Phil Collins, the #33 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"He is just amazing.  That's all there is to it."

"An absolute genius."

"Phil Collins is one of the best singers around."

"A living legend who never wrote a bad song."

"A great songwriter and musician."

"Wow!  What talent!"

"Phil Collins is a master. The man is one of the geniuses still with us."

"He is an iconic talent."

"Phil is one of the best of a generation. He is top shelf."

"What an amazing artist. His work is truly timeless."

"Phillip Collins rules!"

"He's a fantastic artist...piano, powerful vocals and a monster on the drums."

"He's one of the best music artists of all-time."

"What incredible talent!"

"Brilliant artist and so talented. Love his music!"

"Phil Collins knows how to bring the mood out of the songs that he sings."

"The amount of love and respect I have for this man is unreal."

"Phil Collins is an absolutely legendary singer."

"My favorite romantic singer."

"I love Phil's music. He's just amazing."

"This guy is really talented. Great musician."

"Love, gratitude and respect for Phil Collins."

"Man, Phil is soooooooo talented! I love his music... the lyrics, the voice and the passion!!! wow!"

"The best interpreter of romantic songs in English. His music is unique."

"Phil Collins, a present-day genius. Song after song, hit after hit, he just delivers the goods."

"His music goes straight to the heart."

Phillip David Charles "Phil" Collins was born January 30, 1951.  He began playing drums at the age of five and he began professional acting training at age 14 at the Barbara Speake Stage School.  He landed a role as the Artful Dodger in the London stage production of Oliver! and was an extra in the Beatles' movie A Hard Days Night in 1964.  He later appeared in the movie Calamity the Cow in 1967.  While Phil was at the Chiswick Country School for Boys, he joined the band the Real Thing, and later wrote his first song when he was in the group the Freehold. 

Collins then joined the group Hickory, which, after changing their name to Flaming Youth, signed a recording contract with Uni Records and released the album Ark 2 in 1969.  The group toured for a year but split in 1970.  Collins played percussion on "Art Of Dying" on the George Harrison album All Things Must Pass.

 In 1970, Collins joined Genesis as its drummer and first appeared with the group on the album Nursery Cryme in 1971.  After touring to support the 1975 album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, lead singer Peter Gabriel departed for a solo career.  Collins took over lead vocal duties beginning with the album A Trick of the Tail, which was the group's best-selling album to that point.  

With Collins on lead, each album got progressively better, leading to the six-million selling classic album Invisible Touch in 1986.  Meanwhile, while Genesis was on hiatus in 1978, Phil went to Vancouver, Canada in a failed attempt to save his marriage that had been strained by constant touring.  After returning to his home in Shalford, Surrey, England, Collins began writing songs for his first solo album.  Genesis recorded the album Duke in 1980.

Collins released his album Face Value in 1981.  The lead single "In The Air Tonight" represents an historical achievement in audio processing with the invention of gated reverb, which combines strong reverb and noise gate.  Hugh Padgham and producer Steve Lillywhite invented the technique which is now most commonly applied to drums to make them sound more punchy.

"In The Air Tonight" jumped to the Top 3 everywhere in the world (including #1 in New Zealand, West Germany, Sweden and Switzerland) except the United States, where Billboard stopped it at #19.  A closer look, however, examines that the song should have been ranked much higher in the U.S.--it sold over six million singles and was on one of the top albums of the year.  Thus, "In The Air Tonight" is one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

To illustrate the above point, Phil's second single, "I Missed Again", also peaked at #19 and it did not reach one million singles sold.  It features a tenor sax solo from Ronnie Scott, whose club it was where Jimi Hendrix performed for the last time.  The Phenix Horns (Don Myrick, Louis Satterfield, Rahmlee Davis and Michael Harris), famous for playing on many Earth, Wind & Fire songs, also backed Collins here.

 

Face Value topped Album charts in seven countries and has sold over five million copies.  Phil performed at The Secret Policeman's Other Ball at the Theatre Royal in London in a benefit for Amnesty International.  "Droned" is a progressive instrumental featuring an Indian raga sound.

Collins produced the album himself with assistance from Hugh Padgham, who went on to co-produce several Collins and Genesis albums in the '80's.  This track describes a man who has been poor and his family is struggling financially.  This haunting song is "The Roof Is Leaking".

 

Much of Phil's first solo album reflects his feelings after his wife Andrea left him.  She told Collins that if he committed to a full tour with Genesis in 1981 that she would not be home when he got back.  Phil told Andrea that the group was on the verge of greatness and the tour would pay off in the long run.  But at the end of the tour, Andrea indeed left and took the couple's two children to Vancouver, Canada.  Phil moved to Vancouver himself in an effort to save his marriage, but it did no good.  "If Leaving Me Is Easy" is one such example of the influence his divorce had on this album.

