Tag Archives: Marvin Gaye

Music Monday: June 23, 2025

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Debbie Harry will celebrate birthday #80 in a week. Born Angela Trimble on July 1, 1945 in Miami, Florida, the future lead singer of Blondie was raised in New Jersey. She became part of NYC’s music scene when the group was formed there in 1974.

One of their #1 hits (they had a total of four between 1979 & 1981) peaked at the top spot for six consecutive weeks 45 years ago on April 19, 1980. Harry supplied the lyrics to Italian composer Giorgio Moroder’s music to create the main theme song to the movie that made Richard Gere a star, 1980’s “American Gigolo”. The track was nominated the following year for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

Harry later branched out into acting. Her roles in “Hairspray” and “My Life Without Me” are my favorites. Her 2019 autobiography, “Face It: A Memoir”, is a fascinating glimpse at her incredible life & career. Harry is not only one of music’s greatest vocalists but also a visionary who helped introduce rap to the masses with Blondie’s 1981 song, “Rapture”.

Top: Blondie circa 1977. Bottom: Debbie Harry circa 2024. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Bono turned 65 years old last month. Born Paul David Hewson on May 10, 1960 in Dublin, Ireland, he became the lead singer and one of the founding members of U2 in 1976. His milestone birthday aligns with the 45th anniversary of the band’s debut album, Boy, released on October 20, 1980. In addition to U2, Bono has recorded with other artists including his own musical heroes like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and many others.

Bono is also well known for his philanthropic & humanitarian efforts which date back to 1984 when he lent his voice to the charity single, “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band-Aid, a supergroup created by Bob Geldof.

Bono as photographed by Esquire in 2025. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Martha and the Vandellas’ third album, Dance Party, was released 60 years ago in April 1965. The album contains the group’s two biggest hits which helped make them one of Motown’s most successful artists. They remain my favorite girl group of the genre.

Top: The group’s 1965 album. Bottom (top to bottom: Martha Reeves, Betty Kelly, and Rosalind Ashford of Martha and the Vandellas circa 1964. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

America released their fifth studio album, Hearts, 50 years ago in March 1975. It was the second of six records produced by acclaimed Beatles producer, George Martin. Actor & comedian Phil Hartman designed the album cover during his time as a graphic designer. It contained the band’s second #1 hit which peaked in the top spot on June 14, 1975 for one week along with “Daisy Jane” which peaked at #20 in September 1975. “A Horse With No Name” was America’s first top selling song in March 1972.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Power Station released their debut album 40 years ago in March 1985. As a Robert Palmer fan, I was so happy to see him take another step in his musical career, this time in a supergroup with two members of Duran Duran-Andy Taylor and John Taylor-and former Chic drummer Tony Thompson. The Power Station disbanded after that record to return to their respective careers until 1996 when they released their second & final album, Living In Fear. It includes an incredible cover of Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hit, “Let’s Get It On”.

The Power Station circa 1985 (L–R): Robert Palmer, Andy Taylor, John Taylor and Tony Thompson. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Blondie: “Call Me” (1980, written by Debbie Harry and Giorgio Moroder).

The Coors featuring Bono: “When The Stars Go Blue” (2002, written by Ryan Adams).

Martha & The Vandellas: “Dancing In The Street” (1964, written by Marvin Gaye, Ivy Jo Hunter and William “Mickey” Stevenson).

America: “Sister Golden Hair” (1975, written by Gerry Beckley).

