******************************************************************************* Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971) (Deluxe 2xCD Edition) ******************************************************************************* Tracklist: 01.02.03.04.05.06.07.08.09.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.CD2 01.

- Sixties Medley: That's the Way Love Is/You/I Heard It Through the Grape [li ve/#/medley] [13:23] 02.- Right On [live/#] [7:33] 03.- Wholy Holy [live/#] [3:32] 04.- Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) [live/#] [9:05] 05.- What's Going On [live/#] [5:42] 06.- What's Happening Brother [live/#] [2:54] 07.- Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky) [live/#] [3:51] 08.- Save the Children [live/#] [4:22] 09.- God Is Love [live/#] [1:43] 10.- Stage Dialogue [live/#] [2:34] 11.- Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (Reprise) [live/#] [5:12] 12.- What's Going On (Reprise) [live/#] [4:07] 13.- What's Going On [version] [3:56] 14.- God Is Love [version] [2:53] 15.- Sad Tomorrows [version] [2:27] 16.- Head Title [Aka Distant Lover] [4:07] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Some personal notes about this release. The rip has been done using EAC to extract .wav files, and dBPowerAmp to convert them into FLAC. Some noise or deterioration can be hard on the Original Mixes and some bonus mat erials. It's not a fault from the rip process. It's also present on the master tapes (as indicated on inner notes). The CDs are presented as ONE SINGLE LONG AUDIO FILE for each CD. There's also a .cue file which marks the track points. If you need to extract a single song fro m this, you must download the whole album, and use a tool like Medieval Cue Spli tter (I work on Windows, so I don't know any specific software for Mac or Linux What's Going On [3:53] What's Happening Brother [2:43] Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky) [3:49] Save the Children [4:03] God Is Love [1:41] Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) [3:16] Right On [7:32] Wholy Holy [3:07] Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) [5:38] What's Going On [Original Detroit Mix] [4:07] What's Happening Brother [Original Detroit Mix] [2:43] Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky) [Original Detroit Mix] [3:48] Save the Children [Original Detroit Mix] [4:01] God Is Love [Original Detroit Mix] [1:46] Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) [Original Detroit Mix] [3:07] Right On [Original Detroit Mix] [7:31] Wholy Holy [Original Detroit Mix] [3:07] Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) [Original Detroit Mix] [5:45] What's Going On [Rhythm and Strings Mix] [3:50]

users, if you do, tell me so I can add that info on future releases). Attention: Single .cue/FLAC files. That's simply my personal choice for releasin g it, don't argue about it, thanks. IF you don't like it, you've been clearly to ld, so look somewehere else and don't come crying. It's free, ok? Take it as it comes. Perhaps there seems to be "too much" information. I've come to find that those three sources come to complement each other quite well. Allmusic provides criti cal reviews, Wikipedia insights on the story of each matter/song, and Songfacts, often offers trivia usually unknown for most public. Hence the long text. I hope you enjoy this particular release, especially the difference in the mixes on second half of CD1.. A masterpiece. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------General Info on the album (Wikipedia) What's Going On is a studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971 on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the a lbum took place in June of 1970 and March May of 1971 at Hitsville U.S.A., Golden World and United Sound Studios in Detroit, Michigan and at The Sound Factory in West Hollywood, California. The first Marvin Gaye album for it to be credited as produced solely by the artist himself, What's Going On is a unified album consi sting of nine songs, most of which lead into the next. It has also been categori zed as a song cycle, since the album ends on a reprise to the album's opening th eme. The album is told from the point of view of a Vietnam War veteran returning to the country he had been fighting for, and seeing nothing but injustice, suff ering and hatred. What's Going On was the first album on which Motown Records' main studio band, t he group of session musicians The Funk Brothers, received an official credit. Fe aturing introspective lyrics about drug abuse, poverty and the Vietnam War, the album was also the first to reflect the beginning of a new trend in soul music. What's Going On was both an immediate commercial and critical success and has en dured as a classic of early-1970s soul. In worldwide critics/artists and public surveys, it has been voted as one of the landmark recordings in pop music histor y and is considered to be one of the greatest albums ever made. In 2003, the alb um was ranked number 6 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albu ms of all time. In late March of 1970, Marvin Gaye had fallen into a deep depression following t he death of his singing partner and fellow Motown artist Tammi Terrell, who died of a brain tumor earlier that month. Gaye refused to record or perform, going a s far as to attempt an athletic career in football with the Detroit Lions of the NFL. After an unsuccessful tryout for the team, Gaye came in contact with music ian Al Cleveland and the Four Tops' Renaldo "Obie" Benson, who were working on a politically conscious song called "What's Going On". Gaye assisted Cleveland an d Benson in completing the composition, and planned to produce the song as a rec ording for the Motown act The Originals. However, Cleveland and "Obie" Benson pe rsuaded Gaye to record the song himself. In June of 1970, Gaye recorded "What's Going On" and his own composition, "God Is Love", which further expanded Gaye's inclusion of his spirituality in his music. Recording such material was a different direction for Gaye, who had previously p erformed and recorded radio-formatted and contemporary songs that were more repr esentative of the Gordy-produced Motown Sound rather than politically or sociall y-conscious music. When Gaye delivered the songs as the sides for his next 45 RP M single, Motown Records CEO Berry Gordy, Jr. objected to the material and refus

ed to release the recordings. After already permitting another fellow Motown art ist to record and release material that hinted social and political themes Stevi e Wonder who released his 1970 single "Heaven Help Us All" and his 1971 artistic breakthrough Where I'm Coming From released earlier that year Gordy considered "What's Going On" far too political to be released on radio and also too unfamil iar for the popular music and sound of that time to be commercially successful. Gaye, however, stood his ground and lobbied his case to label executives and Gor dy, as he wanted to be able to express himself creatively, and not by Gordy's or Motown's version of music on his records. In an interview for Rolling Stone mag azine, Marvin Gaye discused what had shaped his view on more socially concsious themes in music and the conception of his eleventh studio album: In 1969 or 1970, I began to re-evaluate my whole concept of what I wanted my music to say... I was very much affected by letters my brother was sending me f rom Vietnam, as well as the social situation here at home. I realized that I had to put my own fantasies behind me if I wanted to write songs that would reach t he souls of people. I wanted them to take a look at what was happening in the wo rld. Marvin Gaye Gordy eventually gave in, certain that the record would flop. "What's Going On" became Motown's fastest selling single at that point, going to the number-one sp ot on the R&B charts for five weeks and number-two for three weeks on the Pop li stings, with "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night retaining the top spot. Recording After this success, Berry Gordy requested an entire accompanying album. Gaye beg an recording the tracks that would eventually comprise his best-known work, the What's Going On album, handling all of his own production and some of his own so ngwriting. The entire album was originally mixed in Detroit, with Marvin Gaye ou t of town and not present. This mix, dubbed "The Detroit Mix", was scrapped and redone. These mixes were later released on the 2001 two-disc deluxe edition of W hat's Going On, along with the original mono 45 mixes of the singles. Also inclu ded was a recording of one of Gaye's first live performances from The Kennedy Ce nter Auditorium, Washington DC, 01-06-1972, after three years away from the stag e following Tammi Terrell's illness and death. The content of What's Going On was that of a politically charged and deeply pers onal Motown album, and was notable for including elements of jazz and classical music instrumentation and arrangements. The record was among the first soul albu ms to place heavy emphasis on political and social concerns such as environmenta lism, political corruption, drug abuse, and the Vietnam War, in which Gaye's bro ther, Frankie Gaye, had served in for three years of service for the U.S. Army. However, after hearing a preliminary mix of the record, Berry Gordy was not offe nded by Gaye's embrace of countercultural politics, but was bothered by the albu m's design, which had each song leading to the next. This flow of sound was not conventional and suited for radio airplay, which seemed as Gordy's main focus; t he commercial aspect. The album's stylistic manor of using a song cycle gave it a cohesive feel and lead What's Going On to become known as the first soul music concept albums. Reception Initial The critical and commercial success of the album was immediate and significant. What's Going On remained on the Billboard Pop Album Charts for over a year and s old over two million copies until the end of 1972, making it Marvin Gaye's bestselling album to that date until he released Let's Get It On in 1973. In additio

