Marvin Gaye, Born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr

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Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. was born on April 2, 1939 in Washington D.C. to Marvin Gay, Sr., a preacher, and Alberta Gay, a housewife and school teacher. Gaye was the second eldest of Gay Sr.'s children and the third overall of six. He had two sisters: Jeanne and Zeola, and three brothers: Michael Cooper, Frankie Gaye, and Antwaun Gay. Michael Cooper was from his mother's previous relationship while Antwaun was born as a result of his father's extramarital affairs. Marvin Gaye’s childhood can be characterized by developing an early love of music in the face of an abusive relationship with his father. Marvin Gaye’s introduction to music began by singing in his father’s church choir when he was only three years old. He expanded his musical abilities by learning how to play the piano and drums.

Gaye was encouraged to pursue a professional music career after a performance at a school play at age 11, singing Mario Lanza's, 'Be My Love'. His home life consisted of "brutal whippings" by his father, who struck him for any shortcoming. The young Gaye described living in his father's house as similar to "...living with a king, a very peculiar, changeable, cruel, and all powerful king." He felt that had his mother not consoled him and encouraged his singing, he would have killed himself. His sister later explained that Gaye was beaten often, from age seven well into his teenage years.

Gaye attended Cardozo High School, and joined several doo-wop vocal groups, including the Dippers and the D.C. Tones. Gaye's relationship with his father worsened during his teenage years, as his father would kick him out of the house quite often. In 1956, 17-year-old Gaye dropped out of high school and enlisted in the United States Air Force as a basic airman, hoping to learn how to fly. He soon realized, though, that he wasn't military material. The U.S. government agreed and gave him an early and honorable discharge.

Marvin Gay Sr. wanted his son to apply his musical talents toward a religious vocation, but Gaye had other ambitions. Once back in Washington, D.C., Gaye had no interest in returning to choir music. Rather, he started singing with a rhythm and blues vocal group called the Rainbows. Other members included future recording stars Don Covay and Billy Stewart. Later, he formed his own group, the Marquees, with friends Reese Palmer, James Nolan, and Chester Simmons.

To help make ends meet, Gaye worked as a dishwasher, a humiliating position that he resented. Then he met Harvey Fuqua, a music promoter who recognized Gaye's potential. At the time, Fuqua was reforming his old group, called the Moonglows, and he wanted the Marquees to be his back-up singers. In 1959, the group became known as Harvey and the Moonglows, with Fuqua singing lead vocals. They had a hit single with "Ten Commandments of Love." As the group achieved modest success, Gaye got his first taste of life on the road as a touring performer. It proved an unpleasant, eye-opening experience, as he experienced first-hand the blatant racism prevalent in different parts of the country.

Fuqua soon disbanded the group and moved to Detroit, where he intended to form his own record company with the help of his girlfriend, Gwen Gordy. Gaye accompanied the pair and, in 1960, Gwen Gordy introduced him to her brother, Berry, an entrepreneur who was starting his own label, Motown-Tamla Records.

Gaye signed on with Berry Gordy and worked as a session drummer and vocalist for various Motown-Tamla acts. Most significantly, he worked on the early records of a group called the Miracles (which would later become Smokey Robinson and the Miracles). Gaye worked in that capacity for about a year before he signed a contract with the company as a solo vocal artist. When Gaye signed with Tamla, he pursued a career as a performer of jazz music and standards, having no desire to become an R&B performer. Before the release of his first single, Gaye was teased about his surname, with some jokingly asking, "Is Marvin Gay?" Gaye changed his surname by adding an e, in the same way as did Sam Cooke. Author David Ritz wrote that Gaye did this to silence rumours of his sexuality, and to put more distance between Gaye and his father.

Gaye recorded his first album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, which, as the title implied, was a collection of low-key, smooth ballads with a jazz feel. Gaye recorded other albums in this vein, but they weren't successful, so he was encouraged to change his style to target the younger audiences who favored the more upbeat and popular rhythm and blues genre. Though he embarked in this direction with reluctance, his next single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," released in 1962, became a top-ten hit. This was followed by a string of hits that made him a star. These included "Hitch Hike," "Can I Get a Witness," and "Pride and Joy," all released in 1963. In 1964, he again made the record charts with "Try it Baby," with background vocals supplied by the Temptations, another popular Motown act; "You're a Wonderful One," with background vocals by the Supremes, who would later become Motown's top act; and "Baby Don't You Do It."

