20 Years Ago, Marv Gaye Took 'Natnal Anthem' To New Heights : NPR

Contents:

• 20 YEARS AGO, MARV GAYE TOOK 'NATNAL ANTHEM' TO NEW HEIGHTS
• MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ IS AS RELEVANT TODAY AS IT WAS 1971
• PLEASE TELL ME “WHAT’S GOG ON”?: THE NTEMPORARY RONANCE OF MARV GAYE
• MARV GAYE
• 50 YEARS LATER, WHY MARV GAYE'S SEMAL ALBUM 'WHAT'S GOG ON' ENDUR
• THE PLAYERS’ ANTHEM: WHEN MARV GAYE SANG ‘THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER’ AT THE 1983 ALL-STAR GAME
• THE REAL MEANG BEHD MARV GAYE'S 'WHAT'S GOG ON'
• FLASHBACK: MARV GAYE REIMAG ‘THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER’ 1983
• MARV GAYE'S FAY CONSIRG 'HAPPY' AFTER 'BLURRED L' W
• MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ GETS 50TH ANNIVERSARY DIGAL REISSUE

20 YEARS AGO, MARV GAYE TOOK 'NATNAL ANTHEM' TO NEW HEIGHTS

It was 20 years ago, at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, that Marv Gaye stole the show wh his sgular rendn of "The Star-Spangled Banner. Released on May 21, 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War, Marv Gaye’s album beme a monster, spawng three h sgl on s way to beg Motown’s bt-sellg album to date. The album also marked a turng pot for Motown and for Marv Gaye as an artist.

And the host of the weekly rad show “Soul Stori, ” I am stck by how many of the them Gaye explor rema as relevant today as they were when he first wrote about them 50 years ago. But the song provis an sight to the evolutn of Gaye’s mic to enpass overtly polil them.

For example, “Soldier’s Plea, ” the first sgle om Gaye’s send album, “That Stubborn Kda Fellow” 1962, offers a cidly romantic view of war:. “Can’t fd no work, n’t fd no job, my iend, ” Gaye laments on “What’s Happeng Brother.

MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ IS AS RELEVANT TODAY AS IT WAS 1971

Gaye repeats the affirmatn “right on” – a phrase distctly ground black urban vernacular – throughout the album and on a song bearg that name. ” Gaye affirms “Right on, brother” to men who rpond kd at different pots the song.

The ll and rponse munit a sense of shared ncern, shared stggle, and shared remptn – an ethos Gaye took om the gospel tradn that rms his mily. This ll and rponse is repeated “Wholy Holy, ” wh Gaye utilizg a multrackg technique to layer two versns of his own vols:. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe heirs of Ed Townsend, who -wrote “Let’s Get It On” wh Marv Gaye, had acced the pop star of pyg “Thkg Out Loud.

“Y, Amy Wadge and I wrote the song ‘Thkg Out Loud, ’” he Newman/Associated PrsIn a closely watched mic pyright trial, jurors ultimately sid wh Ed Sheeran, who had been acced of pyg his Grammy-wng ballad “Thkg Out Loud” om Marv Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On. “Thkg Out Loud”Ed Sheeran“Let’s Get It On”Marv GayeWhat were the trial’s highlights?

PLEASE TELL ME “WHAT’S GOG ON”?: THE NTEMPORARY RONANCE OF MARV GAYE

”ImageEd Townsend was a songwrer and producer who llaborated wh Gaye on the “Let’s Get It On” Ochs Archiv/Getty ImagWhat parts of the songs are dispute? The trial was watched closely mic and legal circl as the latt example a seri of s that have alt wh whether monplace bs of harmony or melody n be owned by any poser or are part of the public trend began 2015 when a jury found that Rob Thicke and Pharrell Williams, their h “Blurred L, ” had ged on the pyright of another Gaye tune, “Got to Give It Up, ” and they were orred to pay more than $5 ln damag. We wanted to provi a direct opportuny to hear Marv Gaye’s semal album while parg to morn mic om Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monáe.

MARV GAYE

One n also fd the cril role of the Natnal Rerdg Board, appoted by the Library of Congrs, which add Marv Gaye’s hallmark album What’s Gog On (1971) to s Natnal Rerdg Registry 2003. Albums like Marv Gaye’s What’s Gog On igne our personal and cultural memori and fuel our hop for the future.

As a young child growg up the South the 1970s, my mother troduced me to Marv Gaye and the rt of the “Motown Sound. ” I beme enamored by Gaye’s quiet and nfint persona, his ol, and his soulfulns, all of which radiated Black pri. As stunts, we wore pi of his signature knted hat that we dubbed our “Marv Gaye ps.

