Marvin Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984)
Marvin Gaye is easily one of my favourite artists of all time. He was a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist with apparently a 3 octave vocal range. He was born in 1939 and immediately followed the path of music. He worked with several Motown artists and groups in his early years, but it wasn't until he was 24 (in 1963) that he hit it big when he recorded the doo-wop song 'Pride & Joy'. From that point on he basically just kept producing hits (with the exception of some 'dark times' he suffered due to personal loss and drug use) until his tragic death April 1, 1984 when his father shot him after he tried to break up a domestic dispute between his father and mother.
The text below (from wikipedia) outlines the development and changes in Marvin Gaye's 26 year music career; through doo-wop, jazz, blues, funk, gospel, R & B, to psychedelic soul, disco, and contemporary pop. If your not into reading just scroll down and watch some interview and get some downloads.
"Upon his early recordings as member of The Marquees and Harvey & the New Moonglows in the late 1950s, Marvin recorded in a doo-wop vocal style. After signing his first solo recording contract with Motown, Marvin prompted staff members he wanted to record an adult album of standards and jazz covers. His first album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, conveyed those genres including several doo-wop and blues songs.
Starting with his first charted hit, 1962's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" through 1967's "Your Unchanging Love", Marvin's music featured a blend of black rhythm and blues and white pop music that came to be later identified as the "Motown Sound". Marvin's 1962-1964 hits reflected a dance-pop/rock 'n' roll approach while his 1965-1969 recordings reflected a pop-soul style. Backed by Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers, pre-1970 Marvin Gaye recordings were built around songs with simple, direct lyrics supported by an R&B rhythm section with orchestral strings and horns added for pop appeal. Marvin's early hits were conceived by Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Mickey Stevenson and Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Marvin's sound started to change slightly in 1967 after he began working with producers Norman Whitfield, Ashford & Simpson and Frank Wilson. Whereas Marvin's early sound reflected a youthful exterior, later songs during that period including "You", "Chained", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is" were all recorded under the psychedelic soul sound of the late sixties and early seventies. "Psychedelic soul" mixed guitar-driven rock with soul-based grooves. Marvin's vocal style also changed during that period where he began singing in a gospel texture that had been only hinted in previous recordings.
In 1971, Marvin issued his landmark album, What's Going On. The album and its tracks were responsible in the changing landscape of rhythm and blues music as the album presented a full view of social ills in America, including war, police brutality, racism, drug addiction, environmentalism, and urban decay. Beforehand, recordings of social unrest had been recorded by the likes of (Curtis Mayfield &) The Impressions, The Temptations, Sam Cooke, Sly & the Family Stone and James Brown, but this was the first album fully devoted to those issues. The album was produced under what is called a song cycle and because of its theme of "what's going on" was considered one of the first concept albums to be released in soul music. Marvin's 1972 soundtrack Trouble Man, based on the blaxploitation film of the same name, mainly featured instrumentals with a few vocal runs, including songs with social commentary. Marvin's 1972 recordings outside that album — including "Where Are We Going", "Piece of Clay", "You're the Man" and "The World Is Rated X" -- also raised social issues and was personal in nature. The songs were to be included in the unreleased 1972 album, You're the Man, which was canceled after the modest reception of the title single. Marvin issued his next "concept album" with 1973's Let's Get It On, based on the spiritual and erotic side of love and sex. Marvin released a similarly themed funk album in 1976, I Want You, before switching to personal issues with the albums Here, My Dear (1978) and In Our Lifetime (1981). The former album focused on Marvin's problems in his first marriage, while the latter focused on his own life struggles. Marvin's albums between 1971 and 1981 reflected a period where, as an Allmusic writer said, his music "not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change".
Starting in the early-seventies, Marvin's sound began to reflect the emerging sounds of funk and the later disco movement of the late 1970s. Marvin's double-sided 1976 single, "I Want You/After the Dance" and his 1977 hit, "Got to Give It Up" were his only successful attempts at recording disco-styled dance music whereas the 1978 single "A Funky Space Reincarnation", 1979's "Ego Tripping Out" and the 1981 singles "Praise" and "Heavy Love Affair" aimed at the funk-based urban audience. By itself, "I Want You", mixed funk with disco, soul and lite rock elements. With the release of 1982's triple-platinum Midnight Love and the massive platinum selling smash hit, "Sexual Healing", Marvin mixed the styles of funk and post disco with Caribbean and European-flavored pop music creating a mix that influenced the modern R&B sound. "Sexual Healing" was the biggest R&B hit of the 1980s - #1 for 10 consecutive weeks. Some of Marvin's posthumous releases have been varied in nature: 1985's Dream of a Lifetime was produced mostly in a electro funk sound mostly in the first half of the album, while his posthumous "featuring" on rapper Erick Sermon's 2001 hit, "Music" brought him to a younger hip-hop audience."
In 1983 he sang an epic version of the Star Spangled Banner at the NBA All-Star Game.
