CNN Special: “What’s Gog On”: Marv Gaye’s Anthem for the Ag

Contents:

• THE STORY OF... 'WHAT'S GOG ON' BY MARV GAYE
• MARV GAYE'S SOULFUL PROTT LP `WHAT'S GOG ON' REMAS RELEVANT AS EVER ON S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
• EARTHGANG'S OLU COVERS MARV GAYE'S 'WHAT'S GOG ON'
• THE REAL MEANG BEHD MARV GAYE'S 'WHAT'S GOG ON'
• ‘MORE LIKE A STORY THAN A SONG’: HOW MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ REMAS RELEVANT 50 YEARS LATER

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

'What's Gog On' by Marv Gaye - Smooth. 'What's Gog On' by Marv Gaye.

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 SOULFUL PROTT LP `WHAT'S GOG ON' REMAS RELEVANT AS EVER ON S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Marv Gaye 1970. '"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... "Gaye lled 'What's Gog On'.

He ially thought the song's would be good for the group The Origals, Benson nvced Gaye to rerd was spired by social jtic mted the US, cludg the 1965 Watts rts. '"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 - What's Gog On (Official Vio 2019).

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.

EARTHGANG'S OLU COVERS MARV GAYE'S 'WHAT'S GOG ON'

Once Gaye heard Fontae's riff, he told Fontae to go home. When Fontae protted that he was jt "goofg around", Gaye replied: "you goof off exquisely, thank you.

"The laid-back atmosphere the stud was helped by nstant marijuana smokg by Gaye and the micians.

Jamerson was brought after Gaye saw him playg wh a band at a lol bar. 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.

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

However, when he heard , Gaye was imprsed wh the double-lead feel that he kept . 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.

It forced Gordy to allow Gaye to produce his own mic, givg him an ultimatum to plete an album by the end of March, rultg What's Gog On. Marv Gaye What's Gog On Live 1972.

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

In the years surroundg Marv Gaye's 'What's Gog On, ' artists like Stevie Wonr, Curtis Mayfield, Diana Ross, and the O'Jays all joed a new wave of socially nsc R&B mic. But the sight of Marv Gaye’s 1971 What’s Gog On atop Rollg Stone’s 500 Greatt Albums of All Time list is a formidable remr that socially-nsc pop was very much alive durg that perd — jt not rock & roll. Gaye was hardly an outlier this way.

Marv Gaye, “Cloud Ne” (1969). Two years before What’s Gog On, Gaye tted the social-nscns waters wh this versn of the Temptatns’ psychelic-soul h om the prev year.

Gaye didn’t pletely make the song his own, but he clearly nnected wh the imag of a large fay growg up a slum, wh ltle food and ltle the way of an pe plan. In a sign of how eply Gaye’s song impacted on pop right after s release, the Oh Players — normally given over to lasciv funk hs like “Fire” and “Love Rolleraster” — rolled out a warm, reverent ver of the song a year after Gaye’s own. If Gaye’s versn felt personal and timate, the Oh Players’ rendn turned the song to a multi-voiced claratn of munal spir, and heavier on the backbeat, too.

Their “What’s Gog On” was a tribute to both Gaye and to the healg power of the mic, pecially at that time. There was plenty gog on 1970s Ameri, and Marv Gaye’s soulful “What’s Gog On” tapped right to . Inspired by tal of the Vietnam War brought back by his brother Frankie, Gaye wrote the l, “Brother, brother, brother/ There’s far too many of you dyg.