n, What's Going On received the highest ratings from several leading American pu blications, including Time, Rolling Stone (who named it "Album of the Year"), Th e New York Times, and Billboard, who gave it the Billboard Trend setter Award of 1971. Upon release, Rolling Stone magazine music critic Vince Aletti praised Wh at's Going On for its thematic approach towards social and political concerns, w hile also mentioning the surprise of Motown releasing such an album. In a review of the album and Stevie Wonder's Where I'm Coming From, Aletti wrote: Ambitious, personal albums may be a glut on the market elsewhere, but at Mot own they're something new... the album as a whole takes precedence, absorbing it s own flaws. There are very few performers who could carry a project like this o ff. I've always admired Marvin Gaye, but I didn't expect that he would be one of them. Guess I seriously underestimated him. It won't happen again. Vince Aletti Later on, many artists from different musical genres covered songs from the albu m, most notably live recordings by Aretha Franklin ("Wholy Holy" on Amazing Grac e) and Donny Hathaway ("What's Going On" on Donny Hathaway Live), as well as Rob ert Palmer's medley of "Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You", among others. "Mercy Mercy M e" was featured as the b-side to The Strokes' single "You Only Live Once". Awards and accolades In 2004, the album's title track was ranked number 4 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. A 1999 critics poll conducted by British new spaper Guardian/Observer named it the "Greatest Album of the 20th Century". In 1 997, What's Going On was named the 17th greatest album of all time in a Music of the Millennium poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. I n 1998 Q magazine readers placed it at number 97, while in 2001 the TV network V H1 placed it at number 4. In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. What' s Going On was ranked #6 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greate st Albums of All Time, one of three Gaye albums to be included, preceded by 1973 's Let's Get It On (#165) and 1978's Here My Dear (#462). The album is Gaye's hi ghest ranking entry on the list, as well as several other publications' lists. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Review by John Bush (allmusic) What's Going On is not only Marvin Gaye's masterpiece, it's the most important a nd passionate record to come out of soul music, delivered by one of its finest v oices, a man finally free to speak his mind and so move from R&B sex symbol to t rue recording artist. With What's Going On, Gaye meditated on what had happened to the American dream of the past -- as it related to urban decay, environmental woes, military turbulence, police brutality, unemployment, and poverty. These f eelings had been bubbling up between 1967 and 1970, during which he felt increas ingly caged by Motown's behind-the-times hit machine and restrained from express ing himself seriously through his music. Finally, late in 1970, Gaye decided to record a song that the Four Tops' Obie Benson had brought him, "What's Going On. " When Berry Gordy decided not to issue the single, deeming it uncommercial, Gay e refused to record any more material until he relented. Confirmed by its tremen dous commercial success in January 1971, he recorded the rest of the album over ten days in March, and Motown released it in late May. Besides cementing Marvin Gaye as one of the most important artists in pop music, What's Going On was far and away the best full-length to issue from the singles-dominated Motown factory , and arguably the best soul album of all time. Conceived as a statement from the viewpoint of a Vietnam veteran (Gaye's brother Frankie had returned from a three-year hitch in 1967), What's Going On isn't ju st the question of a baffled soldier returning home to a strange place, but a pr

omise that listeners would be informed by what they heard (that missing question mark in the title certainly wasn't a typo). Instead of releasing listeners from their troubles, as so many of his singles had in the past, Gaye used the album to reflect on the climate of the early '70s, rife with civil unrest, drug abuse, abandoned children, and the spectre of riots in the near past. Alternately depr essed and hopeful, angry and jubilant, Gaye saved the most sublime, deeply inspi red performances of his career for "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," "Inner City B lues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," and "Save the Children." The songs and performance s, however, furnished only half of a revolution; little could've been accomplish ed with the Motown sound of previous Marvin Gaye hits like "Stubborn Kind of Fel low" and "Hitch Hike" or even "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." What's Going O n, as he conceived and produced it, was like no other record heard before it: la nguid, dark, and jazzy, a series of relaxed grooves with a heavy bottom, filled by thick basslines along with bongos, conga, and other percussion. Fortunately, this aesthetic fit in perfectly with the style of longtime Motown session men li ke bassist James Jamerson and guitarist Joe Messina. When the Funk Brothers were , for once, allowed the opportunity to work in relaxed, open proceedings, they p roduced the best work of their careers (and indeed, they recognized its importan ce before any of the Motown executives). Jamerson's playing on "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" functions as the low-end foundation but also its melodi c hook, while an improvisatory jam by Eli Fountain on alto sax furnished the alb um's opening flourish. (Much credit goes to Gaye himself for seizing on these of ten tossed-off lines as precious; indeed, he spent more time down in the Snakepi t than he did in the control room.) Just as he'd hoped it would be, What's Going On was Marvin Gaye's masterwork, the most perfect expression of an artist's hop e, anger, and concern ever recorded. On the Deluxe Edition If it's easy to be a little cynical about Universal/Motown's 2001 Deluxe Edition reissue of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, it's only because Motown endlessly re issued the album during the CD era, trumpeting each as the definitive issue (rat her ironic for an album Berry Gordy didn't even want to release at the time). St ill, Universal's Deluxe Edition series is proving to be a phenomenal collectorsoriented line, filled with lavish, detailed packaging and unpredictable turns, a nd What's Going On is no exception to the rule. To begin with, the remastering o f the original album is excellent, the best yet, although that still isn't enoug h to make this worth buying for the hardcore fans who have purchased the album a gain and again over the years. That's what the other disc and a half of bonus ma terial is for. First, there's the "original Detroit mix" of the album prepared w hile Gaye was out of town, filming a movie. A little bolder and sparer than the released record, with the strings noticeably relegated to the background, it's i nteresting, not revelatory, though its stripped-back feel is refreshing after he aring the album countless times. A rhythm-and-strings mix of "What's Going On" i s tacked onto the end of the first disc, before the second disc begins with a ne w, previously unreleased live album that finds Gaye running through the album (m inus "Mercy Mercy Me [The Ecology]") and performing a medley of '60s hits. It wa s his first performance in four years, and while unnecessary, it is fascinating and certainly worth the time of hardcore fans, as are the original single versio ns of "What's Going On," "God Is Love," and "Sad Tomorrows," plus the previously unreleased "Head Title" (aka "Distant Lover"). This is certainly a package for fans, but it's also the ideal fan package -- beautifully made and filled with ra rities that are necessary for fans, making them feel fine about buying this reco rd again. Especially since this is so well done, it's hard to imagine Universal/ Motown bettering it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------SOME TRACKS OVERVIEWED WHAT'S GOING ON