The Power Station: “Some Like It Hot” (1985, written by Robert Palmer, Andy Taylor & John Taylor).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 12, 2025

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Stevie Wonder was born 75 years ago on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, MI. Out of all the artists who started their career with Motown Records, he is arguably the most successful & most enduring from that iconic label. He is an undeniable powerhouse in soul, funk & pop. This is from my post from May 16, 2022:

“What is left to say about “The Eighth Wonder Of The World”, Stevie Wonder, who turned 72 last week? The child prodigy born Stevland Hardaway Morris on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, MI began his career in The Motor City at age 11 as Little Stevie Wonder. His career grew even bigger as an adult in the 1970’s with three Album Of The Year Grammy awards for Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness‘ First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976). His talent continued to dominate from there and today, with over six decades of musical brilliance under his belt, Wonder continues to show us all how genius is defined.“

Top: Stevie Wonder circa 1963 at age 13. Middle: The artist circa 1972. Bottom: Wonder at the 2025 Met Gala in NYC earlier this month. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

The Four Tops first album was released sixty years ago in January 1965. The opening track, “Baby I Need Your Loving”, came out in July 1964 which proved to be their first hit, reaching #11 a month later. That prompted the record label to release the group’s follow up eleven months later in November 1965, aptly titled Four Tops Second Album. It features “It’s The Same Old Song” which peaked at #5 in August 1965 and the group’s first #1 record which hit the top spot nearly 60 years ago on on June 19, 1965 for two consecutive weeks.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Marvin Gaye released his 10th studio album 55 years ago in January 1970. It consisted of 12 cover songs, with several made famous by other Motown stars like The Temptations (“I Wish It Would Rain” & “Cloud Nine”) and The Marvelettes (“No Time for Tears”) along with a few by other artists including The Beatles (“Yesterday”) and The Young Rascals (“Groovin”). But the title song-originally recorded by The Isley Brothers in 1967-is my absolute favorite track. Gaye’s version is a slower, more soulful take turning the song into a cautionary tale of love’s fickle side. He released it as a single in the summer of 1969 and it peaked at #7 in October of that year.

Marvin Gaye circa 1972. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Another Motown song celebrating a milestone this year is by Freda Payne. Fifty-five years ago she teamed up with the powerhouse writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. However, the song was credited to the collective pseudonym “Edythe Wayne” due to the trio’s ongoing dispute with Motown Records. The track peaked at #3 in July 1970, just three months after it premiered in the #93 spot in April 1970. It hit #1 for six weeks (September 19-October 24) that year on the UK charts. It remains an undeniable gem from its decade, and as I wrote on Day 85 of my Lockdown Countdown, “The string interlude arrangement @ 1:37 is one of my all time favorites ever.  It just kicked this song to the next level from great to absolutely glorious.  I have reveled in the beauty of this song from the first time I heard it, and fall more in love with each listen.“

Freda Payne circa 1970. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Stevie Wonder: “I Was Made To Love Her” (1967, written by Stevie Wonder, Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby).

Stevie Wonder: “Superstition” (1972, written by Stevie Wonder).

Stevie Wonder: “Living For The City” (1973, written by Stevie Wonder).

The Four Tops: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” (1965, written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland).

Marvin Gaye: “That’s The Way Love Is” (1969, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong).

Freda Payne: “Band Of Gold” (1970, written by Ron Dunbar and “Edythe Wayne”, which was the collective pseudonym for Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: July 1, 2024

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

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(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Twenty years ago singer Nona Gaye sang the national anthem at the NBA All-Star game. A solo performance would have been enjoyable enough on its own, but she turned it into a virtual duet with and in honor of her father, Marvin, who died 20 years earlier in 1984 when Nona was nine.

A year before his death Marvin, the crowned Prince of Motown, performed the same song at the same all star game. He delivered it with his own soulful and unique spin, leaving nearly everyone in the arena in awe.

Nike used Marvin’s recording and video clips from that 1983 appearance for its 2008 commercial for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team. It was a testament to Marvin’s timeless sound, his unforgettable interpretation of our national anthem and his status as a musical legend.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July, everyone.

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Marvin and Nona

Top: Marvin Gaye in 1983. Bottom: Marvin on video accompanying daughter Nona’s live performance in 2004. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Marvin Gaye:  “The Star Spangled Banner” (as performed on February 13, 1983 at the NBA All Star Game in California.  Written by Francis Scott Key (lyrics in 1914) and John Stafford Smith (music circa 1773).