In 1962, Gaye found success as co-writer of the Marvelettes hit, 'Beechwood 4-5789'. Gaye also co-wrote "Dancing in the Street," which became a huge hit for Martha and the Vandellas, one of the top early Motown female groups. He also played drums on several early recordings by Stevie Wonder (who was then known as "Little" Stevie Wonder). Gaye's next solo hit, 'How Sweet It Is, (To Be Loved By You'), which Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote for him, reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and reached the top 50 in the UK.

Gaye started getting television exposure around this time, on shows such as American Bandstand. Also in 1964, he appeared in the concert film, The T.A.M.I. Show. Gaye had two number-one R&B singles in 1965 with the Miracle-composed, 'I'll Be Doggone' and 'Ain't That Peculiar'. Both songs became million-sellers. After this, Gaye returned to jazz-derived ballads for a tribute album to the recently-deceased Nat 'King' Cole.

Because of his shifting styles, Gaye became a somewhat enigmatic public personality, a characteristic that defied the developing Motown approach, which was heavily based on formula and carefully cultivated personas. The singles released by other major label performers, especially the Four Tops and the Supremes, exhibited a calculated and commercial same-ness of sound. Gaye, on the other hand, wasn't so easily pigeon-holed.

Motown realized that Gaye was beginning to be perceived as a sex symbol. One of the few solo performers in the label's group-oriented stable of stars, Gaye developed a reputation as an attractive "ladies' man." To capitalize on this perception, the heads of Motown came up with the idea of teaming him up with its female solo artists to record romantic duets. After scoring a hit duet, 'It Takes Two' with Kim Weston, Gaye began working with Tammi Terrell on a series of duets, mostly composed by Ashford & Simpson, including 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'Your Precious Love', 'Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing', and 'You're All I Need To Get By'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUKaRpSMuAA Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing

Tragically, Terrell collapsed onstage while performing with Gaye. It was later discovered that she was suffering from a brain tumor. Her illness and subsequent death on March 16, 1970 ended Gaye’s desire to collaborate on any more duets. The loss also triggered bouts of depression, cocaine abuse, and suicide threats. During this difficult period, Marvin Gaye had his biggest hit yet in 1968 with “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”. He refused to acknowledge its success, even though it sold over four million copies.

Gaye followed that triumph with an album called M.P.G., a deeply personal 1969 release that focused on his crumbling marriage and his increasing depression. In the summer of that year, he scored a number-one hit with "Too Busy Thinking 'Bout My Baby." However, still grieving over Terrell's untimely death, Gaye spent most of the following year in seclusion.

Gaye wasn't idle in seclusion, however. He was working on a collection of personal songs that would comprise an album that amounted to another career triumph. The 1971 release of that album, entitled What's Going On, not only demonstrated Gaye's resilience; it was further evidence of his ongoing development as an artist.

On June 1, 1970, Gaye returned to Hitsville, U.S.A., where he recorded his new composition 'What's Going On', inspired by an idea from Renaldo 'Obie' Benson', of the Four Tops after he witnessed an act of police brutality at an anti war rally in Berkeley. Upon hearing the song, Berry Gordy refused its release due to his feelings of the song being "too political" for radio. Gaye responded by going on strike from recording until the label released the song. Released in 1971, it reached No. 1 on the R&B charts within a month, staying there for five weeks. It also reached the top spot on Cashbox's pop chart for a week and reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 and the Record World chart, selling over two million copies.

After giving an ultimatum to record a full album to win creative control from Motown, Gaye spent ten days recording the 'What's Going On' album that March. Motown issued the album that May after Gaye remixed portions of the album in Hollywood. The album became Gaye's first million-selling album launching two more top ten singles, 'Mercy, Mercy Me', and 'Inner City Blues'. One of Motown's first autonomous works, its theme and segue flow brought the concept album format to rhythm and blues. An AllMusic writer later cited it as "...the most important and passionate record to come out of soul music, delivered by one of its finest voices." For the album, Gaye received two Grammy Award nominations and several NAACP Image Awards. The album also topped Rolling Stone's year-end list as its album of the year. Billboard magazine named Gaye Trendsetter of the Year following the album's success.

In 1971, Gaye signed a new deal with Motown worth $1 million (worth $5,843,067, in 2016),making it the most lucrative deal by a black recording artist at the time. Gaye first responded to the new contract with the soundtrack and subsequent score, Trouble Man, released in late 1972. In 1973, Gaye released the, Let's Get It On album. The title track became Gaye's second No. 1 single on the Hot 100. The album subsequently stayed on the charts for two years and sold over three million copies. The album was later hailed as "a record unparalleled in its sheer sensuality and carnal energy."

