Marvin Gaye

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (Washington D.C., April 2, 1939-Los Angeles, April 1, 1984) known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American musician, producer and singer of soul, smooth soul, quiet storm, blaxploitation, commonly nicknamed "the prince of soul", was one of the fundamental singers of Motown Sound.

Throughout his career, Marvin Gaye has sold more than 25 million albums, contrary to his early career, over the years Gaye has established himself as a fundamental pillar and icon of soul, releasing several albums that would revolutionize and change the course of that genre in the 1970s and 1980s. Since his death, many institutions have awarded him posthumous titles, awards and honors -including the Grammy Award for artistic career, a position in the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, another inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 1987, in his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition, he is ranked eighteenth (18th) of The 100 Greatest Artists in History according to Rolling Stone magazine.

The singer added the letter "e" at the end of his last name Gay , as a tribute to his musical idol Sam Cooke, turning it from Gaye .

During his first years of musical career he recorded numerous hits of his time such as "Pride and Joy", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" and the number 1 in the United States and the United Kingdom "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", the latter is considered a soul hit, reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot chart 100 in 1968 and is listed at position 81 of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time according to Rolling Stone.

Despite his initial success, Marvin Gaye's career was cut short after being hit hard by the abrupt death of singer Tammi Terrell, his lifelong stage partner. After a period of depression, from which he never fully came out, he tried to find a position as a wide receiver in a professional American Football team, the Detroit Lions, something that was ultimately not allowed for fear of a possible career-affecting injury. of the.

Marvin Gaye returned to the music scene in the early 1970s to record some of the most acclaimed records of his career and history, including "What' s Going On" (1971), considered by specialized critics as the best soul album of all time and one of the most influential and important in history, ranks first on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Released in 2003 following a 2020 reissue, this album also made him the first African-American singer to earn $1 million. The song of the same name was listed in 2004 and again in 2011 by Rolling Stone among the 500 best songs of all time in fourth position. It is also one of The 500 songs that marked rock & roll according to the Hall of Fame of this genre.

It would be followed by "Let's Get It On" (1973), considered one of the greatest albums of all time, popularizing funk and soul in the 1970s, establishing Gaye as a sex symbol in music. The song of the same name was included in 2008 in position 32 in the ranking of The 100 Greatest Hits of All Time in the United States. Both "I Want You" (1976) as "Here, My Dear" (1978), which at the time enjoyed unfavorable reviews and a poor reception, are currently considered reference albums for Soul, the latter in 2020 would obtain position 493 of the 500 Best Albums in the History of Rolling magazine. Stone.

Despite his success in the 1970s, Gaye succumbed to a severe cocaine addiction, serious financial problems, a costly divorce from his first wife, and family and mental problems, which would lead to several suicide attempts.

After the 1970s, Gaye would publish his last and greatest commercial success in 1982, his album "Midnight Love", considered one of the most important albums of the 1980s and containing the hit & #34;Sexual Healing" which earned him two Grammy Awards, is number 233 on the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine.

Gaye died under unclear circumstances at his parents' home in Los Angeles, California. It was on the eve of her 45th birthday (April 1, 1984), when her parent shot him three times after a violent argument.

Biography

Early Years

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. was born in Washington, D.C., where his father was a preacher, minister of the House of God, a conservative Christian congregation with elements of Pentecostalism and Orthodox Judaism that demanded the adhered to strict codes of conduct and did not celebrate any holidays. Marvin began singing in the church choir, a place that years later he would say "I learned the joy of music"; however, at home, he had to put up with his father's moral fundamentalism and outbursts. During those years, he learned to play the piano and the drums, being forced to abandon athletics due to the intransigence of his father.

At the age of 15 he formed his first band, the DC Tones. After a brief hiatus in the air force, where he was fired for indiscipline, he joined the doo wop group The Rainbows, and later The Marquees, recording a single sponsored by Bo Diddley that was not successful.. Soon after, he joined The Moonglows, a group led by Harvey Fuqua and, at the time, one of the best doo wop groups. "Mama Loocie" (1959, Chess Records) was the first single released with The Moonglows.

After various jobs and tours, Harvey Fuqua disbanded the group and moved to Detroit for more opportunities, taking Gaye with him. There, he founded a record label and married Gwen Berry, who ran another small label; The two later merged into the Tri Phi Records label and added to their catalog Marvin Gaye, who had married Anna Berry, Gwen's older sister, in 1961. Later, Berry Gordy, Anna and Gwen's brother and owner of the Tammi label, later Tamla Motown, absorbed the Tri Phi company.

1960s: Motown

Gaye in 1966

At Motown, where he would have a brilliant career, Gaye began accompanying drums, among other groups, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, and doing vocal accompaniment and playing the piano on recordings by other artists.