Nona Gaye and Marvin Gaye: “The Star Spangled Banner” (as performed on February 15, 2004 at the NBA All Star Game in California.  Written by Francis Scott Key (lyrics in 1914) and John Stafford Smith (music circa 1773).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 13, 2024

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Blog image for 2024

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The world has officially been listening to The Rolling Stones for six decades. Their first album was released 60 years ago in April 1964. It included covers of songs written by Willie Dixon (“I Just Want to Make Love to You”), Buddy Holly (“Not Fade Away”) and Rufus Thomas (“Walking The Dog”), along with one track written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (“Tell Me (You’re Coming Back)”).

We are blessed to still have both of those men from the group’s original lineup. As for the others, drummer Charlie Watts passed away in 2021, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones died in 1969 and bassist Bill Wyman retired in 1993.

When Jones placed an ad looking for musicians to form a band in 1962, he envisioned it to be one with a blues sound. But once the Jagger-Richards songwriting partnership took off, the group’s songs shifted more towards rock music. That and some other problems amongst the three men in addition to personal issues Jones was allegedly having led to him being fired from the band a month before his death in July 1969. He was, however, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with his former bandmates in 1989.

But 25 years earlier, The Stones self-titled debut album introduced us to another band from England that shared their love of American music with us. And in 1964, nothing expressed that more than a cover of a Motown song, originally released in the fall of 1963 by my great musical love, Marvin Gaye. And The Stones answered the question asked in that song on the same album with the group effort, “Now I’ve Got a Witness”, which was credited to the band’s collective pseudonym of Nanker Phelge. Ladies & gentlemen, The Rolling Stones.

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The Stones 1964 self-titled debut album (L-R): Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “Can I Get A Witness” (1964, written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: April 1, 2024

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Blog image for 2024

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Today we celebrate a man I adore and love who I have worshipped nearly all of my life. And I miss him every time I breathe. Marvin Gaye was born 85 years ago on April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C. He began singing in church at just four years old. Later he joined a few high school vocal groups before he enlisted in the United States Air Force when he was 17.

The future “Prince of Soul” learned to play piano, drums and to write songs. He joined a few doo-wop groups before he ended up in Detroit at the start of the 1960’s just as Motown was being developed. After some time as a musician & backup singer, he had his first hit with “Stubborn Kind Of Fellow” in 1963. And for the next 10 years, he earned another nickname, “The Prince Of Motown”, thanks to a string of hits including three #1 songs, several duets and a thought-provoking seminal album, “What’s Going On”, in 1971.

A decade later, he had a #3 smash with “Sexual Healing” which earned him his first Grammy Awards. But despite his career resurgence, Gaye’s life ended exactly 40 years ago when he was killed on April 1, 1984. He was not only one of the greatest voices ever in music history but one of the most prolific to come out of the Motor City. He spoke his conscience through his songs as well which provided the label with some social awareness and perspective.

In honor of this beautiful extraordinary man’s life, I am sharing my top three favorite tracks of his. Two are solo songs and the other is my favorite duet of his with Tammi Terrell, Gaye’s dear friend whom he recorded a majority of duets with before she died from a brain tumor on March 16, 1970 at age 24. If you believe in heaven, you have your own version of what it looks and sounds like. For me, I envision these two incredible souls singing together in harmony and happiness for all of eternity. And I have a front row seat.

Thank you for your heart, soul & voice, Marvin. You are still missed and beloved every moment of every day. Sending love & peace to you always.

Marvin young
Marvin hat
Marvin Tammi

Top: Marvin Gaye in the early 1960’s. Middle: Marvin Gaye circa 1971. Bottom: Tammi Terrell and Gaye circa 1967. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Marvin Gaye: “If I Could Build My Whole World Around You” (1967, written by Johnny Bristol, Vernon Bullock and Harvey Fuqua).

Marvin Gaye: “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (1968, written by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield).

