What's Gog On? 50 Years Ago, The Answer Was Bigger Than Marv Gaye : NPR

marvin gaye aretha franklin

From "Rpect," to "Say It Loud" and "What's Gog On," legendary sgers Aretha Frankl, Jam Brown and Marv Gaye ed mic to show the stggl of Black Amerins the U.S. Watch "Black Pop."

Contents:

THE STORY BEHD THE MURR OF MARV GAYE

The tensn and loss that drove Marv Gaye wasn't lost on his peers: In the same year as What's Gog On, a wave of Black artists released explosive new work that put s polics ont and center. * marvin gaye aretha franklin *

When Aretha died, Eddie gave a touchg performance of Marv Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me” as a tribute to her at her funeral. "We n rock this earth's foundatn, " she sgs, a light paraphrase of an exceptnal lyric that Marv Gaye had buried on the send si of What's Gog On. Gaye's album, released jt two days after Fillmore on May 21, 1971, generated three sgl: the trospective tle track, wh s famo wartime ndolence, "Mother, mother, there's too many of you cryg"; "Mercy Mercy Me (The Elogy), " an early anthem of environmental jtice; and "Inner Cy Blu (Make Me Wanna Holler), " a stark existential portra of Black life.

All three charted the Top 10, and the tle track sold over 2 ln pi — a round rebuttal to Gaye's label head and brother--law Berry Gordy, who had lamented what a prott song might do to Motown's bottom le and the reer of one of s most bankable stars. Gaye's le, "We n rock the world's foundatn, " at once acknowledg the power of Black mic as a polil force and anticipat that power risg to meet even greater challeng.

ARETHA, JAM BROWN & MARV GAYE'S CONTRIBUTN TO THE MOVEMENT

Marv Gaye started his reer as one of Motown's brightt stars, helpg to tablish the label's qutsential sound the '60s. * marvin gaye aretha franklin *

Fifty years after s release, What's Gog On remas the most elegant rponse to this tumultuo era, but at least a few of Gaye's peers were rpondg wh equal gravas, while addg a level of raw emotn that was never gog to be sanctned at Motown.

ARETHA FRANKL, STEVIE WONR, MARV GAYE, AND CHAKA KHAN

* marvin gaye aretha franklin *

" But Stone, like Gaye, was railg agast a label's nstrats — his se, CBS Rerds and executive Clive Davis, who wanted a new album wh h sgl 1970.

Even Marv Gaye got on the actn wh his largely stmental Trouble Man, also released '72. Mrice Whe's kaleidospic ensemble, more than anyone, personified a middle ground between Gaye and Stone's approach. Marv Gaye started his reer as one of Motown’s brightt stars.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* MARVIN GAYE ARETHA FRANKLIN

What's Gog On? 50 Years Ago, The Answer Was Bigger Than Marv Gaye : NPR .

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