(on Wikipedia) It became a crossover hit single that reached #2 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts. A meditation on the troubles and problems of the world, the song pr oved a timely and relatable release, and it marked Gaye's departure from the pop stylings of 1960s-era Motown towards more personal material. The song topped a Metro Times list of the 100 Greatest Detroit Songs Of All Time[1], and in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the fourth greatest song of all time. Designed with a somber jazz-inspired tone, "What's Going On" addressed the polit ical and social troubles of the world and black-on-black crime in a soulful, int rospective way, contrasting to the more dramatic socially conscious records made by Sly & the Family Stone and The Temptations over the previous three years. Th e song originated from an idea by Four Tops member Renaldo "Obie" Benson, who, w itnessing stressful conditions while on tour in Europe, began writing a song to express his feelings. Once back in the United States, Benson and Motown songwrit er Al Cleveland prepared an initial rough version of the song, and invited Marvi n Gaye as a third collaborator on the song. Gaye, depressed from the death of si nging partner Tammi Terrell and strongly considering a retirement from performin g, planned to produce "What's Going On" as a single for The Originals, but Benso n and Cleveland convinced Gaye to record it himself. On the finished track, as Gaye musically ponders on the state of the world and t he Vietnam war, a party can be heard going on in the background, from which Gaye 's voice is purposely detached. The partygoers are portrayed by Detroit Lions pl ayers Mel Farr and Lem Barney, whose acquaintances Gaye had made during his fail ed 1970 tryout with the team. The song is notable for its heavy use of major seventh and minor seventh chords, a fairly uncommon occurrence in popular music of that era. Also, notably for th is record, Marvin Gaye sings both lead and background vocals himself. The proces s had been used for many years to give parts of a recording extra strength (Moto wn themselves had used it on such tracks as The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' O n"), but Gaye took it a step further and sung each of his vocal passes in variou s harmony parts, creating an ethereal sound that became one of his trademarks. The song was completed in 1970 before the rest of the album was finished. Motown chief Berry Gordy deemed the record "uncommercial" and initially tried to block its release as a single. He later relented after Gaye threatened to cease recor ding permanently. "What's Going On" proved to be a substantial commercial hit, p aving the way for his forthcoming seminal album release of the same title. "What 's Going On" was one of the major hits of 1971 as well as Motown's fast selling single at that point, reaching #2 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and # 1 for five weeks on the Billboard R&B charts. The single would eventually sell o ver 2.5 million copies, becoming Gaye's biggest US Pop hit since "I Heard It Thr ough The Grapevine" charted in late 1968. The single version (available on the d eluxe version of What's Going On, the album) differs noticeably from the album v ersion; in particular, there is stronger percussion in the background as well as louder background vocals and noise. Some of Gaye's vocals have also been re-rec orded to sound slightly punchier. There is also a false "fade out" that is only on the single version. (Allmusic's Review) "What's Going On" was a new kind of protest song, a sugar-coated pill which surv eyed the troubled landscape of an America torn apart by war, poverty, and prejud ice, but reported its findings not with anger and recriminations, but with compa ssion and tenderness. The song was inspired as much by the bigger picture of Vie tnam and the civil rights movement as by events in Marvin Gaye's tumultuous pers

onal life -- specifically, the return of his brother, Frankie, from combat; the death of his duet partner, Tammi Terrell; and his disintegrating marriage to wif e Anna. ( "What's Going On"'s title, on the other hand, originated with Detroit Lions star Mel Farr, who along with teammate Lem Barney also contributed backing vocals.) It's first and foremost a song about family, both literally and figura tively: the plaintive cries of "father, father" reflect not only the troubled re lationship between Gaye and his biological father, but also the singer's ongoing struggles with God, while the appeals to "brother, brother" speak as much to Ga ye's own sibling as to the brotherhood of all humankind. "What's Going On"'s sco pe is vast -- the lyrics also touch on hot-button subjects spanning from anti-wa r protests to the generation gap to police violence -- but its message is simple : "Only love can conquer hate." Gaye doesn't just pose the question "what's goin g on?," he answers it, relating his truths with a spiritual power rooted in gosp el while tempering the song's bitter realities with gorgeously layered vocals, j azz-inspired rhythms, and luminously soulful saxophone breaks. Indeed, in contra st to the more biting, hardline polemics of contemporaries like James Brown, Cur tis Mayfield, and Sly & the Family Stone, "What's Going On" is remarkable for it s serenity and warmth -- even detailing their litany of injustices Gaye's vocals remain implacably calm, radiating a Zen-like wisdom and peacefulness. In a majo r break from Motown tradition, Gaye produced the record himself, and while the l abel certainly hadn't shied away from making social and political statements in the past, nothing was remotely so explicit and direct as this. Label owner Berry Gordy Jr. reportedly hated "What's Going On" and its accompanying LP, probably because it frightened him -- not only did the record threaten to alienate the wh ite audiences the company coveted, but it broke free of the famed Motown assembl y-line production process, liberating artists once and for all. "What's Going On " might not be the biggest hit Motown scored -- the song reached number two in 1 971 -- but it might be the most transcendent. (Some Songfacts) This was written by Motown songwriter Al Cleveland and Four Tops member Renaldo "Obie" Benson. Gaye added lyrics and worked on the arrangement. The 3 were golfi ng partners. Gaye wanted The Originals to record the song, but Benson and Clevel and prevailed upon Gaye to do it himself. Until this song, Gaye rarely participated in the songwriting process. For this a lbum, he took control of the production so he could make a statement as an artis t. Motown hated the idea, but Gaye was an established star and had enough power to pull it off. Gaye was inspired by the stories his brother Frankie told him when he came back from the Vietnam war. This was one of the first Motown songs to make a powerful political statement. S tevie Wonder and The Temptations were also recording more serious and challengin g material, which was a radical departure from the Motown hits of the '60s. The song had a tremendous impact because listeners weren't used to hearing social co mmentary from Gaye. As Jackson Browne said in a 2008 interview with Rolling Ston e: "No one was expecting an anti-war song from him. But it was a moment in time when people were willing to hear it from anybody, if it was heartfelt. And who b etter than the person who has talked to you about love and desire?" Gaye was a talented football player, and while he never played in the NFL, he wa s good friends with Mel Farr and Lem Barney, who played for the Detroit Lions. " What's Going On" was an expression they used to greet each other, and Gaye used it as the title. Farr and Barney sang backup on the track. Gaye was deeply affected by the death of his partner, Tammi Terrell, a year earl ier. This led him to take charge of his career and infuse messages in his songs.

