Marvin Gaye

Background

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., who spelled his surname Gaye, was born in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 1939. Gaye was raised under the strict control of his father, Reverend Marvin Gay Sr., the minister at a local church, against a bleak backdrop of widespread violence in his neighborhood.

Throughout his early years, Gaye frequently turned to music for solace, learning the piano and drums at a young age. He had only performed at church revivals up until high school, but soon he discovered a love for R&B that would lay the groundwork for his career. Gaye quickly won over the group’s founder, Harvey Fuqua, with his incredible singing range, encompassing three vocal genres. Gaye and Fuqua were both quickly signed to Gordy’s famed Motown Records after catching the eye of Detroit music mogul Berry Gordy Jr.

As a drummer for Motown icons like Stevie Wonder, The Marvelettes, Martha, and the Vandellas in his early years at the label, Gaye saw the success of the time. With his solo hit single ‘Hitch Hike’ from 1962, he would later become the first artist to enter the Top 40. After ‘Hitch Hike,’ Gaye continued to release solo dance hits and love duets with successful artists like Diana Ross and Mary Wells. Some of his biggest songs during that time included ‘Can I Get a Witness’ and ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine.’ With the latter in the 1960s, he became Motown’s best-selling record.

As violence and political unrest over the Vietnam War increased in 1970, Gaye was inspired to write the timeless song ‘What’s Going On.’ Despite differences with Motown regarding the song’s artistic direction, the record was released in 1971 and immediately became a hit. Due to the album’s success, Gaye felt pressured to take even greater artistic and political risks. When the “What’s Going On” album was released in the spring of 1971, it helped Gaye maintain his Motown fan base while also expanding it.

Later, he would leave the stable, but didn’t stop making hits. He put out “Got to Give It Up,” which was his final album for Motown Records, and one of the greatest love songs of all time, ‘Let’s Get It On,’ which went on to become his second number one Billboard success. In 1982, Gaye signed a recording contract with C.B.S.’s Columbia Records and started work on his final album, “Midnight Love,” after leaving Motown. The R.&.B. star’s comeback hit lead song from that album, “Sexual Healing,” brought him his first two Grammy Awards as well as an American Music Award for ‘Favorite Soul Single.’

Gaye was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr., on April 1, 1984, the eve of his 45th birthday, at their home in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, following an argument. Gay Sr. later pled no guilty to voluntary homicide and was sentenced to six years suspended and five years probation. Gaye received numerous awards and honors after his death, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and inductions into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.