Marv Gaye: The Kg of Soul – Black Mic Scholar

Contents:

• MARV GAYE
• HOW SWEET IT IS: THE INPARABLE SOUL OF MARV GAYE
• ‘HOW SWEET IT IS’: MARV GAYE MASTERS SOUL AND POP
• 10 SURPRISG THGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MARV GAYE!

MARV GAYE

After disbandg the Moonglows, Fuqua took the 20-year-old Gaye to Detro, where Berry Gordy, Jr., was formg Motown Rerds. Blsed wh an exceptnally wi range that enpassed three distct vol styl—a piercg falsetto, a smooth mid-range tenor, and a ep gospel growl—Gaye bed great technil prows wh rare mil dividualy. Gaye also displayed dazzlg virtuosy by overdubbg (buildg sound track by track onto a sgle tape) his own voice three or four tim to provi his own rich harmony, a technique he would employ for the rt of his reer.

Here, My Dear (1979) brilliantly alt wh Gaye’s divorce om Gordy’s sister Anna (the first of the sger’s two tumultuo divorc)’s growg addictn to e exacerbated his psychologil stggl. Gaye, who ced his chief fluenc as Ray Charl, Cly McPhatter, Rudy Wt (lead sger for the doo-wop group the Five Keys), and Ltle Willie John, was ducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1987.

He received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement an artist who employed urban soul mic to exprs social and personal ncerns, as well as a sger of exquise sensivy and romantic grace, Gaye left a legacy that has wined sce his mise, and his mic has bee a permanent fixture Amerin pop. Gaye's later rerds veloped his productn style and yield several hs, cludg "Let's Get It On," "Sexual Healg" and "I Heard Through the Grapeve." Gaye was killed 1984 durg a domtic dispute wh his father.Early LifeSger Marv Pentz Gaye, Jr., also known as the "Prce of Soul," was born Washgton, D.C., on April 2, 1939.

HOW SWEET IT IS: THE INPARABLE SOUL OF MARV GAYE

And were signed to Gordy's legendary Motown Rerds.Motown RerdsGaye's first certified h unr his own name wouldn't e until 1962, but his early years at Motown were full of behd-the-scen succs. Showg his strip as Motown's renaissance man, Gaye went on to break to the Top 40 for the first time on his own 1962 wh his solo sgle "Hch Hike." Throughout the 1960s, Gaye would show his immense range, churng out solo dance hs and romantic duets wh h-makers like Diana Ross and Mary Wells. "Can I Get a Wns" and "I Heard Through the Grapeve" were some of Gaye's biggt hs of the perd, the latter achievg s place as Motown's bt-sellg sgle of the 1960s.

For three high-flyg years, Gaye and Tammi Terrell wowed the untry wh their soarg duet performanc of songs like "A't No Mounta High Enough" and "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You." Unfortunately, their reign as the Royal Couple of R&B end when Terrell succumbed to a bra tumor 1970. His beloved partner's ath hered a dark perd for the sger, who swore never to partner wh another female volist and threatened to abandon the stage for good.Polil MsageIn 1970, spired by latg vlence and polil unrt over the Vietnam War, Gaye wrote the landmark song "What's Gog On." Dpe clash wh Motown over the song's creative directn, the sgle was released 1971 and beme an stant smash. When was released the sprg of 1971, the What's Gog On album served to open Gaye up to new dienc while matag his Motown followg.

Departg om the tried and te Motown formula, Gaye went out on his own artistilly, pavg the way for other Motown artists like Wonr and Michael Jackson to branch out later years. Beyond fluencg his peers, the album garnered wispread cril acclaim, wng the Rollg Stone Album of the Year award.Crossover SuccsIn 1972, Gaye moved to Los Angel and soon met Janis Hunter, who would later bee his send wife. Inspired part by his newfound pennce, Gaye rerd one of the most revered love anthems of all time, "Let's Get It On." The song beme his send no.

‘HOW SWEET IT IS’: MARV GAYE MASTERS SOUL AND POP

Shortly afterwards, Motown phed Gaye to tourg to palize on his most recent succs; reluctantly the sger-songwrer returned to the stage.

In 2013, Gaye's tate asserted that producer/songwrer Pharrell Williams and sger/songwrer Rob Thicke had mted pyright gement by takg major mil elements om the dis track for the mega-h "Blurred L." After a se which Thicke ttified that he'd had ltle to do wh the wrg of the song, the jury led favor of Gaye's fay, who were award $7.3 ln damag and prof shar.

10 SURPRISG THGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MARV GAYE!

The jury also led that neher Williams or Thicke had purposely mted gement.) After two s at Motown, Gaye signed wh CBS's Columbia Rerds 1982 and began to work on his last album, Midnight Love. The lead sgle om that album, "Sexual Healg," beme a huge eback h for the R&B star and earned him his first two Grammy Awards and an Amerin Mic Award for Favore Soul Sgle.Personal LifeIn 1975, Gaye's wife Anna Gordy—Berry Gordy's sister—filed for divorce, and two years later Gaye married Hunter, who had by then given birth to their dghter, Nona (born September 4, 1974) and their son Frankie (born November 16, 1975). The sger's marriage to Hunter proved short lived and tumultuo, endg divorce 1981.Death and LegacyDpe his succsful eback the early 1980s, Gaye stggled badly wh the substance abe and bouts of prsn that had plagued him for most of his life.

Creatg betiful art om a troubled life, Gaye aga and aga brought his visn, range and artistry to the world stage.

Hopefully, I rerd so that I n help someone overe a bad time."QUICK FACTSName: Marv GayeBirth Year: 1939Birth date: April 2, 1939Birth Cy: Washgton, D. C.Birth Country: Uned StatGenr: MaleBt Known For: Marv Gaye was a soul sger-songwrer wh Motown the 1960s and 1970s.