Collins then returned his attention to Genesis for the albums Duke and Three Sides Live and produced and played on the solo album Something's Going On by Anni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA.  Phil also played drums on the first solo album by Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin.

 

In 1982, Collins released the album Hello, I Must Be Going!.  His cover of the Supremes smash "You Can't Hurry Love" rose to #1 in the U.K., Ireland and the Netherlands, #3 in West Germany and Australia and #10 in the U.S.

 

The album, named after the Marx Brothers' movie of the same name, has gone over three million in sales in the U.S. alone.  "I Don't Care Anymore" is another Top Track*, as evidenced by a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.

 

If his first solo effort conveyed how miserable he was, the second was much more positive, as Collins had met his second wife Jill Tavelman prior to recording.  "Like China" finds Collins singing with a Cockney accent.

After a successful tour of North America and Europe, Phil again played drums for Plant on his album The Principle of Moments.

Genesis released their self-titled album and toured in 1984.  Meanwhile, Collins released the solo single "Against All Odds", the theme from the great movie of the same name.  The smash hit resided at #1 for three weeks on the Popular chart and piled up six weeks at #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart and sold over one million copies in the U.S., also reached #1 in Ireland and landed in the Top 10 in every major country except the Netherlands (#12) and Austria (#13).  

Collins' classic won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and was nominated for the prestigious Song of the Year, while the Soundtrack was nominated for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.  Collins also earned a nomination at the Golden Globe Awards.

This incredible talent has much more music to share--join us for Parts II and III!

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

 Be sure to listen to Part One first!

Catch up on Part Two!

(Continued from Part Two)

 

In 1971, Gaye signed a $1 million contract with Motown and released the album Trouble Man in 1972.  The title song was also featured in the movie of the same name and reached #7.

 Marvin released the album Let's Get It On in 1973.  The title song achieved a double #1--#1 Popular and #1 R&B and has now sold over two million copies in the United States alone. 

 

The album reached #2, Gaye's top-ranking album of his career and Marvin earned American Music Award nominations in both 1974 and 1975 for Favorite Soul/R&B Album.  Gaye reworked the lyrics of "Just To Keep You Satisfied", recorded first by the Originals, to be about the end of his marriage to Anna, who happens to be the co-writer of the original song.

  Marvin began working on "Come Get To This" for his album What's Going On but decided not to use it then.  Three years later, he remixed and edited it for use on Let's Get It On.

  Reflecting his penchant to also record duets, Marvin recorded an album with Diana Ross simply called Diana and Marvin.  The single "You're A Special Part Of Me" stopped at #12.

 

The single "My Mistake (Was To Love You)" inexplicably stalled at #19.  Gloria Jones and Pam Sawyer, who teamed to write "If I Were Your Woman" for Gladys Knight & the Pips, wrote this one as well.

In 1974, Gaye toured for the first time in four years, with the album Marvin Gaye Live! taken from recordings of the tour.  The album has been certified Gold. 

 

After another contract, Gaye built his own recording studio, where he recorded the 1976 album I Want You, a #4 album in the United States.  The title song, inspired by Marvin's girlfriend Janis Hunter, reached #1 R&B but only #15 overall.

 

We want to also feature "After The Dance"

 

In 1976, Gaye released the compilation album Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits, which has gone Platinum.  Marvin's London concert in 1977 was recorded and released as the album Live at the London Palladium.  "Got To Give It Up" reached #1 on both the Popular and R&B charts.

Gaye received a nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist at the American Music Awards.

 

After a divorce to his wife Anna, Marvin recorded the album Here, My Dear for the purposes of raising money to make alimony payments to her.  "When Did You Stop Love Me, When Did I Stop Loving You?", written and produced by Marvin, who also plays all the synthesizers, is nevertheless a solid track.

 "Anna's Song" is another autobiographical song about his divorce from Anna.

The album didn't sell well, and Gaye also fell behind on payments to the Internal Revenue Service.  Marvin first moved to Hawai'i and then to London for fear of being imprisoned for failure to pay those taxes, which by 1980 had reached $4.5 million.  

Someone took a master tape from an album that Gaye was working on called In Our Lifetime? and gave the tape to Motown.  The label remixed the album and released it in January of 1981.  When Gaye learned of this, he charged Motown with editing and remixing the album without his consent and removing the question mark from the album's title, thus muting its irony.  Gaye said as a result, he would not record any more music for Motown.