Marvin's final duet project, Diana & Marvin, with Diana Ross, garnered international success despite contrasting artistic styles. Responding to demand from fans and Motown, Gaye started his first tour in four years at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, on January 4, 1974. The performance received critical acclaim and resulted in the release of the live album, Marvin Gaye Live!and its single, a live version of Distant Lover, an album track from Let's Get It On.

In the fall of 1980, someone stole a master tape of a rough draft of the album from one of Gaye's traveling musicians, Frank Blair, taking the master tape to Motown's Hollywood headquarters. Motown remixed the album and released it on January 15, 1981. When Gaye learned of its release, he accused Motown of editing and remixing the album without his consent, allowing the release of an unfinished production (Far Cry), altering the album art of his request and removing the album title's question mark, muting its irony. He also accused the label of rush-releasing the album, comparing his unfinished album to an unfinished Picasso painting. Gaye then vowed not to record any more music for Motown.
On February 14, 1981, under the advice of music promoter Freddy Cousaert., Gaye relocated to Cousaert's apartment in Ostend, Belgium. While there, Gaye shied away from heavy drug use and began exercising and attending a local Ostend church, regaining personal confidence. Following several months of recovery, Gaye sought a comeback onstage, starting the short-lived Heavy Love Affair tour in England and Ostend in June–July 1981. Gaye's personal attorney Curtis Shaw would later describe Gaye's Ostend period as "the best thing that ever happened to Marvin". When word got around that Gaye was planning a musical comeback and an exit from Motown president Larkin Arnold eventually was able to convince Gaye to sign with CBS. On March 23, 1982, Motown and CBS Records negotiated Gaye's release from Motown. The details of the contract were not revealed due to a possible negative effect on the singer's settlement to creditors from the IRS.

Assigned to CBS' Columbia subsidiary, Gaye worked on his first post-Motown album titled Midnight Love. The first single, 'Sexual Healing', which was written and recorded in Ostend in his apartment, was released on September 30, 1982, and became Gaye's biggest career hit, spending a record ten weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Black Singles chart, becoming the biggest R&B hit of the 1980s according to Billboard stats.
Sexual Healing won Gaye his first two Grammy Awards including Best Male R &B Vocal Performance, in February 1983, and also won Gaye an American Music Award in the R&B-soul category. People magazine called it "America's hottest musical turn-on since Olivia Newton-John demanded we get 'Physical'. Midnight Love was released to stores a day after the single's release, and was equally successful, peaking at the top ten of the Billboard 200 and becoming Gaye's eighth No. 1 album on the Top Black Album chart, eventually selling over six million copies worldwide, three million alone in the U.S.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA4_O3oeJCw Sexual Healing

On February 13, 1983, Gaye sang 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at the NBA All-Star Game at The Forum in Inglewood, CA—accompanied by Gordon Banks, who played the studio tape from the stands.The following month, Gaye performed at the Motown 25, Yesterday, Today, Forever special. This and a May appearance on Soul Train (his third appearance on the show) became Gaye's final television performances. Gaye embarked on his final concert tour, titled the Sexual Healing Tour, on April 18, 1983, in San Diego. The tour ended on August 14, 1983 at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa, CA, but was plagued by cocaine-triggered paranoia and illness. Following the concert's end, he retreated to his parents' house in Los Angeles. In early 1984, Midnight Love was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category, his 12th and final nomination.

On April 1, 1984, Gaye and his father reportedly got into an argument about money, and things turned violent. Marvin Gay, Sr. shot his son twice, at close range, with a .38 caliber revolver. Later, he claimed that he acted in self-defense. Following the shooting, Gaye was taken to the California Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The next day, Gaye would have been forty-five years old.

After Gaye's funeral, his body was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park,at the Hollywood Hills; his ashes were later scattered into the Pacific Ocean.Initially charged with first-degree murder, Gay Sr.'s charges dropped to voluntary manslaughter following a diagnosis of a brain tumor and Gaye's autopsy revealing the singer had drugs in his system. Marvin Gay Sr. was later sentenced to a suspended six-year sentence and probation. He died at a nursing home in 1998.

Marvin was the father of three children, Marvin III, Nona, and Frankie, and the grandfather of three boys, Marvin IV, Nolan, and Dylan. At the time of his death, he was survived by his three children, parents, and five siblings.

REFERENCES:

http://www.mtv.com/artists/marvin-gaye/biography/

https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/marvin-gaye

http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/marvin-gaye

http://www.marvingayepage.net/biography/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Gaye

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/marvin-gaye-5368.php

YOU TUBE PERFORMANCES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbZYRZpNc64

"What's Going On"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVaIovDm9ss

"Sexual Healing"