In August 1961, he made his solo debut with The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, without much success. Deviating from the path of conventional ballads, he composed with William Stevenson and George Gordy, 'That Stubborn Kinda'. Fellow" (1963), from which the single that gives the album its title was released, Hitch Hike and "Pride and Joy", his first Motown hits, which would be followed by the album How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (1964) and the singles "I'll Be Doggone" and "Ain't That Peculiar" (1965).

Gaye in 1968

In 1964 he began his duets with Mary Wells, the female Motown star, with whom he recorded, that same year, Together, and a couple of songs that had some popularity.

He later recorded with Kim Weston, "Take Two" (1967), but his best duets were undoubtedly with Tammi Terrell, with whom he managed to recreate the perfect romance in the eyes of the public to the point that insistent rumors circulated about the relationship between the two who were, yes, great friends.. With her he obtained great successes such as & # 34; Ain & # 39; t No Mountain High Enough & # 34; and "Your Precious Love" in 1967 and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By" in 1968.

The fantasy ended abruptly after in the summer of 1967, Tammi Terrel collapsed onstage in Gaye's arms from an undiagnosed brain tumor that would take her life three years later. "I feel that, in a way, I have died with her," Gaye would say some time later.

The following year he blew up the charts solo with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (1968) reaching number one on the R&B and pop charts and managing to sell more than 4 million copies of the single; Motown's biggest seller of the '60s.

The 70s: international success

From 1968 Gaye began to distance himself in the artistic field from the Motown producers and following the trend that manifested itself in the popular music of those years of incorporating social and political themes into the lyrics, he recorded in 1971 the one that in the end it will be considered his best album, What's Going On, with elements of jazz and classical music and in which he addresses environmental protection, political corruption, the abuse of drugs and the Vietnam War inspired by his brother Frankie Gaye who had just returned from the front lines.

Gaye in 1973, advertising photo

What's Going On has to overcome Gordy's initial opposition, however, who judges him excessively political and scarcely commercial; however, Gaye refuses to make another recording until the single is recorded, to which Gordy finally agrees in January 1971. Once released it quickly peaked at number one and number two on the soul and pop charts and upon success, Gordy acknowledges Gaye's victory and gives in to his claims. The LP (long play) is recorded in just 10 days in March and comes out on May 21, achieving the same success as the single.

In 1973 he recorded Let's Get It On, an album impregnated with sensuality that was well received by the public, the homonymous single and the song Distant Love. The same year she records with Diana Ross Marvin & amp; Diana, from which another classic of both You Are Everything emerges, a song performed in sporadic concerts by the duo.

As her marriage ends, she posts I Want You. After his divorce from Anna Gordy, he is sentenced in 1976 by a court for non-payment of alimony, being forced to work on a new album; the result is Here, My Dear an album so personal that Anna Gordy even considers suing him for invading her privacy. Despite Gaye's compositional complexity and determination, the album was a commercial failure, leading Gaye to a deep depression, and to tour to earn an income.

80s

Gaye and guitarist Gordon Banks, February 1984

After several professional setbacks and another failed marriage, Gaye moved to Hawaii and finally, due to tax problems, landed in Europe in 1981, where he brought to light In Our Lifetime, a complicated and intimate album that will put an end to his relationship with Motown.

After signing with Columbia Records in 1982, he composed "Midnight Love" while he was trying to overcome his cocaine addiction. One of her songs, "Sexual Healing", is one of Gaye's most famous. "Sexual Healing" it was written in the village Moere (West Flanders, Belgium). There you can see her splendid house.

Murder

Despite the resurgence of his career and his reunion with fame, he sank further into drugs, from which he tried to isolate himself by seeking refuge in his parents' house. However, during his time there he attempted suicide on several occasions after bitter arguments with his father.

Finally, on April 1, 1984, the eve of his 45th birthday, during one of those arguments his father shot him dead (a fact that would be classified as "justifiable homicide or self-defense", since in court his father claimed self-defense because Marvin had beaten him up (a fact that was repeated quite often due to their differences and Marvin's drug abuse) with a gun that Marvin himself had given him four months earlier. After the tragedy, his mother divorced his father and he ended his days in a nursing home, where he died in 1998 of a heart attack.

Legacy

Marvin Gaye for the Belgian painter Willy Bosschem.

In 1987, Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was not, however, the only tribute to her figure: in her lifetime, in 1983, the British group Spandau Ballet recorded the single & # 34; True & # 34; dedicated to Gaye and the "Motown sound"; a year after his death The Commodores picked up Gaye's death in & # 34; Night Shift & # 34; and in 1999 the world of R&B honored the "Prince of Motown" on the album Marvin is 60.