The album takes on many issues, including the environment ("Mercy Mercy Me"), an d poverty ("Inner City Blues"). It was the first album Gaye released that sold a lot of copies. Until then, like most Motown artists, he had lots of hit singles but album sales were secondary. Gaye used an orchestra on this. Motown hated the elaborate production, but were thrilled when it became a hit. Gaye wrote this when he could no longer could take refuge in his love songs. His marriage was in shambles (although the divorce wouldn't be final until 1977), T ammi Terrell (his partner in song and romance) collapsed into his arms during a concert and died in 1970, drug use was pervading the inner city culture and Malc olm X, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy were all gunned down. (thanks, Bra d Wind - Miami, FL) Shortly before the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001, a group of artists inclu ding Bono, Michael Stipe, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera recorded this to benefit AIDS research in Africa. After the terrorism, they decided to give half the proceeds to victims of the attacks and the other half to AIDS charities. Th e song was scheduled for release on World AIDS Day, December 1, but was pushed u p to September 21 due to the tragedy. The new version was released as a CD single containing different mixes of the so ng. The first one released as a single was the rock remixed by Fred Durst. Scott Weiland, Perry Farrell, and Bono were on the track. Other remixes include and R &B Mix by Jermaine Dupri, an Electronic Mix by Moby, and a Contemporary Mix by B ono. After the terrorist attacks on the US, MTV aired a version of this featuring foo tage of the recording session mixed with images from the attacks. The videos for the mixes were directed by Jake Scott, who worked on "Everybody H urts" by R.E.M. He had the artists wear blindfolds to demonstrate how some peopl e are blind to issues like racism and religion.

WHAT'S HAPPENING BROTHER (On wikipedia) The song started off the song cycle that began with a man returning home from fi ghting in the Vietnam War only to discover that his world is abstractly differen t from what it used to be before he left for duty. In Marvin's case, the song wa s dedicated to his younger brother, Frankie, who was returning back from a three -year duty at Vietnam, in essence, Marvin later told interviews that Frankie's e xperience in Vietnam inspired him to collaborate on the songs for the What's Goi ng On project. Throughout this song, Marvin mentions in his brother's third pers on about the nightclub, about whether or not his baseball team would "win the pe nnant" and wonders how his friend has been which brings upon the question, "what 's happening brother?" Musically the song follows the same path as "What's Going On" and features The Andantes as background vocalists.

FLYIN' HIGH (IN THE FRIENDLY SKY) (On wikipedia) The song continued in a song cycle that had begun with the previous track, "What 's Happening Brother" as quickly after the song ended with the lyric, "Cause I'm slightly behind the time" creating a moody and ominous sound punctuated by the singer's falsetto. Co-written with wife Anna Gordy and confidant Elgie Stover, t

he song talked about drug addiction, the drug of choice in the song is heroin as explained in the lyric, "I know I'm hooked my friend/to the boy who makes slave s out of men". Related to the song, numerous Vietnam vets struggled with heroin addiction. Marv in later stated the song title was a ploy at an ad made by American Airlines iro nically with the slogan, "flying in the friendly skies". The song would be sampl ed by several hip-hop musicians. Marvin sings both lead and background vocals on this song. The song was originally recorded under a slightly different mix a year before as "Sad Tomorrows" which Gaye co-wrote by Fuller Gordy and Delores Wilkinson and f eatured background vocals by The Originals, with whom had big hits under Gaye's productions. Like the later version of the song, Marvin also sings totally in fa lsetto. The song also ends faster than the later version and that version was la ter put in remastered re-issues of What's Going On including the Deluxe Edition issue.

SAVE THE CHILDREN From Wikipedia: While not issued as a single in the U.S., the song was issued as a single by the Tamla-Motown label in the UK where it peaked at #41 on the Charts in December o f 1971, whereas the other major US single releases initially failed to make a de nt on the other side of the Atlantic. The song was a continuation of the message "What's Going On" delivered, about love, this time, for the children. Marvin la ter joked on the liner notes of the album "not let (this song) influence anyone" . Marvin recorded both a spoken word recitation of the song and a vocal version mixing the two vocals together featuring Marvin's soft-spoken vocals on one side and his expressive tenor on the other. The song would later be covered by Diana Ross in a medley featuring the jazz song, "Brown Baby", on her 1973 album, Touc h Me in the Morning. Marvin sung this song briefly while touring Europe in 1976 including the song as part of his What's Going On medley. From Allmusic: One of the most impressive stylistic elements of What's Going On is the way that Marvin Gaye overdubbed his own voice several times to add an extra emotional di mension to the material. The shining example of this technique on What's Going O n is "Save The Children," a heartrending ballad that found Gaye utilizing duelin g vocal overdubs to get his message across. The lyrics avoid any kind of fiction al scenario to address the listener directly, asking them "Who's willing to save a world/That is destined to die?" before launching into a passionate declaratio n that we should "live life for the children.". The emotional flow of these lyri cs is complex but the melody is up to the task of matching it, starting in minor key-styled ballad mode but gradually build in intensity until it reaches an emo tion-rich peak that gives the finale a glorious gospel feel. Gaye's recording gi ves the song the epic sweep it needs thanks to a stylish David Van De Pitte arra ngement that starts with a wordless choir backed by low strings then adds layers of insistent percussion and soulful horns until it climaxes with a flurry of ja zzy drum fills and saxophone riffs. When it seems to have reached its peak, it s tops on a dime and reverts back to a sad midtempo mode that closes out the track before it flows into the intro of "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." It's a striki ngly arranged sound but Gaye's vocal are what truly allow it to take flight: he starts off speaking the lyrics, then adds a pained vocal overdub that counteract s the mellow spoken part with gospel-tinged fire. As the impassion quality of th e lyrics hit their peak, the two voices reach a level of emotion guaranteed to a

ffect even the most hard-hearted listener. "Save The Children" was never release d a single but its combination of passion and vocal artistry made it a highlight at Gaye's live shows and a favorite with his fans. More importantly, it's use o f overdubbed vocals paved the way for future Marvin Gaye vocal workouts like "I Want You" and "Sexual Healing." GOD IS LOVE (Wikipedia) The song was a return of sorts to Gaye's religious background dedicating this so ng to God and his father, Marvin Pentz Gay, Sr. The song was originally recorded as the b-side to "What's Going On" shortly after that song was recorded. The or iginal 45" version of "What's Going On" included a slower, string-laden version of this song as its b-side. The song was later retooled in a more joyous, faster version brought on after the success of "What's Going On" as a hit song. It als o ended in a much faster and abrupt tone leading into the album's next single, " Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)". The original version has since been re-issued on several greatest-hits sets and re-issues of the album.

