU DON’T UNRSTAND A LYRIC, E [?]TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT OUR TRANSCRIPTN GUI OR VIS OUR TRANSCRIBERS FOMABOUT
• THE STANDARDS BY MARV GAYE
• HOW MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ CHANGED THE SOUND OF R&B FOREVER

MARV GAYE

Marv Gaye is different, different for one simple reason: he had immense talent, not jt as a sger but also as a songwrer that set him on a higher plane, as well as a social nscience that advoted change. “Back the early Birds days we played a lot of Motown stuff – “ Need Your Lov’ (Want You Back) (Marv Gaye) and Needle In A Haystack (Velvelett).

Marv Gaye was one that succumbed to the prsure, both private and public. Before his tragic ath at the hands of his father, Marv Gaye created some of the most inic albums of the 1970s. His new directn and newfound social nscns is bt heard on the h, ‘Abraham Mart & John’ which Gaye ma his own, spe the origal beg rerd by rock and roll survivor Dn (of the Belmonts fame).

One of the most gifted, visnary, and endurg talents ever lnched to orb by the Motown h mache, Marv Gaye blazed the trail for the ntued evolutn of popular black mic.

WHO ARE MARV GAYE'S PARENTS? MEET MARV GAY SR AND ALBERTA GAY

The send of three children born to the Reverend Marv Gay Sr., he began sgg church at the age of three, quickly beg a soloist the choir.

10 SURPRISG FACTS ABOUT MARV GAYE

Gaye later took up piano and dms and mic beme his pe om the nightmarish reali of his home life – throughout his childhood, his father beat him on an almost daily basis. While tourg the Midwt, the group performed Detro, where Gaye’s graceful tenor and three-octave vol range, won the tert of fledgelg imprar Berry Gordy, Jr.

Upon mountg a solo reer, Gaye stggled to fd his voice and early sgl failed. Wh 1963’s ‘Pri and Joy’, Gaye sred his first Top Ten smash, but often found his role as a hmaker stiflg – his sire to bee a crooner of lh romantic ballads, ran direct opposn to Motown’s all-important emphasis on chart succs and the ongog battle between his artistic ambns and the label’s mands for a mercial product, ntued throughout Gaye’s long tenure wh the pany.

Wh 1964’s Together, a llectn of duets wh Mary Wells, Gaye sred his first chartg album; the duo also notched a number of h sgl together, cludg ‘Once Upon a Time’ and ‘What’s the Matter Wh You, Baby? As a solo performer, Gaye ntued to enjoy great succs, srg three superb Top Ten hs 1965; ‘A’t That Peculiar’, ‘I’ll Be Doggone’ and ‘How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)’.

MARV GAYE NET WORTH 2023 HOW RICH IS MARV GAYE?

However, Gaye’s greatt duets were to be wh Tammi Terrell, wh whom he sred a seri of massive hs, penned by the team of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, cludg 1967’s ‘A’t No Mounta High Enough’ and ‘Your Prec Love’, followed by 1968’s ‘A’t Nothg Like the Real Thg’ and ‘You’re All I Need to Get By’. The team’s succs was tragilly cut short 1967 when, durg a ncert appearance Virgia, Terrell llapsed to Gaye’s arms on-stage, the first evince of a bra tumour that abptly end her performg reer and fally killed her on March 16, 1970.

Her illns and eventual loss, left Gaye eply shaken, marrg the chart-toppg 1968 succs of ‘I Heard It Through the Grapeve’, his biggt h and arguably the pnacle of the Motown sound. At the same time, Gaye was forced to pe wh a number of other personal problems, not the least of which, was his cmblg marriage.

A highly percsive album, which rporated jazz and classil elements, to fe a remarkably sophistited and fluid soul sound, What’s Gog On was a nceptual masterpiece that brought Gaye’s eply held spirual beliefs to the fore.

MARV GAYE AND 5 R&B ARTISTS OM THE ’60S AND ’70S

Explorg issu rangg om poverty and discrimatn to the environment, dg abe, and polil rptn; chief among the rerd’s ncerns was the nflict Vietnam, as Gaye stctured the songs around the pot of view of his brother Frankie, himself a soldier recently returned om bat. The album’s succs guaranteed Gaye’s ntued artistic ntrol over his work helped loosen the res for other Motown artists, most notably Stevie Wonr, to also take mand of their own sti. Consequently, 1972, Gaye changed directns aga, agreeg to sre the blaxploatn thriller Trouble Man.