Gaye then moved to Belgium and attempted a comeback with a tour of England.  When CBS Urban president Larkin Arnold found out that Gaye was leaving Motown, he quickly signed Marvin to a recording contract.

 

Gaye recorded the album Midnight Love, released in 1982.  "Sexual Healing" spent 10 weeks at #1 on the Hot Black Singles chart and #3 overall and has sold over two million copies.

Midnight Love reached #7 on the U.S. Album chart and has sold over three million copies.  Gaye was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B single.  Marvin won Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male and Best R&B Instrumental Performance (both for "Sexual Healing") and he was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.

In 1983, Marvin sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the National Basketball Association All-Star Game.  In March, Gaye performed at the television special Motown 25:  Yesterday, Today, Forever and he performed on Soul Train in May.

Marvin them embarked on what would be his final concert tour to promote the album.  After the tour ended in August, 1983, Marvin visited his parents in Los Angeles.

On April 1, 1984, Marvin intervened in a fight between his parents.  That afternoon, while Marvin was in his bedroom, his father shot him in the heart and the left shoulder, killing him.  

 

In 1985, the album Dream of a Lifetime was released posthumously and it contained another Gaye winner--"Life's Opera".

In 1987, Marvin was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In 1990, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was dedicated to him.  

In 1996, Gaye posthumously received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  In 2006, the Watts Branch Park in Washington D.C. where Gaye went as a teenager was renamed Marvin Gaye Park.  In 2009, a block in D.C. was renamed Marvin Gaye Way.

In 2016, Gaye was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Three of Gaye's songs:  "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "What's Going On" and "Sexual Healing" are included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".  

Gaye accumulated 56 career hits, with 18 hitting the Top 10 and three reaching #1.

Marvin won three Grammy Awards from five nominations and was nominated for four American Music Awards in his career.

Don't miss Part One of The #33 Artist of the Rock Era!

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

 

(Continued from Part One)

 

In 1969, Gaye released the album M.P.G.  He scored the #4 hit with a song the Temptations recorded three years before.  This is "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby".

 

Gaye also released the album That's The Way Love Is, with the title song jumping to #2 R&B and #7 Popular.  Originally by the Isley Brothers, Gaye delivered another great emotional performance.

Marvin and Terrell combined for the album Easy later in the year.  

But the female vocal on "The Onion Song" is co-writer Valerie Simpson.  Terrell was dying of a brain tumor and although Simpson was uneasy about pretending to be the singer, she was convinced to do so after being told that royalties would go towards Terrell's medical expenses. 

Gaye co-wrote and produced "Baby I'm For Real" and "The Bells" for the Originals.  He released the album That's the Way Love Is early in 1970.

Terrell died of brain cancer on March 16, 1970 and Marvin went into a period of depression.  Gaye was inspired to try out for a spot on the Detroit Lions, but eventually, he was not allowed to try out for fear of hurting his musical career.

 

After Renaldo "Obie" Benson of the Four Tops witnessed police brutality at an anti-war rally in Berkeley, California, Gaye was inspired to record "What's Going On".  Gordy felt the song was "too political" for radio and refused to release it.  But when Gaye went on strike from recording, Gordy was compelled to release it.  It of course is a seminal song in the Rock Era, #1 R&B and #2 overall.

 

This really began Gaye's most creative (and successful) period of his career.  Gaye's first album in which he had full creative control became his first million-selling album and first Top 10 album (#6).  Decades before global warming became the consequential threat it is today, Gaye wrote the song about concern for the environment.  The great song "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" peaked at #1 on the R&B chart and #4 overall.

 

Gaye addressed the poverty, hopelessness and social injustice of the ghettos in this monumental song.  "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna' Holler)" gave Marvin three consecutive #1's on the R&B chart and a #9 Popular hit.

 

Gaye said his album was written by God through him.  Listening to the iconic tracks 60 years later, and seeing the relevance today, that seems "Right On".

 "Flying High (In The Friendly Skies)" is Marvin's song about heroin and addiction.  The words are driven by Gaye's emotional delivery.  He makes you feel the addiction. 

  Words of wisdom, truth and understanding..."Wholly Holy".

 Marvin started the recording session for this song with only a rough draft with the melody co-written with Sandra Greene and wrote additional lyrics for it while recording.  He pleads with his "Distant Lover" in both amazing tenor and falsetto.

 

Here is another great song from this masterpiece written about black servicemen serving their country thousands of miles from home--"What's Happening Brother".

  

Marvin mixed spoken and sung lyrics on "Save The Children".

 

"Sad Tomorrows" is another fantastic track.  The group the Originals sang backing vocals on this cry for help.

Join us for Part Three of Marvin Gaye!

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!