Marvin Gaye, The #34 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

 "He was years ahead of his time.  Genius."

"Marvin Gaye is a legend!"

"The way he mixes and blends his vocal tracks is so genius."

"What a talent!"

"Smooth Marvin!"

"There will never be another like Marvin Gaye."

"He had an incredible voice."

"Marvin was the man."

"Marvin was a genius...and is missed."

"Marvin makes me float in my mind, body and soul and i love him."

"So much passion and soul poured into his songs."

"Some of the greatest music ever."

"That voice.. Gritty and smooth all at the same time..."

"Marvin is a LEGEND... and his music will live on."

"Marvin could make all men and woman cry regardless of race and belief. His words hit deep! Still to this day!"

"Marvin Gaye was one of the greatest ARTISTS in history. He painted the most beautiful paintings through canvases that caressed our ears and sated our hearts."

"This man was so cool.and I believe he stood for the soul of the whole world."

"He was so full of heart and soul."

"This man"s music is God speaking to us in song."

"He just had the gift."

Marvin Gay was born April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C.  The son of a Pentecostal minister,

Marvin began singing in church when he was four years old.  When he was 11, Marvin sang Mario Lanza's "Be My Love" at a school play.  Gay's father was extremely strict, beating him for every mistake, all the while fathering a child in an extramarital affair.

While at Cardozo High School, Gay joined several doo-wop groups, including the Dippers and the D.C. Tones.  Desperate to get out of the house, Marvin dropped out of high school and enlisted in the Air Force.  But Gay found military life unsatisfactory as well, and when he faked a mental illness, he was discharged from his duties.

Gay formed the vocal group the Marquees with friend Reese Palmer.  Initially, they performed in the D.C. area before hooking up with Bo Diddley.  Bo attempted to get the Marquees signed with his label, Chess, but when that fell through, he arranged for the group to sign with OKeh Records, a subsidiary of Columbia.  However, the group's only sing did not chart and the Marquees were dropped from the label.

Harvey Fuqua, co-founder of the Moonglows, hired the Marquees and changed the group's name to Harvey and the New Moonglows.  After moving to Chicago, they recorded several songs for Chess and backed up acts such as Chuck Berry in the studio, singing vocals on "Back In The U.S.A."

When the New Moonglows split, Gay moved to Detroit and signed with Tri-Phi Records as a session musician.  Wehn Marvin performed at the house of Motown president Berry Gordy during the 1960 Christmas season, Gordy was so impressed that shortly afterwards, Gay signed a recording contract with Motown affiliate Tamla.

Marvin added an "e" to his surname, partially to increase the distance between he and his father.  In 1961, Gaye released the single "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" from the album The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye.  

His first singles did not do well and Marvin spent most of the year drumming for groups such as the Miracles and the Marvelettes.  The next year, his songwriting talent bore fruit as the co-writer of "Beechwood 4-5789" for the Marvelettes.

In 1962, Gaye released the album That Stubborn Kinda' Fellow, which yielded his first Top 10 hit, "Pride And Joy" (#2 on the R&B chart).  Gaye co-wrote it with William "Mickey" Stevenson and Norman Whitfield as a tribute to Gaye's then-girlfriend, Anna Gordy.  Marvin performed with the Motortown Revue, a series of concert dates with other Motown stars.  

 

The title song featured the debut of the Vandellas on backing vocals.  They went on to score hits like "Heat Wave", "Dancing In The Street", "Nowhere To Run" and many others.

In 1963, Marvin released the album Marvin Gaye Recorded Live on Stage.  The following year, Gaye released the solo albums When I'm Alone I Cry and On Broadway and Marvin and Mary Wells recorded the album Together. 

 

Gaye released his Greatest Hits album as well, which included new singles.  "You're A Wonderful One", written by the legendary team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, hit #3 R&B but only #15 Popular.

 

This song was inspired by Jackie Gleason's trademark line, "How sweet it is!"  "The drum feeling is the shuffle and it's a 12-bar shuffle blues, basically," Lamont Dozier, in an interview with Songfacts.  Gaye released the single "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) in 1964, a #3 smash on the R&B chart that also hit #6 overall.  

Marvin subsequently released the album How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You in 1965.

 

After recording a tribute album to Nat "King" Cole, Marvin released The Moods of Marvin Gaye the following year.  The single "I'll Be Doggone" (written by Smokey Robinson) became Gaye's first song to reach #1 on the R&B chart and his first Gold record and it also landed in the Top 10 overall.

 

The single "Ain't That Peculiar" duplicated those exact chart numbers.  Robinson wrote this as well with the help of Miracles guitarist Marv Tarplin.

 

He also partnered with Kim Weston to record the album It Takes Two in 1967.  "Marvin and I went into the studio together to record the album Take Two, Weston said.  "(The tracks) were picked by Mickey Stevenson and our producer, but 'It Takes Two' was written by Marvin and Sylvia Moy especially for us and it really worked."  The title song rose to #4 R&B and #14 Popular.

 

Gaye released his Greatest Hits Volume 2 in 1967.  He then entered a partnership with Tammi Terrell and songwriters Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson.  Marvin and Tammi recorded the album United.  The single "Your Precious Love" topped out at #2 on the R&B chart and #5 overall.

 

A second single from the album, "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", peaked at #2 on the R&B chart and #10 overall.

In October of 1967, Terrell fell into Marvin's arms while the two performed in Farmville, Virginia.  A doctor subsequently discovered a malignant brain tumor, which forced Tammi to cease performing.  The news devastated Gaye.

After recovering from that news, Marvin released the album In the Groove.

 

Terrell was still able to record, and Gaye and Terrell released the album You're All I Need later in the year.  Motown boss Berry Gordy wasn't impressed with Ashford & Simpson at first, but the couple were undeterred.  They locked themselves in a room and didn't come out until they could impress him with "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing".  Gaye's next single reached #1 R&B and #8 overall.

 "You're All I Need To Get By", also written by Ashford & Simpson, also hit #1 on the R&B chart and #7 overall.

 

Gaye released the album I Heard It Through the Grapevine in 1968, with the title song dominating the #1 position for seven weeks.  

Barrett Strong was inspired to write the song while he was in Chicago, Illinois and heard many people using the phrase.  Strong said, "Nobody wrote a song about it, so I sat at a piano and came up with the bass line."  Strong showed the song to Whitfield, who completed it.  It was the first collaboration between the two, who later wrote "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", "Just My Imagination" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" for the Temptations.

In 1968, Marvin sang the national anthem prior to Game 4 of the World Series.

More from Marvin Gaye in Part Two!