MERCY MERCY ME (THE ECOLOGY) (from Wikipedia) Following the breakthrough of the title track's success, this song, written sole ly by Gaye, became one of his most poignant anthems of sorrow at the world deali ng with the environment. Led by Gaye playing piano, strings conducted by Paul Ri ser, multi-tracking vocals from Gaye and additional background vocals by The And antes, the instrumentals provided by The Funk Brothers and a leading sax solo by Wild Bill Moore, the song rose to #4 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart and #1 fo r two weeks on the R&B singles charts on August 14 through to August 27, 1971. A s the single became his second million seller from What's Going On the album cra shed on the soul album charts in the top five, and began charging up the pop ran kings. "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" soon became one of Gaye's most famous song s in his extensive catalogue. In 2002 it was his third single recording to win a "Grammy Hall of Fame" Award. Like "Inner City Blues", Bob Babbitt, not James Ja merson, plays the bass line. (from allmusic) 1971 brought in a new era at Motown records; its star attraction Marvin Gaye con troversially broke with the label's proven hitmaking system of recording materia l written for him by others and wrote, produced, and performed his own album, th e master stroke What's Going On. With this landmark recording, Gaye became a sou l music auteur and opened the doors for others like Stevie Wonder to take simila r chances. The album is a time-capsule piece addressing many of the era's hot-bu tton issues: the war in Vietnam, the environment, racism, and so on. Far from be ing didactic, the album as a whole is one solid conceptual groove, albeit a mood y one, allowing one to think while dancing. And the approach to the issues at ha nd -- as evidenced on the environmentally concerned "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology )" -- is subtle, timeless, and never sermonizing: "Oh mercy mercy me/Oh, things ain't what they used to be no, no/Where did all the blue sky go?/Poison is the w ind that blows from the north and south and east." Gaye's approach on the "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," and most of the album, is one of desperate concern. Th ough he once characterized the album as "me against the man," the tone rarely ap proaches anger; rather, his attitude is mostly one of disgusted disappointment. The instrumentation of the song continues to ride the conga-drum Latin percussiv e groove that runs through much of the album. The production suggests a less-int rusive, updated Phil Spector or Brian Wilson ethic. There are well-placed horns,

piano, voices, synthesizers, even ear-candy flourishes like glockenspiel to rep resent the high end of what could have easily been a swampy, reverby mix; "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" just jells so well that it is easy to forget that there is so much going on in the track. Lyrics and controversy notwithstanding, "Merc y Mercy Me (The Ecology)" was a success commercially, hitting number one and fin ishing number 41 on the 1971 pop chart. While it sports a catchy pop melody and a passionate vocal performance, "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" has a non-traditi onal song structure: After four stacked verses, all beginning with the refrain " mercy mercy me," the song goes into a vocal improvisation over a verse, followed by a bridge of swelling string orchestration and a jazzy saxophone solo, all bu ilding into an outro that meanders into an almost dissonant, eerie minor-key cre scendo that just sits there like a question mark at the end of the song. There i s nothing approaching a pop-song chorus, and there is no repetition, save for th e refrain opening the verses. The myriad cover versions of "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" are mostly crossover jazz versions like Grover Washington Jr.'s. Rober t Palmer did a solid interpretation of the song in a medley with "I Want You" in 1990 on his Don't Explain LP.

RIGHT ON (from Wikipedia) The song, which talked about the differences between the rich and poor, good and evil and other divisions, was built in a different musical texture than previou s singles bringing in a Latin soul percussive style including maracas and a flut e and fluent jazz-styled piano playing from Gaye. The song changed into abstract melodies and harmonies from Marvin with the first half in a settled mood, the s econd half a little more hasty as Marvin's lyrical content went from social to p olitical and the third which was a more modest close in which Marvin preached ho w "love can conquer hate anytime" and telling someone close to him to come "to l ive where love is King" before ending in the song's first half musical productio n. The song then climaxes with Marvin segueing into "Wholy Holy". The title was also referenced in "What's Going On" so prominently and was so heralded that Mar vin formed a production company titled Right On Productions soon afterwards.

WHOLY HOLY (from Wikipedia) Staying with the subject of love bringing Jesus into the theme, the song lyrical ly followed the same path of the Benson/Cleveland/Gaye compositions "What's Goin g On" and "Save the Children" while musically was a much more solemn production than the previous tune and featured Gaye on lead and background vocals. The song would be later covered by soul-gospel greats Aretha Franklin, who sung the song on her Amazing Grace live album and Mavis Staples, who famously covered it duri ng an episode of The Cosby Show.

INNER CITY BLUES (WANNA MAKE ME HOLLER) (from Wikipedia) Written by Gaye and James Nyx, the song depicted the ghettos of inner-city Ameri ca as it discussed how the bleak situation would lead to someone wanting to holl er and throw ones hands up. The song was recorded in a mellow funk style with Ga ye playing piano. Several of the Funk Brothers also contributed, including Eddie "Bongo" Brown, and bassist Bob Babbitt. The song helped Gaye make history by being one of the few artists to have three or more Top 10 songs off Billboard's Pop Singles chart peaking at #9 and one of the first to have three consecutive #1 hits on Billboard's R&B Singles chart whe

re it stayed for two weeks. Although not certified by the RIAA at that time, all three releases from the What's Going On album gained Gold status by selling ove r a million copies in the United States. The final minute of the song (and of the album) is a reprise to the theme of "Wh at's Going On", the album's first song. (from Allmusic) It wouldn't tell the following year that Curtis Mayfield's classic Superfly soun dtrack would be released, yet Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Ho ller)" has some of the rich imagery that would make that album so poignant and i nfluence hip-hop/ rap artists decades later. It's a credit to Gaye's amazing tal ent that he could still, after years of having international hits, relate to the travails of inner-city life. Though he sang in a smooth tenor, Gaye's pain and anger shines through. A single from his gold masterpiece What's Going On, "Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)" went to number one R&B for two weeks and nu mber nine pop in late 1971. (and finally, from Songfacts) Marvin Gaye recorded a string of hit love songs in the '60s which were usually w ritten by Motown songwriters. In the early '70s, he took control of his career a nd began writing and performing songs with a more socially-conscious message. Ga ye grew up in Washington, DC before moving to Detroit in 1960. This song deals w ith the poverty and hopelessness people living in the ghettos of urban America o ften felt. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France) Gaye gave James Nyx a songwriting credit on this as well as "What's Going On." N yx was a longtime friend of Gaye who helped him organize and arrange his songs. This was used in the soundtrack of the 2007 film Zodiac.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------On Marvin Gaye (Wikipedia) Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye (April 2, 1939 April 1, 1984) was an American singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and instrume ntalist. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fif ties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960 signing w ith the Tamla subsidiary of Motown Records. After a year as a session drummer, G aye ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the sixties. Due to solo hits including "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", "Ain't That P eculiar", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and his duet singles with singers s uch as Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell, he was crowned "The Prince of Motown" and " The Prince of Soul". Notable for fighting the hit-making but restrictive Motown process in which perf ormers and songwriters and producers were kept separate, Gaye proved with albums like his 1971 What's Going On and his 1973 Let's Get It On that he was able to produce music without relying on the system, inspiring fellow Motown artists suc h as Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson to do the same. His mid-1970s work including the Let's Get It On and I Want You albums helped in fluence the quiet storm, urban adult contemporary and slow jam genres. After a s elf-imposed European exile in the late seventies, Gaye returned on the 1982 Gram