To aspirg youths, Gaye and the rt of the Motown fay served as stimuli, and we, turn, challenged lims placed on due to race, socenomic stat, genr, and geography. Today, Gaye’s prophetic lyrics echo anew as current generatns tie new experienc to them and hear them relatn to ntemporary soc-polil problems.

50 YEARS LATER, WHY MARV GAYE'S SEMAL ALBUM 'WHAT'S GOG ON' ENDUR

Marv Gaye’s album What’s Gog On addrsed social ills that clud the Vietnam War and police btaly (“What’s Gog On”); environmental jtice (“Mercy, Mercy, Me” or “The Elogy Song”); and enomic dispari and systemic racism (“Make Me Wanna Holler” or “Inner Cy Blu”), all of which reverberate today. In the May 20, 2011, BBC documentary What’s Gog On—Mic That Defed a De, Smokey Robson, Motown legend and Gaye’s iend, asserts that What’s Gog On, “refed soul mic as an agent for social change.

Today, Gaye’s anthem “What’s Gog On” prs both public historians and micians to actively engage socially and polilly and to reflect on mic as an art form has rried the impet for change the past and the prent. Gaye’s songs are historil documents that public historians n e to engage dienc about social jtic, while also monstratg how they will ntue if we do not move to actn. The song ronat tergeneratnally, revealg the turbulence of society today jt as did Gaye’s time.

Jt as Marv Gaye’s mic and style spired activism the 1970s, his work serv as a prototype for today’s artists who e their platforms to make effective social and polil statements. Young mil artists today are ntug the ll for social reform enunciated by Marv Gaye.

THE PLAYERS’ ANTHEM: WHEN MARV GAYE SANG ‘THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER’ AT THE 1983 ALL-STAR GAME

” Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics—those “Alright” and many others—suggt that he is one of those wearg the mantle of Marv Gaye. They also prove that the issu addrsed by Gaye the early 70s are still wh , as is the need for rilience.

” Jt as Marv Gaye ed his microphone to mand social jtice the 1970s, the artists e their podium to expla the ntemporary urgency of some of the same soc-polil and cultural issu, such as the need to end police btaly and systemic racism that are the root of the current Black Liv Matter Movement. Marv Gaye turned his mic to a ll for the posive change that n be wrought by love, and “What’s Gog On” implor to realize his aspiratn for uny: “Let’s get some unrstandg here today.

” As an advote for social and environmental jtice, Gaye created mic that would reta s relevance and urgency for generatns to e. Gaye’s “What’s Gog On” vok personal and historil memori and ntu to ronate and stir emotns. When doo-wop dissipated the late 1950s, Gaye had already absorbed Fuqua’s lsons close harmony.

THE REAL MEANG BEHD MARV GAYE'S 'WHAT'S GOG ON'

After disbandg the Moonglows, Fuqua took the 20-year-old Gaye to Detro, where Berry Gordy, Jr., was formg Motown Rerds. 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.

FLASHBACK: MARV GAYE REIMAG ‘THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER’ 1983

In 1972 Gaye wrote the soundtrack for the film Trouble Man, wh lyrics that mirrored his own sense of secury.

MARV GAYE'S FAY CONSIRG 'HAPPY' AFTER 'BLURRED L' W

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. Fd that d Marv Gaye's rerd "What's Gog On" me out 1971, unemployment was at a high of 6%, people were prottg police btaly, and Amerins were angry over the Vietnam War.

MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ GETS 50TH ANNIVERSARY DIGAL REISSUE

“Motown was not a pany that was built on any kd of personal statements, ” says Nelson Gee, a mic journalist, thor and cultural cric who terviewed Gaye durg the sger-songwrer’s the 1970s, Motown Rerds was known for s “superb productn le, ” which clud the stud band, The Funk Brothers, Gee says. ”“That kd of polil, social, personal work was not a signature of the pany, ” Gee a tour stop Berkeley, California, Renaldo “Obie” Benson of Motown giant the Four Tops was spired to wre “What’s Gog On” after wnsg a scuffle between police and monstrators at an anti-Vietnam War Benson brought the song to him, Gaye was reluctant to rerd .

At this pot his reer, Gaye was famo for his pop duets and love ballads, such as “A't No Mounta High Enough” wh Tammi Terrell and “I Heard It Through the Grapeve. ”Gaye thought the song was better sued for a band lled The Origals, but he agreed to rerd himself after Benson allowed him to rewre some parts of . One of the most notable chang Gaye ma was the fal versn of the song, there was no qutn mark the song illtrat the challeng society durg the 1960s — “spirualy, brotherhood, the onens of man” — and speaks to what Gaye thks are solutns, Gee explas.