Also in 1991 Rod Stewart and Tina Turner recorded together a memorable version of "It takes two" that was included on the albums Vagabond Heart by Rod Stewart and Simply the Best by Tina Turner. In 2015, singers Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor wrote a song named after the late singer, Marvin Gaye.

In popular culture

To honor the memory of the musician, the Marvin Magazine was created in Mexico, named after him.

The song "Marvin Gaye,' sung by Meghan Trainor and Charlie Puth, references him. In an interview with Billboard, Puth explains the vibe he wanted for his next EP. "I listened to a lot of Marvin Gaye and Motown records. When I was making my record, I just wanted to make this soulful sound. When Marvin Gaye did the music for him, he evoked this feeling that got through to everyone." In April 2015, he released "I Won't Tell a Soul," the second single from his EP, Some Type of Love.

His music has been used in a large number of films, television series, documentaries and even in video games. which is why he remains one of the most influential artists in history.

The song Ain't No Mountain High Enough is featured in the movie Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Discography

With Motown

Alone

• 1961: The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye
• 1963: That Stubborn Kinda Fellow
• 1963: Recorded Live on Stage
• 1964: Hello Broadway
• 1964: When I'm Alone I Cry
• 1965: How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You (R fakeB #4, US #128)
• 1965: A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole
• 1966: Moods of Marvin Gaye (R fakeB #8, US #118)
• 1967: Marvin Gaye at the Copa (cancelled; later in 2005)
• 1968: In the Groove (renamed in 1969 as I Heard It Through the Grapevine(R fakeB #2, US #63)
• 1969: M.P.G. (R fakeB #1, US #40)
• 1970: That's The Way Love Is (R fakeB #17, US #189)
• 1971: What's Going On (R fakeB)1, US #6) [Goldenfish]
• 1972: You're the Man (retired from sale)
• 1972: Trouble Man (R fakeB #3, US #14)
• 1973: Let's Get It On (R fakeB)1, US #2)
• 1974: Marvin Gaye Live! (R fakeB)1, US #8)
• 1976: I Want You (R fakeB)1, US #4)
• 1977: Live at the London Palladium (R fakeB)1, US #3)
• 1978: Here, My Dear (R fakeB #4, US #26)
• 1979: Love Man (canceled)
• 1981: In Our Lifetime (R fakeB #6, US #32)
• 1994: The Norman Whitfield Sessions

Duos

• Marvin Gaye & Mary Wells:
  • 1964: Together (US #42)
• Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston:
  • 1966: Take Two (R fakeB #24)
• Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell:
  • 1967: Ain't No Mountain High Enough
  • 1967: United (R fakeB #7, US #69)
  • 1968: You're All I Need (R fakeB #4, US #60)
  • 1969: Easy (US #184)
• Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye:
  • 1973: Diana " Marvin (R fakeB #7, US #26)

With Columbia Records

• 1982: Midnight Love (R fakeB)1, US #7) [3x Platinum]
• 1985: Dream Of A Lifetime (posthumous) (R strangerB #8, US #41)
• 1985: Romantically Yours (postum)

Compilations

• 1964: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (US #72)
• 1967: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (R fakeB #19, US #178)
• 1969: Marvin Gaye & His Girls (R fakeB #16, US #183)
• 1970: Super Hits (R fakeB #19, US #117)
• 1970: Greatest Hits (w/Tammi Terrell)
• 1974: Anthology (version #1)
• 1976: Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits (R fakeB #17, US #44) [Platinum]
• 1983: Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye (US #80) [Platinum]
• 1984: Anthology (version #2)
• 1986: Motown Remembers Marvin Gaye (R fakeB #48, US #193)
• 1988: A Musical Testament: 1964-1984 (R fakeB #69)
• 1991: The Marvin Gaye Collection (R fakeB #67)
• 1995: Anthology (version #3)
• 1995: The Master: 1961/1984 (box set)
• 2000: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Marvin Gaye, Vol. 1 - the 1960s
• 2001: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Marvin Gaye, Vol. 2 - the 1970s
• 2001: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
• 2001: The Complete Duets (w/Tammi Terrell)
• 2001: Love Songs: Greatest Duets
• 2002: Love Songs: Bedroom Ballads
• 2002: The Very Best of Marvin Gaye (re-released in 2005 as Marvin Gaye: Gold(2002 - R luminousb #85, US #167; 2005 - R luminousb #95) [Gold]

Deluxe reissues

• 2001: What's Going On (Deluxe Edition)
• 2001: Let's Get It On (Deluxe Edition)
• 2003: I Want You (Deluxe Edition)
• 2007: " Number 1's"