Marvin Gaye: “That’s The Way Love Is” (1969, written by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: September 4, 2023

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

In the spirit of the Labor Day holiday, I pay homage to one of the hardest working genres of music which started over six decades ago and remains one of my favorites of all time.

In 1958 Berry Gordy Jr. borrowed $800 from his family (equivalent to about $8,500 today) to start Tamla Records in Detroit, Michigan which became Motown Records. The website does not list an actual date for this event only the year. But many music sites list the founding date as June 7, 1958. Regardless of the actual day it was started, 2023 marks the 65th anniversary of one of the greatest & most soulful styles of music the world ever saw.

Gordy’s affinity for music began when he owned a record store and started composing songs. After co-writing “Reet Petite” for Jackie Wilson and discovering The Miracles in 1957, Gordy was inspired to start his own label (which is owned today by the Universal Music Group) after he received a royalty check for only $3.19 in 1958 after leasing the first two Miracles singles to End Records in New York. Gordy used the knowledge he learned from his time as a Ford automotive worker by using the company’s assembly line philosophy to prepare his artists for musical careers. There were lessons in singing, choreography, stage performance and all night rehearsals of every kind.

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Berry Gordy Jr. circa 1961 (top) and circa 2011 (bottom). (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

From those hallowed halls of Hitsville, USA we were introduced to Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Marvelettes (who had the first #1 hit for the label, the first of today’s three songs), The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Mary Wells, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Junior Walker & The All Stars and more. The label also gave us one of the greatest house bands of all time, The Funk Brothers.

This year two seminal Motown albums celebrate their golden anniversary. Wonder’s sixteenth studio album, Innervisions, was released on August 3, 1973. Gaye’s thirteenth record, Let’s Get It On, was released on August 28, 1973. The title track hit the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 on September 8, 1973 for the first of two inconsecutive weeks.

Thank you, Berry Gordy, for the priceless and phenomenal gift of Motown. And to nearly every artist on the label in its first unbelievably great decade, I remain in complete awe of the beauty of your songs.

Top: A Marvelettes compilation album. Middle: Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions album. Bottom: Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On album. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

The Marvelettes: “Please Mr. Postman” (1961, written by Robert Bateman, Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman and Brian Holland).

Stevie Wonder: “Living For The City” (1973, written by Stevie Wonder).

Marvin Gaye: “Let’s Get It On” (1973, written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend).

Stay safe and well.

Music Monday: April 3, 2023

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Yesterday marked what would have been Marvin Gaye’s 84th birthday. Motown’s “Prince Of Soul” was born April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C. His voice was one of the strongest, one of the most recognizeable, one of the most powerful & one of the most beautiful to come out of the Motor City. He was also a musician, a songwriter and a producer.

He started with the Motown label in 1960 and by 1962 he had his first hit, “Stubborn Kind Of Fellow”. He spent the next 20 years of his career at the label, and despite incredible highs with hit songs like “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, duets with Tammi Terrell and seminal albums like “What’s Going On”, Gaye also experienced incredible lows including the end of his first marriage, the death of Terrell and struggles with depression and addiction. He left Motown for CBS Records in 1982.

That same year Gaye enjoyed a career resurgence with the release of Midnight Love. The lead single, “Sexual Healing”, hit #3 by January 1983. It won him the first Grammy Award of his career, Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male (the instrumental version earned him Grammy #2 the same year). But it was what he did next that gave him another career defining moment that is still revered and celebrated 40 years later.

On February 13th, 1983, the NBA’s best gathered at the Los Angeles arena for the 33rd All-Star Game between Eastern and Western Conferences. Gaye was chosen to sing the National Anthem and went on to make history with his suave, soulful and utterly sensational interpretation of the song. The Star Spangled Banner would never sound the same from that point on. It was like watching what Ray Charles did for “America The Beautiful” all over again.