my-winning hit, "Sexual Healing" and the Midnight Love album before his death at the hands of his father on April 1, 1984. He was posthumously inducted to the R ock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. was born at 12 p.m. on April 2, 1939 at Freedman's Hospita l in Washington, D.C.. His father, Marvin Gay Sr. of Kentucky, was a minister at a Seventh-day Adventist Church sect called the House of God. It advocated stric t conduct and mixed teachings of Orthodox Judaism and Pentecostalism. His mother , Alberta Cooper Gay, of North Carolina, was a domestic mother. The eldest son of Gay Sr.'s children, Marvin has a half brother, Michael Cooper (b. 1935). Marvin's other siblings included eldest sister Jeanne (b. 1937), Fran kie (1941-2001) and Zeola "Sweetsie" (b. 1945). The Gays raised their children a t the southwest section of D.C. at the Simple City projects and, after Marvin tu rned 14, lived in the segregated section of Washington, D.C.'s Deanwood neighbor hood in the northeastern section of the city. As a teen, he caddied at Norbeck Country Club in Olney, Maryland. As a child in his father's church, Gaye sang and played instruments in the choir. During high school, he listened to doo-wop and joined the DC Tones as a drummer. After dropp ing out of 11th grade at Cardozo High School, Gaye joined the United States Air Force in hopes of flying jets. After faking mental illness, he was discharged. H is sergeant stated that Gaye refused to follow orders. After returning to D.C., Gaye reformed the D.C. Tones as The Marquees and Bo Did dley signed them to the New York Okeh Records, where they recorded "Wyatt Earp", with "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" as its B-side. It flopped. Diddley introduced the group to Harvey Fuqua, of the R&B/doo-wop group The Moong lows. Fuqua recruited them to be The New Moonglows in 1959 and signed them to Ch ess Records. Gaye and his group sung background on records by Chuck Berry and Et ta James and had a modest hit with "The Twelve Commandments of Love". "Mama Looc hie" (1959) was Gaye's first lead single. After the Moonglows disbanded in 1960, Fuqua brought Gaye to Detroit and he was signed to the local Anna Records label, founded by Gwen Gordy. After Motown Reco rds' Berry Gordy absorbed Anna, Gaye was moved to Motown's Tamla subsidiary. Gay e found that Fuqua had sold 50% percent of his stake in Gaye to the label Gaye w orked as a session drummer for The Miracles, The Contours, Martha and the Vandel las, The Marvelettes and others, notably on The Marvelettes' 1961 hit, "Please M r. Postman" and Little Stevie Wonder's live version of 1963 hit, "Fingertips Pt. 2". Both singles reached number one of the pop singles chart. After recording at Motown, Gaye changed his name from Marvin Gay to Marvin Gaye, adding the 'e' to separate himself from his father, to stop gossip about his se xuality, and to imitate his idol, Sam Cooke, who also added an 'e' to his name. Gaye and Berry clashed over music to record. Through help from Gaye's girlfriend , Gordy's sister Anna, Berry allowed him to record a standard album. Early success Motown started Artist Development to look after artists. Gaye rebelled against r eceiving the same tuition as his Motown peers, though he'd later regret that dec ision. Eventually he stopped "grooming school" though he took its director Maxin e Powell's advice to not perform with his eyes closed as if "to appear that he w asn't asleep". In June 1961, Gaye issued his first solo recording, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, the second album by Motown. The record featured Broadway standards and jaz z-rendered show tunes, and also yielded the R&B ballad single, "Let Your Conscie

nce Be Your Guide". The record failed. Gaye released two more failed singles, a cover of The Chordettes' "Sandman" and "Soldier's Plea" in 1962. Gaye would find his first success as a co-songwriter on the Marvelettes' 1962 hit, "Beechwood 4 -5789". Gaye scored his first hit single "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" in September. The son g, co-written by Gaye, was an autobiographical pun on his nonchalant, moody beha vior. Produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson and featuring Martha and the Vandel las (then known as "The Vels"), the recording became a hit on the Hot R&B Songs chart. Martha and the Vandellas would also sing background on Gaye's subsequent 1962 album, That Stubborn Kinda Fellow. The single would be followed by his first Top 40 singles "Hitch Hike", "Pride an d Joy" and "Can I Get a Witness", which charted for Gaye in 1963. The success co ntinued with the 1964 singles "You Are a Wonderful One" (which featured backgrou nd by The Supremes), "Try It Baby" (which featured backgrounds from The Temptati ons), "Baby Don't You Do It" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", which b ecame his signature song. Gaye contributed to writing Martha and the Vandellas' 1964 "Dancing in the Stree t". His work with Smokey Robinson on the 1966 album, Moods of Marvin Gaye, spawn ed consecutive top ten singles in "I'll Be Doggone" and "Ain't That Peculiar", b oth of which became the singer's first Billboard charted number-one hits of his career peaking at the top spot on the R&B singles chart. Gaye became a favorite on the teen shows American Bandstand, Shindig!, Hullaballoo and The T.A.M.I. Sho w. He also became one of the few Motown artists to perform at the Copacabana. A live album from the Copacabana performances, however, wouldn't be issued in near ly 40 years. Tammi Terrell A number of Gaye's hits for Motown were with female artists such as Kim Weston a nd Mary Wells; the first Gaye/Wells album, 1964's Together, was Gaye's first cha rting album. However, it was Gaye's work with Tammi Terrell that became the most memorable. Terrell and Gaye had a good rapport and their first album, 1967's Un ited, birthed the hits "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (covered by Diana Ross an d former Doobie Brothers singer Michael McDonald) and "Your Precious Love". Real-life couple Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson provided the writing and p roduction for the Gaye/Terrell records. While Gaye and Terrell were not lovers t hough rumors persist they portrayed lovers on record. Gaye claimed that for the songs he was in love with her. On October 14, 1967, Terrell collapsed into Gaye' s arms while they were performing at the Hampton Institute (now Hampton Universi ty) homecoming in Hampton, Virginia (in Virginia's Tidewater region, not at Hamp den-Sydney College, in mid-state Virginia). She was diagnosed with a brain tumor and her health continued to deteriorate. Motown decided to carry on with Gaye/Terrell recordings, issuing the You're All I Need album in 1968, which featured "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "Yo u're All I Need to Get By". By the final album, Easy in 1969, Terrell's vocals w ere mostly by Valerie Simpson. Two tracks on Easy were archived Terrell solo son gs with Gaye's vocals overdubbed. Terrell's illness put Gaye in a depression; he refused to acknowledge the succes s of his song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (sample (helpinfo)), previously recorded in 1967 by Gladys Knight & The Pips, his first #1 hit and the biggest s elling single in Motown history to that point, with four million copies sold. Hi s work with producer Norman Whitfield, who produced "Grapevine", resulted in sim ilar success with the singles "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is". Meanwhile, Gaye's marriage was crumbling and he was bored with his