The long-simmerg eroticism implic much of Gaye’s work reached s boilg pot wh 1973’s Let’s Get It On, one of the most sexually charged albums ever rerd. Let’s Get It On also marked another signifint shift Gaye’s lyril outlook, movg him om the polil arena to a eply personal, even sular stance, which ntued to fe his subsequent work.

The dissolutn of his marriage threw Gaye to a tailsp and he spent much of the mid-’70s divorce urt. To bat Gaye’s absence om the stud, Motown released the 1977 stopgap Live at the London Palladium, which spawned the sgle ‘Got to Give It Up, Pt. As a rult of a 1976 urt settlement, Gaye was orred to make good on missed alimony payments by rerdg a new album, wh the tentn that all royalti earned om s sal would then be award to his ex-wife.

THE TRAGIC STORY OF MARV GAYE AND THE UNTIMELY ATH OF A SOUL LEGEND

The 1978 rerd, a two-LP set sardonilly entled Here, My Dear, bterly explored the uple’s relatnship such timate tail, that Anna Gordy briefly nsired sug Gaye for the vasn of privacy. In 1981, longstandg tax difficulti and renewed prsur om the IRS forced Gaye to flee to Europe, where he began work on the amb In Our Lifetime, a eply philosophil rerd that ultimately severed his longstandg relatnship wh Motown after he claimed the label had remixed and eded the album whout his nsent.

Addnally, Gaye stated that the fished artwork parodied his origal tent and that even the tle had been changed to drop an all-important qutn mark. The rerd ma Gaye a star yet aga, and 1983 he ma peace wh Berry Gordy by appearg on a televisn special celebratg Motown’s silver anniversary. Gaye’s reer rurgence brought wh an creased reliance on e; fally, his personal mons forced him back to the U.

He and his father quarrelled bterly and Gaye threatened suici on a number of ocsns.

WHAT’S GOG ONMARV GAYETRACK 1 ON WHAT’S GOG ON PRODUCED BYMARV GAYEWHAT’S GOG ON IS AN EXQUISE PLEA FOR PEACE ON EARTH, SUNG BY A MAN AT THE HEIGHT OF CRISIS. IN 1970, MARV GAYE WAS MOTOWN’S TOP MALE VOL STAR, YET HE WAS TRATED… READ MORE JAN. 17, 19714 VIEWERS593.1K VIEWS85 CONTRIBUTORSWHAT’S GOG ON LYRICS[INTRO]HEY, HEY-HEYHEY, WHAT'S HAPPEN'?HEY, BROTHER, WHAT'S HAPPEN'?BOY, THIS IS A GROOVY PARTY (HEY, HOW YOU DO'?)MAN, I N DIG YEAH, BROTHER, SOLID, RIGHT ONWHAT'S HAPPEN'?HEY, MAN, WHAT'S HAPPENG?WOOEVERYTHG IS EVERYTHGWE'RE GONNA DO A GET DOWN TODAY, BOY, I'LL TELL YA[VERSE 1]MOTHER, MOTHERTHERE'S TOO MANY OF YOU CRYGBROTHER, BROTHER, BROTHERTHERE'S FAR TOO MANY OF YOU DYGYOU KNOW WE'VE GOT TO FD A WAYTO BRG SOME LOVG HERE TODAY, YEAH[VERSE 2]FATHER, FATHERWE DON'T NEED TO LATEYOU SEE, WAR IS NOT THE ANSWERFOR ONLY LOVE N NQUER HATEYOU KNOW WE'VE GOT TO FD A WAYTO BRG SOME LOVG HERE TODAY, OH (OH)YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE[CHOS]PICKET L (SISTER) AND PICKET SIGNS (SISTER)DON'T PUNISH ME (SISTER) WH BTALY (SISTER)TALK TO ME (SISTER), SO YOU N SEE (SISTER)OH, WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)YEAH, WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)OH, WHAT'S GOG ON[POST-CHOS]AH-AH-AH-AH (IN THE MEANTIME, RIGHT ON, BABY)WOO (RIGHT ON, BABY), WOOAH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA, YA-YA-YA-YA-YAWOO (RIGHT ON, BABY, RIGHT ON), WOOAH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YABA-DA-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOOBA-DA-BOO-BOO-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO-BA-BA-DO[VERSE 3]MOTHER, MOTHEREVERYBODY THKS WE'RE WRONGOH, BUT WHO ARE THEY TO JUDGE SIMPLY 'E OUR HAIR IS LONG?OH, YOU KNOW WE'VE GOT TO FD A WAYTO BRG SOME UNRSTANDG HERE TODAY, OH-OH[CHOS]PICKET L (BROTHER) AND PICKET SIGNS (BROTHER)DON'T PUNISH ME (BROTHER) WH BTALY (BROTHER)COME ON, TALK TO ME (BROTHER), SO YOU N SEE (BROTHER)OH, WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)YEAH, WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)TELL ME WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S GOG ON (WHAT'S GOG ON)[POST-CHOS]WOO-OOH-OOH-OOH (RIGHT ON, BABY, RIGHT ON)AH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA, YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YAWOO, WOO (RIGHT ON)AH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YABA-DA-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO-DOOBA-DA-BOO-BOO-BOO-DOO, BA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA[OUTRO]WOO (RIGHT ON, BABY, E ON, RIGHT ON)AH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YAWOO (RIGHT ON)LISTEN, AH-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YADA-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO-DOODA-BOO-BOO-DOO, BOO-BOO-BOO49EMBEDCANCELHOW TO FORMAT LYRICS:TYPE OUT ALL LYRICS, EVEN REPEATG SONG PARTS LIKE THE CHOSLYRICS SHOULD BE BROKEN DOWN TO DIVIDUAL LUSE SECTN HEARS ABOVE DIFFERENT SONG PARTS LIKE [VERSE], [CHOS], ETC.USE ALICS (<I>LYRIC</I>) AND BOLD (<B>LYRIC</B>) TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT VOLISTS THE SAME SONG PARTIF YOU DON’T UNRSTAND A LYRIC, E [?]TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT OUR TRANSCRIPTN GUI OR VIS OUR TRANSCRIBERS FOMABOUT

