10 Surprisg Facts About Marv Gaye | Essence

Contents:

• MARV GAYE
• 10 SURPRISG FACTS ABOUT MARV GAYE
• THE STORY BEHD THE MURR OF MARV GAYE
• MARV GAYE'S 10 GREATT SONGS EVER, RANKED
• WHY YOU CAN GIVE MARV GAYE SOME CRED FOR FAMO AMOS COOKI
• MARV GAYE BGRAPHY
• 31 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH, MARV GAYE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

MARV GAYE

Marv Gaye, byname of Marv Pentz Gay, Jr., (born April 2, 1939, Washgton, D.

Gaye sang his father’s Evangelil church Washgton, D. When doo-wop dissipated the late 1950s, Gaye had already absorbed Fuqua’s lsons close harmony. After disbandg the Moonglows, Fuqua took the 20-year-old Gaye to Detro, where Berry Gordy, Jr., was formg Motown Rerds.

10 SURPRISG FACTS ABOUT MARV GAYE

Gaye, who also played dms and piano, bucked the Motown system and s emphasis on teen hs. Gaye also enjoyed a seri of succsful duets, most notably wh Tammi Terrell (“A’t Nothg Like the Real Thg” [1968]).

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.

”Other major artists—most importantly Stevie Wonr—followed Gaye’s lead and acted as producer of their own efforts. In 1972 Gaye wrote the soundtrack for the film Trouble Man, wh lyrics that mirrored his own sense of secury. Let’s Get It On, released 1973, displayed Gaye’s sensuo si.

THE STORY BEHD THE MURR OF MARV GAYE

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. On April 1, 1984, durg a fay dispute, Gaye iated a vlent fight wh his father, who shot him to ath.

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.

MARV GAYE'S 10 GREATT SONGS EVER, RANKED

(1939-1984)Who Was Marv Gaye?Marv Gaye sang his father's church and the Moonglows before signg wh Motown. 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.

WHY YOU CAN GIVE MARV GAYE SOME CRED FOR FAMO AMOS COOKI

Gaye was raised unr the strict ntrol of his father, Reverend Marv Gay Sr.—Marv Gaye Jr.

Throughout his childhood, Gaye often found peace mic, masterg the piano and dms at a young age. In the late 1950s, Gaye joed a vol group lled The New Moonglows. It wasn't long before Gaye and Fuqua both me to the attentn of Detro mic imprar Berry Gordy Jr.

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.

MARV GAYE BGRAPHY

"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.

Its succs prompted Gaye to take even more risks, both milly and polilly. 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. Shortly afterwards, Motown phed Gaye to tourg to palize on his most recent succs; reluctantly the sger-songwrer returned to the stage.

31 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH, MARV GAYE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

Through most of the mid-1970s, Gaye was tourg, llaboratg or producg.

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.

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.