music. Wanting creative control, he sought to produce singles for Motown sessio n band The Originals, whose Gaye-produced hits, "Baby I'm For Real" and "The Bel ls", brought success. After the release of What's Going On, Motown renegotiated a contract with Gaye t hat allowed him creative control. The deal was worth $1 million, making Gaye the highest-earning black artist. He moved from Detroit to Los Angeles in 1972 afte r being offered a chance to write the score to a blaxploitation film. Writing, a rranging and producing the movie Trouble Man, Gaye issued the soundtrack and tit le song in 1972. The soundtrack and single became hits, the single peaking at th e top ten in early 1973. Gaye decided to switch from social to sensual with Let's Get It On in 1973. The album was a departure for its sensual appeal. Yielded by the title track (sample (helpinfo)) and tracks such as "Come Get to This", "You Sure Love to Ball", and "Distant Lover", Let's Get It On became Gaye's biggest selling album during his lifetime, surpassing What's Going On. Also, with the title track, Gaye broke his own record at Motown by surpassing the sales of "I Heard It Through the Grapevi ne". The album would be hailed "a record unparalleled in its sheer sensuality an d carnal energy." Gaye began working on his final duet album, this time with Diana Ross for the Di ana & Marvin project, an album of duets that began recording in 1972, while Ross was pregnant with her second child. Gaye refused to sing if he couldn't smoke i n the studio, so the album was recorded by overdubbing Ross and Gaye at separate sessions. Released in fall 1973, the album yielded the US Top 20 hit singles "Y ou're a Special Part of Me and "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" as well as the UK versions of The Stylistics's "You Are Everything" at #5 and "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" at #25, respectively. In 1976, Gaye released the I Want You LP, which yielded the title track as the n umber-one R&B single, and the modest charter, "After the Dance." Album tracks su ch as "Since I Had You" and "Soon I'll Be Loving You Again" geared Gaye towards more funky material. "Got to Give It Up" and his final days at Motown In 1977, Gaye released the funk single, "Got to Give It Up", which went to numbe r-one on the pop, R&B and dance singles charts and helped his Live at the London Palladium album sell two million copies, becoming one of the top ten best-selli ng albums of the year. The following year, after divorcing his wife, Anna, he ag reed to remit a portion of his salary and sales of his upcoming album as alimony . The result was 1978's Here, My Dear, which addressed the sour points of his ma rriage and almost led to Anna filing a lawsuit for invasion of privacy. That alb um tanked and Gaye struggled. By 1979, besieged by tax problems and drug addicti ons, Gaye filed for bankruptcy and moved to Hawaii, where he lived in a bread va n. In 1980, he signed with British promoter Jeffrey Kruger to do concerts overseas with the promised highlight of a Royal Command Performance at London's Drury Lan e in front of Princess Margaret. Gaye failed to make the stage; by the time he s howed up, everyone had left. While in London, he worked on In Our Lifetime? When Motown issued the album in 1981, Gaye accused Motown of editing and remixing th e album without his consent, releasing an unfinished song ("Far Cry"), altering the album art he requested and removing the question mark from the title - mutin g its irony. A special edition of the album was released in early 2007. Comeback and sudden death After being offered a chance to clear things up in Ostend, Belgium, he moved the

re in early 1981. Still upset he negotiated a release from , releasing the Midnight Love ealing" (sample (helpinfo)),

over Motown's decision to release In Our Lifetime, the label and signed with Columbia Records in 1982 album late that year. The album included "Sexual H which was Gaye's last hit.

The single reached number one on Billboard's R&B chart, where it stayed for ten weeks, later crossing to number three on Billboard's Hot 100. The single sold tw o million copies in the U.S. earning a platinum certification. The song also gav e Gaye his first two Grammy Awards (Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, Best R&B In strumental) in February 1983. It was nominated for Best R&B Song but lost to Geo rge Benson. The following year, he was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance again, this time for the Midnight Love album. In February 1983, Gaye performed "The Sta r-Spangled Banner" at the NBA All-Star Game, held at The Forum in Inglewood, Cal ifornia, accompanied by a drum machine. In March 1983, he gave his final perform ance in front of his old mentor and label for Motown 25, performing "What's Goin g On". He then embarked on a U.S. tour to support his album. The tour, ending in August 1983, was plagued by health problems and Gaye's bouts with depression, a nd fear over an attempt on his life. When the tour ended, he isolated himself by moving into his parents' house. He t hreatened to commit suicide several times after bitter arguments with his father . On April 1, 1984, one day before his 45th birthday, Gaye's father shot him aft er an argument that started after his parents squabbled over misplaced business documents. Gaye attempted to intervene, and was killed by his father using a gun he had given him four months before. Marvin Sr. was sentenced to six years of p robation after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Charges of first-degree murder w ere dropped after doctors discovered Marvin Sr. had a brain tumor. Spending his final years in a retirement home, he died of pneumonia in 1998. Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He was inducted t o Hollywood's Rock Walk in 1989 and was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fa me in 1990. Personal life: marriages and family Gaye and second wife Janis Gaye married twice. His first marriage was to Berry Gordy, Jr.'s sister, Anna Go rdy, who was 17 years his senior. The marriage imploded after Marvin was courtin g the teenage daughter of Slim Gaillard, Janis Hunter, in 1973. Anna filed for d ivorce in 1975, the divorce was finalized in March 1977. Gaye's erotic and disco -tinged studio album I Want You was based on his relationship with Hunter. In hi s book Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, and Demons of Marvin Gaye, author and mu sic writer Michael Eric Dyson elaborated on the relationship between I Want You and the relationship Gaye had with Hunter, which influenced his music: I Want You is unmistakably a work of romantic and erotic tribute to the woma n he deeply loved and would marry shortly, Janis Hunter. Gaye's obsession with t he woman in her late teens is nearly palpable in the sensual textures that are t he album's aural and lyrical signature. Their relationship was relentlessy passi onate and emotionally rough-hewn; they played up each other's strengths, and pla yed off each other's weaknesses. Michael Eric Dyson In October 1977, he married Janis, who was 17 years old when they met. However, the marriage dissolved within a year. After attempts at reconciliation, Janis fi led for divorce in 1979. The divorce was finalized in February 1981. During this time, Marvin began dating a model from Holland named Eugenie Vis. In 1982 Gaye became involved with Lady Edith Foxwell, former wife of the British movie direct

