Marv Gaye's 'What's Gog On?' turns 50 | CNN

Contents:

• MARV GAYE IS SHOT AND KILLED BY HIS OWN FATHER
• MARV GAYE
• THE LIFE AND TRAGIC ATH OF MARV GAYE, THE SON OF A PREACHER WHO BEME MOTOWN'S VOICE OF POLIL CHANGE AND DIED AT THE HANDS OF HIS OWN FATHER
• MARV GAYE’S ESTATE IS NOW AFTER T.I., UMG AND INTERSPE ALSO
• 50 YEARS AFTER MARV GAYE ASKED, ‘WHAT’S GOG ON?’ AMERI STILL SEARCHG FOR AN ANSWER
• ‘MORE LIKE A STORY THAN A SONG’: HOW MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ REMAS RELEVANT 50 YEARS LATER

MARV GAYE IS SHOT AND KILLED BY HIS OWN FATHER

Marv Gaye. Marv Gaye was one of those artists who uld sg a grocery list and make sound soulful, balanced, and brilliant, and his hhed, nuanced vol work the rerdg stud is always a marvel -- he knew how to work a stud mike for shadg and feel like few others uld.

MARV GAYE

Gaye’s talog obvly clus a lot more great tracks and this is jt a taste of what’s there, but any Marv Gaye beats no Marv Gaye, and you n never really go wrong wh this guy. Very siar to the In 2 pilatn released later, Ins is a two-disc anthology that selects highlights om Marv Gaye's disgraphy that span the early '60s through the early '80s.

THE LIFE AND TRAGIC ATH OF MARV GAYE, THE SON OF A PREACHER WHO BEME MOTOWN'S VOICE OF POLIL CHANGE AND DIED AT THE HANDS OF HIS OWN FATHER

At the peak of his reer, Marv Gaye was the Prce of Motown—the soulful voice behd hs as wi-rangg as “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and “Mercy Mercy Me (The Elogy). ” Like his label-mate Stevie Wonr, Gaye both epomized and outgrew the crowd-pleasg sound that ma Motown famo. That life me to a tragic end on April 1, 1984, when Marv Gaye was shot and killed by his own father one day short of his 45th the physil e of Marv Gaye’s ath was straightforward—”Gunshot wound to cht perforatg heart, lung and liver, ” acrdg to the Los Angel County Coroner—the events that led to were much more tangled.

Marv Gay, Sr., (the “e” was add by his son for his stage name) was a preacher the Hebrew Pentestal Church and a proponent of a strict moral he enforced btally wh his four children. Clearly harbored unrolved feelgs toward his abive feelgs spilled out for the fal time the Los Angel home of Marv Gay, Sr., and his wife Alberta. Only one year removed om his first Grammy w and om a triumphant return to the pop charts wh “Sexual Healg, ” Marv Gaye was horrible physil, psychologil and fancial an argument between father and son lated to a physil fight on the morng of April 1, 1984, Alberta Gay was tryg to lm her son his bedroom when Marv Sr.

MARV GAYE’S ESTATE IS NOW AFTER T.I., UMG AND INTERSPE ALSO

Marv Gaye’s brother, Frankie, who lived next door, and who held the legendary sger durg his fal mut, later wrote his memoir that Marv Gaye’s fal, disturbg statement was, “I got what I wanted…. 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.

50 YEARS AFTER MARV GAYE ASKED, ‘WHAT’S GOG ON?’ AMERI STILL SEARCHG FOR AN ANSWER

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]).

‘MORE LIKE A STORY THAN A SONG’: HOW MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ REMAS RELEVANT 50 YEARS LATER

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.