The Story Of Marv Gaye's 'What's Gog On' : NPR

Contents:

• THE STORY OF... 'WHAT'S GOG ON' BY MARV GAYE
• MARV GAYE'S 10 GREATT SONGS EVER, RANKED
• MARV GAYE
• THE STORY OF MARV GAYE'S 'WHAT'S GOG ON'
• MARV GAYE’S 30 TOP SONGS ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100
• MARV GAYE {LOR:VAR(--CHAKRA-LORS-BRAND-PURPLE);}SONGS
• MARV GAYE’S “WHAT’S GOG ON”

THE STORY OF... 'WHAT'S GOG ON' BY MARV GAYE

Asked by Billboard how the llaboratn me about, he replied: "Meghan and I were at a party one night, and we were exchangg the new mic, and she heard 'Marv Gaye; and asked, 'Who else is sgg on this? Marv Gaye's prott anthem 'What's Gog On' was a powerful and groundbreakg song at the time of s release 1971, but fast forward 50 years later and is sadly still jt as relevant for the world 2021. Wh the huge spark of protts the US and around the world agast racism followg the ath of Gee Floyd a year ago, the subject of police btaly and racial jtice is beg discsed as much today as was back Gaye -wrote 'What's Gog On' about the issu of the time, but ltle did he know that over 30 years after his ath, tragilly still sounds as if uld have been wrten 's the history of one of the most important songs of the 20th century, 50 years on:.

The song was -wrten by Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marv Gaye, and produced by Gaye song marked Gaye's parture om the Motown Sound of his prev output, towards more personal was the tle track of his album What's Gog On?, released May 1971.

MARV GAYE'S 10 GREATT SONGS EVER, RANKED

'"In 1970, Benson gave the untled song to Marv Gaye, who add a new melody and changed the song and add his own later said Gaye "add some thgs that were more ghetto, more natural, which ma seem like a story than a song... '"He was also fluenced by emotnal nversatns shared between him and his brother Frankie, who had returned om three years at the Vietnam War, and his Marv's ath while servg phone nversatns wh Motown boss Berry Gordy, who was on holiday the Bahamas at the time, Gaye told Gordy that he wanted to rerd a prott album, to which Gordy said: "Marv, don't be ridiculo. Marv Gaye was spired by recent succs of his productns for The Origals, and cid to produce the song brought origal Motown -hoe stud micians such as Jam Jamerson and Eddie Brown, wh micians he reced openg saxophone le, by mician Eli Fontae, was not origally tend for the song.

However, the night Jamerson me to rerd the bass l, he uld not s properly his seat and laid on the floor playg his bass Annie Jamerson later said that when he returned home that night, he clared that the song was a "masterpiece" also provid piano and keyboards, and also played a box dm to help alongsi Chet Fort's also ved the Detro Lns players Mel Farr and Lem Barney to the stud and, along wh Gaye and the Funk Brothers, add var vol chatter the background, a mock nversatn. When Gordy heard the song, he turned down Gaye's requt to release , tellg Gaye he felt was "the worst thg I ever heard my life" rpond to this rejectn by refg to rerd anythg else unls the song would be released, gog on strike until Gordy saw more: The 25 greatt Motown songs, rankedThe song was released whout Gordy's knowledge, and sold over 200, 000 pi wh a eventually beme a huge succs, reachg the top of the charts wh a month, stayg at number-one for five weeks on the Billboard R&B charts. Wrten by the famo Holland–Dozier–Holland tr at Motown, this gave Marv Gaye his biggt h at the time song's tle was spired by one of Jackie Gleason's signature tchphras: "How Sweet It Is!

Released on Motown's Tamla label 1966, this duet between Marv and Kim Wton scrib var thgs life - such as dreams, love and wish - beg far better wh two people stead of more: The tragic story of Marv Gaye and the untimely ath of a soul legendIn 1990, Rod Stewart and Ta Turner teamed up for a ver versn, takg to number five the UK. Origally by Dn, this song was a tribute to four inic Amerins who were assassated: Abraham Lln, Mart Luther Kg Jr, John F Kennedy and Robert Gaye vered the song 1970, and was one of his first experiments socially-nsc mic, a year before his What's Gog On?

MARV GAYE

Songwrers Ashford & Simpson scribed this song as their 'goln egg' which got them their first Motown Sprgfield wanted to rerd first, but the duo turned her down so that they uld secure Motown, and land wh Marv and Tammi Terrell, who sred a big h wh their origal more: Tammi Terrell - The tragic life story of a Motown sger and how Marv Gaye never got over her athThree years later, Diana Ross achieved her first solo US number one wh a ver versn g a different arrangement.

The tle track of his 1973 album, beme Marv's biggt h and one of his sgature wh Ed Townsend, was origally nceived as a relig song after Townsend had recently fished rehab, before Gaye transformed to an emotnal plea about love and sexual liberatn. This song was -wrten by Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marv Gaye, and produced by Gaye marked Gaye's parture om the Motown Sound of his prev output, towards more personal more: The Story of...

However, is Marv Gaye's versn om 1968 that beme the most inic, spe the fact that Motown chief Berry Gordy was not nvced would be a h at more: Marv Gaye's isolated vols om 'I Heard Through the Grapeve' will give you tglIt beme a h for a send time 1985, after s e the inic Levi's advert featurg a certa Nick Kamen at a lndrette.

THE STORY OF MARV GAYE'S 'WHAT'S GOG ON'

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. 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 30 TOP SONGS ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100

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. 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 {LOR:VAR(--CHAKRA-LORS-BRAND-PURPLE);}SONGS

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.

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.

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.

MARV GAYE’S “WHAT’S GOG ON”

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.

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. He produced his own rerds and often addrsed ntroversial them.IndtriPopAstrologil Sign: AriIntertg FactsBefore makg as a solo artist, Marv Gaye played dms for artists such as Stevie Wonr and The Suprem.Death Year: 1984Death date: April 1, 1984Death State: CaliforniaDeath Cy: Los AngelDeath Country: Uned StatFact CheckWe strive for accuracy and fairns.If you see somethg that don't look right,ntact !CITATION INFORMATIONArticle Tle: Marv Gaye BgraphyAuthor: EdorsWebse Name: The webseUrl: /micians/marv-gayeAccs Date: Publisher: A&E; Televisn NetworksLast Updated: April 19, 2021Origal Published Date: April 2, 2014QUOTESWar is not the answer, bee only love n nquer hate.If you nnot fd peace wh yourself, you will never fd anywhere else.I rerd so that I n feed people what they need, what they feel. Gaye was one of Motown’s most soulful and socially aware artists, standg tall amongst peers and label mat like Stevie Wonr by igng spirs wh polilly charged cuts like “What’s Gog On” and equally providg heat for timate tim wh songs like “Let’s Get It On.

Unlike some of his Motown label mat, Marv Gaye was not only a nuanced, soulful volist, but an expert songwrer, pable of craftg betiful, medative ballads as well as thumpg dance floor numbers.

Wh progrs, 100 years we'll look back on the rerd as an album that broke down barriers and beme the blueprt on how to live harmonly wh each other and our pla.Today, though, let's take a closer look at the makg of Gaye's masterpiece as the album reach s mid-life surround by a world still crisis. The boss at Motown thought Gaye was jeopardizg his reer wh this albumIn the fall of 1970, Gaye was so exced about the prott album he had md — and the song "What's Gog On" that he'd jt fished — that he tracked down the head of Motown Rerds, Berry Gordy, who was on vatn the Bahamas, to tell him the ia.