or Ivan Foxwell, and spent time with her at Sherston, her Wiltshire estate. Foxw ell ran the fashionable Embassy Club and was referred to in the media as "the qu een of London cafe society." The story of their affair was told by Stan Hey in t he April 2004 issue of GQ. The report quoted writer/composer Bernard J. Taylor a s saying he was told by Foxwell that she and Gaye had discussed marriage. Gaye had three children. Marvin Pentz Gaye, III (b. 1965) was adopted by Marvin and his first wife Anna. The singer disclosed the information in the David Ritz best-seller, Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, saying he was afraid of bein g criticized for not producing a child. Later, Gaye had two children with Janis Hunter, Nona Marvisa, nicknamed "Pie" by her dad (born September 4, 1974) and Fr ankie "Bubby" Christan Gaye (born November 16, 1975). Gaye introduced his daught er to a national audience during a show in 1975. Nona would do the same eight ye ars later when her father was given a tribute by Soul Train. Nona has gone on to find success as a singer and actress. Gaye's eldest son was a music producer. F rankie is said to have taken work as an artist. Gaye also has two grandchildren: Marvin Pentz Gaye IV (b. 1995) was born on the anniversary of his grandfather's death and Nolan Pentz Gaye (b. 1997). Legacy, tributes and award recognitions In 1983, the British group Spandau Ballet recorded the single "True" as a tribut e to Gaye and the Motown sound he helped establish. The day after Gaye died, Dur an Duran dedicated their live performance of Save a Prayer on Arena. A year afte r his death, The Commodores made reference to Gaye's death in their 1985 song "N ightshift", as did the Violent Femmes in their 1988 song "See My Ships". Diana R oss paid tribute with her Top 10 single "Missing You" (1985), as did Teena Marie , a former Motown artist, with her album track "My Dear Mr. Gaye". The soul band Maze featuring Frankie Beverly recorded "Silky Soul" (1989) in honor of their m entor. He was also mentioned in the choral verse of George Michael's "John and E lvis Are Dead", on his album, Patience. In 1992, the Israeli artist Izhar Ashdot dedicated his song "Eesh Hashokolad" to Gaye. In 1995, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Speech of the group Arrested Development and Ga ye's daughter Nona, paid tribute to Gaye with the tribute album, Inner City Blue s: The Music of Marvin Gaye, which included a documentary of the same name that aired on MTV. In 1999, R&B artists D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Brian McKnight and Wil l Downing paid their respects in a tribute album, Marvin Is 60. In October 2001, a cover of "What's Going On", produced by Jermaine Dupri, was issued as a benef it single, credited to "Artists Against AIDS Worldwide". The single, a reaction to the tragedy of the September 11, 2001 attacks as well as to AIDS, featured Ch ristina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, Monica, Nelly Furtado, Alicia Keys, Aaron Lewis of the rock gro up StainD, Nas, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, P. Diddy, ?uestlove of The Roots, Britn ey Spears, and Gwen Stefani. The cover featured Nona Gaye, who sang one of the s ong's lines, "Father, father/we don't need to escalate". In 1987, Gaye was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with his first wife A nna Gordy and son Marvin III accepting for him. He was given his star on the Hol lywood Walk of Fame in 1990. In 1996, he was awarded the Grammy Award for Lifeti me Achievement Award and was honored in song by admirers Annie Lennox and Seal. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #18 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Gaye scored 41 Top 40 hit singles on Billboard's Pop Singles chart between 1963 and 2001, 60 Top 40 R&B singles chart hits from 1962 to 2001, 18 Top Ten pop sin gles on the pop chart, 38 Top 10 singles on the R&B chart, three number-one pop hits and thirteen number-one R&B hits and tied with Michael Jackson in total as

well as the fourth biggest artist of all-time to spend the most weeks at the num ber-one spot on the R&B singles chart (52 weeks). In all, Gaye produced a total of 67 singles on the Billboard charts in total, spanning five decades, including five posthumous releases. The year a remix of "Let's Get It On" was released to urban adult contemporary r adio, "Let's Get It On" was certified gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 50 0,000, making it the best-selling single on Motown in the United States. Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is the best-selling international Motown sing le, explained by a re-release in Europe following a Levi 501 Jeans commercial in 1986. In 2005, A Perfect Circle released "What's Going On" as part of an anti-war CD t itled eMOTIVe. The next year, it was announced that The Strokes were going to co ver Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" on their next album. In October 2005, a discussion was delivered at Washington, D.C.'s City Council to change the name of a park located at Gaye's childhood neighborhood from Watts Branch Park to Ma rvin Gaye Park, and was offered so for $5 million to make the name change a real ity. The park was renamed on April 2, 2006 on what would've been Gaye's 67th bir thday. Gaye's career "spanned the entire history of rhythm and blues from fifties doo-w op to eighties contemporary soul." Critics stated that Gaye's music "signified the development of black music from raw rhythm and blues, through sophisticated soul to the political awareness of the 1970s and increased concentration on pers onal and sexual politics thereafter." Documentaries and movies A documentary about Gaye - What's Going On: The Marvin Gaye Story - was a UK/PBS USA co-production, directed by Jeremy Marre. Gaye is referenced as one of the s upernatural acts to appear in the short story and later television version of St ephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes in "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band". In 2006 ,Motown Records and Universal Music released "Marvin Gaye The Real Thing In Performance: 1964 1981" A DVD collection featuring 16 vintage T.V. performances of Marvin's greatest hits. (The foreign version features 25 hits) . A Marvin Gaye biopic, Marvin - The Marvin Gaye Story, is set for production in 2 008 by Duncan McGillivray (Chairman of Film by Humans Production Co., LLC) with F. Gary Gray, the director of The Italian Job as director and singer Roberta Fla ck supervising the music. It will be a biopic of the entire life story with all the key Motown and family members in Gaye's life. Another biopic, titled Sexual Healing, is set to start filming in 2008 with Jesse L. Martin playing Gaye, Jame s Gandolfini playing Gaye's mentor, Freddy Couseart. Gandolfini recently announc ed that he would be producing the film through his Attaboy Films company. A play co-composed by Gaye's sister Zeola is currently playing. On June 19, 2007 , Hip-O Records reissued Gaye's final Motown album, In Our Lifetime as an expand ed two-disc edition titled In Our Lifetime?: The Love Man Sessions, bringing bac k the original title with the question mark and included a different mix of the album, which was recorded in London and also including the original songs from t he Love Man album, which were ct songs later edited lyrically for the songs that made the In Our Lifetime album. The same label released a deluxe edition of Gay e's Here, My Dear album, which included a re-sequencing of tracks from the album from producers such as Salaam Remi and Bootsy Collins. His 1983 NBA All-Star performance of the national anthem was used in a Nike comm ercial featuring the 2008 U.S. Olympic basketball team