The text below (from wikipedia) outlines the development and changes in Marvin Gaye's 26 year music career; through doo-wop, jazz, blues, funk, gospel, R & B, to psychedelic soul, disco, and contemporary pop. If your not into reading just scroll down and watch some interview and get some downloads.
"Upon his early recordings as member of The Marquees and Harvey & the New Moonglows in the late 1950s, Marvin recorded in a doo-wop vocal style. After signing his first solo recording contract with Motown, Marvin prompted staff members he wanted to record an adult album of standards and jazz covers. His first album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, conveyed those genres including several doo-wop and blues songs.
Starting with his first charted hit, 1962's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" through 1967's "Your Unchanging Love", Marvin's music featured a blend of black rhythm and blues and white pop music that came to be later identified as the "Motown Sound". Marvin's 1962-1964 hits reflected a dance-pop/rock 'n' roll approach while his 1965-1969 recordings reflected a pop-soul style. Backed by Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers, pre-1970 Marvin Gaye recordings were built around songs with simple, direct lyrics supported by an R&B rhythm section with orchestral strings and horns added for pop appeal. Marvin's early hits were conceived by Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Mickey Stevenson and Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Marvin's sound started to change slightly in 1967 after he began working with producers Norman Whitfield, Ashford & Simpson and Frank Wilson. Whereas Marvin's early sound reflected a youthful exterior, later songs during that period including "You", "Chained", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is" were all recorded under the psychedelic soul sound of the late sixties and early seventies. "Psychedelic soul" mixed guitar-driven rock with soul-based grooves. Marvin's vocal style also changed during that period where he began singing in a gospel texture that had been only hinted in previous recordings.
In 1971, Marvin issued his landmark album, What's Going On. The album and its tracks were responsible in the changing landscape of rhythm and blues music as the album presented a full view of social ills in America, including war, police brutality, racism, drug addiction, environmentalism, and urban decay. Beforehand, recordings of social unrest had been recorded by the likes of (Curtis Mayfield &) The Impressions, The Temptations, Sam Cooke, Sly & the Family Stone and James Brown, but this was the first album fully devoted to those issues. The album was produced under what is called a song cycle and because of its theme of "what's going on" was considered one of the first concept albums to be released in soul music. Marvin's 1972 soundtrack Trouble Man, based on the blaxploitation film of the same name, mainly featured instrumentals with a few vocal runs, including songs with social commentary. Marvin's 1972 recordings outside that album — including "Where Are We Going", "Piece of Clay", "You're the Man" and "The World Is Rated X" -- also raised social issues and was personal in nature. The songs were to be included in the unreleased 1972 album, You're the Man, which was canceled after the modest reception of the title single. Marvin issued his next "concept album" with 1973's Let's Get It On, based on the spiritual and erotic side of love and sex. Marvin released a similarly themed funk album in 1976, I Want You, before switching to personal issues with the albums Here, My Dear (1978) and In Our Lifetime (1981). The former album focused on Marvin's problems in his first marriage, while the latter focused on his own life struggles. Marvin's albums between 1971 and 1981 reflected a period where, as an Allmusic writer said, his music "not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change".
Starting in the early-seventies, Marvin's sound began to reflect the emerging sounds of funk and the later disco movement of the late 1970s. Marvin's double-sided 1976 single, "I Want You/After the Dance" and his 1977 hit, "Got to Give It Up" were his only successful attempts at recording disco-styled dance music whereas the 1978 single "A Funky Space Reincarnation", 1979's "Ego Tripping Out" and the 1981 singles "Praise" and "Heavy Love Affair" aimed at the funk-based urban audience. By itself, "I Want You", mixed funk with disco, soul and lite rock elements. With the release of 1982's triple-platinum Midnight Love and the massive platinum selling smash hit, "Sexual Healing", Marvin mixed the styles of funk and post disco with Caribbean and European-flavored pop music creating a mix that influenced the modern R&B sound. "Sexual Healing" was the biggest R&B hit of the 1980s - #1 for 10 consecutive weeks. Some of Marvin's posthumous releases have been varied in nature: 1985's Dream of a Lifetime was produced mostly in a electro funk sound mostly in the first half of the album, while his posthumous "featuring" on rapper Erick Sermon's 2001 hit, "Music" brought him to a younger hip-hop audience."
In 1983 he sang an epic version of the Star Spangled Banner at the NBA All-Star Game.
Here is an upfront, and straight interview he gave late in his career.
Here is a kinda strange and awkward interview with his father:
Here is a Soul Train interview from the middle of his career.
If dont already have it, you should probably go and download 'Marvin Gaye, The Master - 4 Disc Greatest Hits (1961 - 1984)'
(Discs 1 & 2)
(Discs 3 & 4)
And of course there are edits and remixes:
Marvin Gaye - Mandota (Onur Engin edit)
Acid Pauli - Marvin (Download EP)
Now head over to Fat Berri's and download 3 hot Lulu Rouge Marvin Gaye edits.
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