Marvin NBA 1983

Marvin Gaye at the 1983 NBA All Star Game. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I miss this man every single day. I fell in love with his voice before I knew what soul music was but I knew Gaye’s voice was the definition of it, even when I was a young child. He was just that good, just that talented and just that powerful. And every time I hear one of his songs, I remember the first time I heard his voice all over again. But his legacy is best summed up on his website: “His greatness rests in his genius for transforming spiritual energy into songs that both inspire and delight.” Amen.

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Gaye circa 1982. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Marvin Gaye: “National Anthem” (1983, Live at the NBA All Star Game, lyrics by Francis Scott Key and music by John Stafford Smith).

Marving Gaye: “That’s The Way Love Is” (1969, written by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield).

Stay safe & well.

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2022: Day 11

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the countdown.

Day 11 2022

A sweet vintage Christmas card image found on Pinterest. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

One of my favorite singers of all time is the incredibly soulful Marvin Gaye. One of his major influences was Sam Cooke, an extraordinary talent we lost 58 years ago today. While I do not like to focus on the date we lose our musical heroes, I do like to remember their legacy and how they inspired others, especially the artists that mean so much to me.

For years after Gaye died in 1983, several unreleased recordings came to light, including one from a performance at the legendary Apollo Theatre in New York City in 1963. Nat King Cole’s version is the paramount rendition of today’s song and rightfully so. But Gaye’s is such a fabulous jazz infused track with his own wishes to his audience to have a Merry Christmas, it is like the best gift of the season for fans still missing this man as much as I do. And while I will never know this for sure, I like to think that Gaye channeled Cooke on this track because he always had a way of making any song he covered his own, too.

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos“.

Cooke

Gaye

Two of my favorite artists of all time: Sam Cooke (top) and Marvin Gaye (bottom). (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Marvin Gaye: “The Christmas Song” (Live performance at The Apollo Theatre in 1963. Written by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells).

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

Music Monday: May 16, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

This week is a Motown Music Monday because we have three powerhouses from that genre with birthdays this month. I discovered this polarizing style of singing as a young child thanks to my parents. They bought a K-Tel compilation of this remarkable sound and that four album set changed me in a profound way. The voices from the Motor City became my first great musical love.

Songwriter & producer Norman Whitfield was born in Harlem, NY on May 12, 1940. He co-wrote & produced my favorite Motown song of all time, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” along with other tracks recorded by Marvin Gaye including “That’s The Way Love Is” and “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby”. Whitfield was also one of the writers behind Edwin Starr’s “War” and several hits by The Temptations including “I Wish It would Rain”, “I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)”, “I Can’t Get Next to You”, “I Know) I’m Losing You” as well as one of today’s featured songs.

After Whitfield left Motown in 1970 when the label relocated to California, he started his own eponymous recording company. His success as a songwriter continued with hits like “Smiling Faces Sometimes” for The Undisputed Truth and the theme song from the 1976 movie, “Car Wash” by Rose Royce. The mark Whitfield left on music, Motown & the industry is indelible. We lost this prolific artist in 2008.

Whitfield

Norman Whitfield circa 1975. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.).

What is left to say about “The Eighth Wonder Of The World”, Stevie Wonder, who turned 72 last week? The child prodigy born Stevland Hardaway Morris on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, MI began his career in The Motor City at age 11 as Little Stevie Wonder. His career grew even bigger as an adult in the 1970’s with three Album Of The Year Grammy awards for Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness‘ First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976). His talent continued to dominate from there and today, with over six decades of musical brilliance under his belt, Wonder continues to show us all how genius is defined.

Stevie wonder

Stevie Wonder circa 1974. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

“The Empress Of Soul” Gladys Knight will celebrate birthday number 78 on May 28. She was born that day in 1944 in Atlanta, GA & began singing in the church by age five. Three years later, she won an amateur hour contest on a local TV show, then joined her brother (future Pip Merald “Bubba” Knight, Jr.) and a few other relatives to form a group, By the late 1950’s, they were signed to Brunswick Records and were opening shows for Jackie Wilson & Sam Cooke. In 1966 Knight & her revised group, The Pips, signed with Motown. But their real success came with their next label, Buddah Records, in the early 1970’s. Knight became a solo act in the following decade & collaborated with the likes of Elton John, Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle and others. She also became part of the James Bond movie music legacy when she recorded “License To Kill” in 1989. She remains one of the greatest female singers of all time.

