Marvin Gaye was such an exceptional person when it came to
music. He had a heart and felt what others were feeling. Looking on the outside
in, he seemed comical and interesting. However, being on the inside seemed as
demanding as ever. He was married to Anna, Berry Gordy’s sister in which was
the owner of Hitsville U.S.A. ‘The Snake-Pit’. With thoughts and images from
the letters his brother Frankie sent from his 3-year tour of duty in Vietnam,
and the memories of his fathers abusiveness had set the stage very clear for
the song WHATS GOING ON. Of course,
lets not forget the 1967 “race riot” that enriched the sky with the burning
smell of houses and local businesses.
Gaye had to overcome so much pressure to get the song WHATS GOING ON released into mainstream
media. With the war and politics and crazy riots everywhere Mr. Gordy was sure
it would ruin him and his image. Berry recalls a time when Marvin was so
excited about the song. Gordy told a T.V. interviewer,
“He called and said,
‘Lookit, I’ve got to release this album. I’ve got these songs, it’s great.
‘When he told me they were protest songs, I said, ‘Marvin, why do you want to
ruin your career? Why do you want to put out a song about the Vietnam war,
police brutality and all of these things? You’ve got all these great love
songs. You’re the hottest artist, the sex symbol of the ‘60’s and ‘70s…’”
Finally Gaye made him an ultimatum, until Berry and his
Quality Control cabal came to release WHATS
GOING ON, Marvin would do nothing more for the company. Marvin Gaye was the
first of the soul era to produce a record aiming to make a difference within
the community and take a political strike at cultural. His vocals were blended
and stacked or overdubbed in a high and low part for the recording. (He did a couple
of lead mono takes accidentally dubbed together) founded by accident, this
later became a hallmark of his vocal style.
As an industry professional, I see a person that would stop
at nothing to see his dreams, wants and desired come to pass. Some good and
some bad, but in the end most obstacles were overcome. Haunted by drug
addiction like most other artist of that time, in which influenced his playing
style and tangible writing techniques. He seemed to have much to say, R.I.P.
Marvin.
Joshua Knight,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everything you have said about Marvin Gaye. I truly find him as one of the most inspirational and influential artist of all times. Not only was Marvin a self proclaimed Singer/Songwriter he was also an amazing producer, producing majority of his classic hits being backed by the “Funk Brothers” Motown’s in-house band. Marvin was a pioneer, writing and singing about what he believed in and standing behind his every word. It is really hard to find an original artist who is not scared to stand up against the music industry, government, and people to speak out about what they believe in. “I see a person that would stop at nothing to see his dreams, wants and desired come to pass,” well said Josh. That is Dedication, desire, and drive, at its best, at man that will stop at nothing..
Thanks,
Eric Livingston