Fally, on the afternoon of April 1, 1984, one day before his 45th birthday, Gaye was shot and killed by Marv Sr. Wh Gaye’s ath, also me a cril re-evaluatn of his work, which emed What’s Gog On to be one of the landmark albums pop history.

We're lookg back on the surprisg highs and lows the legendary life of Marv Gaye. Marv Gaye add the “e” to the end of his name to dispel mors of his homosexualy and to distguish himself om his father, Marv Gay Sr., wh whom he did not get along.

Gaye had trouble followg orrs om his strict sergeant and was honorably discharged 1956. Before lnchg a legendary solo reer, Marv Gaye joed the vol group, The New Moonglows, the 1950’s. Before sgg his own h for Motown Rerds, a young Marv Gaye spent his early years at Motown as a dmmer for The Suprem, Stevie Wonr, The Marvelett and more.

THE STANDARDS BY MARV GAYE

Marv Gaye performed most of his legendary duets (“A’t No Mounta High Enough, ” “You’re All I Need To Get By”) wh sger Tammi Terrell. Terrell died om bra ncer 1970 and Gaye vowed never to sg wh another person or on stage ever aga. Durg his hiat om mic, Marv Gaye explored some new terts cludg profsnal football.

You may or may not know that Marv Gaye’s first wife, Anna, is the elst sister of mic in and Motown founr Berry Gordy, makg Marv an official member of the Motown fay.

” The week of his ath, Gaye jumped out of a movg r but only got mor Gaye scribed his prsn durg an terview a year before his ath. Gaye’s tate is notorly protective of his legacy and only two stars have been lucky enough to get their blsg for a bpic.

HOW MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ CHANGED THE SOUND OF R&B FOREVER

Mayor Marn Barry clared April 2 (the sger’s birthday) Marv Gaye Day, celebratg the life and legacy of the the inic soul sger. Marv Gaye is a renowned Amerin sger-songwrer and mician who was well known for his ntributns to the genr of rhythm and blu, soul, funk and pop mic. His but album “The Soulful Moods of Marv Gaye” (1961) marked the begng of a long le of succsful albums that would follow durg his mil reer.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Marv Gaye helped to shape the sound of morn R&B wh his distct vol style and eclectic productn techniqu. His fluence n be heard many proment artists om this perd cludg Aretha Frankl whose inic song “Rpect” paid homage to Gaye’s socially nsc lyrics; Al Green whose melodic soulful sgg style was heavily fluenced by Gaye; Stevie Wonr whose rporatn to some R&B elements to pop/rock songs was clearly spired by Gaye; Curtis Mayfield whose poetic lyrics laid groundwork for hip hop; and Smokey Robson whose smooth falsetto vols shared many siari wh Marv Gaye’s own vol stylgs.