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Gladys Knight circa 1972. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.).

NOTE: Both Wonder & Knight appear in the stunning Oscar-winning 2021 documentary, “Summer Of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”. If you have not seen it yet, PLEASE stop reading now (you can come back later) and head over to Hulu NOW to watch it. You cannot go another day without the music & performances from this film in your life. You’re welcome.

The Temptations: “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” (1966, written by Norman Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr.).

Stevie Wonder: “I Was Made To Love Her” (1967, written by Stevie Wonder, Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby).

Gladys Knight & The Pips: “Midnight Train To Georgia” (1973, written by Jim Weatherly).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: April 4, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Saturday marked the 83rd birth anniversary for one of the great musical loves of my life. Marvin Gaye was born April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C. and became one of the most definitive soul voices in music history. Below is the tribute post I wrote for him on my blog from April 2, 2020.

Today’s marks what would have been Marvin Gaye’s birthday.  He sang some of the greatest songs to come out of the Motor City including today’s pick.  It was his first career number one record, and for a while it was the best selling hit on the Motown label, spending seven weeks in the top spot.

I can still remember the first time I heard this song.  I was sitting in the back seat of my parent’s car and from the second it came on the radio, I felt something inside of me tremble.  Like a part of me I did not even know I had suddenly woke up and made its presence known.  It was strong, and steady and felt so familiar yet so new at the same time.  It was as if I suddenly had an internal voice that was singing all on its own without any help from my real voice. Years later I would hear the phrase “soul music” and I realized that is why they call it that-because it is music that hits you in the deepest place.  And that is what I felt in the car that day.

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Marvin Gaye circa 1964. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Gaye had one of the greatest voices ever, not just in the soul genre.  He was also a talented musician playing piano, synthesizers and drums.  Despite being a solo artist he performed several duets during his career, most notably with Tammi Terrell.  He also wrote and/or co-wrote several hits for other artists including Martha & the Vandellas (“Dancing In The Street”), the Marvelettes (“Beechwood 4-5789″) and the Originals (“Baby, I’m For Real”).  He wrote many of his own songs as well, and as the turbulence of the 1960’s became too hard for him to ignore, he channeled his feelings into songs about the war (“What’s Going On”), social injustice (“Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”) and the state of the environment (“Mercy Mercy Me”), amongst others.  

Gaye took some time off in the late 1970’s for personal reasons including his exit from the Motown label.  He signed with CBS Records and came back stronger than ever in 1982 with his album “Midnight Love” which included another number one hit, “Sexual Healing”.  That song earned him his first two Grammy Awards after over 20 years as a recording artist.  Also in 1983, he sang an incredibly soulful rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the NBA All Star Game.  While he was in the middle of his enormous comeback tour, I was lucky enough to see him give a magnetic performance at Radio City Music Hall.  It was one of the greatest nights of my life.

So many singers have died tragically young either by drugs, plane crashes, car accidents or suicide.  But Gaye was the third of my musical heroes to be shot to death-first Sam Cooke (one of Gaye’s idols) in 1964 and then John Lennon in 1980.  In those two tragedies both men died by a stranger’s hand.  Gaye was killed by his own father on April 1, 1984. I have never fully recovered from the senselessness of that act.  I wonder almost daily what else this unbelievably talented man would have accomplished in his career.

“People say believe half of what you see, son
And none of what you hear
But I can’t help bein’ confused
If it’s true please tell me dear“.

Marvin

Gaye circa 1971. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Marvin Gaye: “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” (1968, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong).

Stay safe & well.