I grew up on Marvin Gaye. My mom had the What’s Going On album and played it rather frequently. Like many, it would be my introduction to the man who helped shape modern soul music. That album came at roughly the midway point of his career, something I didn’t really know until I was in my 20s and explored music as I had the time (and disposable income).
Initially Marvin Gaye started out doing a bunch of different things, but eventually landed at Mowtown where he started writing songs for others, as well as recording songs of his own. As was standard practice other songwriters were brought in, so Marvin Gaye would sings songs he wrote or co-wrote, as well as songs that were not written by him at all. One of these was “Can I Get A Witness” one of his earliest hits.
I could write an entire post about “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” which went to number 1 on the charts. It is rightfully heralded as a classic. It is, however, to me, just one of the amazing songs Marvin Gaye wrote and/or performed.
Throughout the 60s he had a number of fantastic duets as well as some individual success. He grew disillusioned with Mowtown and the production techniques and battles with producers. This led to him taking control of his musical destiny and the album What’s Going On. The album is easily one of the greatest produced in almost any genre.
“Wholy Holy”
It wasn’t downhill from there. While there were some down moments in the 70s there was still plenty of success. Ultimately he left Motown and with his creative freedom released one of his biggest successes.
“Sexual Healing”
That single came out towards the end of 1982. In early 1984 Marvin Gaye was killed by his father in a domestic dispute. I remember vividly when this happened and the news reports and how much it affected my mother. We listened to What’s Going On a lot in 1984.
While I was familiar with his major hits it wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I really got to explore the depth of Marvin Gaye’s career and come to appreciate just how diverse it was as well as simply how good he was.
There were a few posthumous albums released. Mostly there was material he was working on already as well as previous demos of songs for others. Vulnerable is an album he began working on in 1968, shelved because he wasn’t satisfied with it, then began working on again in the late 70s. Eventually it was to be released in 1979, but because of his dispute with Motown, Marvin Gaye shelved the album again. It would finally be released in 1997, over a decade after his death, and would be the third “full” album of original material released posthumously.
“Why Did I Choose You (Alternate Vocal)”
Of course there would be many compilations as well. Some “best of” compilations would focus on different aspects of his career. There are a couple of box sets, perhaps the best of which is the career-spanning The Master. Then there are the compilations of rare material, such as Love Starved Heart which collects some unreleased material from the 60s.
“Hanging On”
Marvin Gaye’s career in just over 20 years spanned a lot of different material. And I haven’t even touched on his many duets. There is still much I have to discover by the singer, as I have but a fraction of his output. What I have I enjoy and appreciate immensely. Marvin Gaye is one of those singers you simply can not appreciate until later in your life. While I grew up with his music, laying out the foundation for my appreciation, Marvin Gaye’s music was something I had to come back to and sort of rediscover in order to fully appreciate it.