Marvin Gaye

One of the most talented artist of the 20th century came from Washington DC aka Chocolate City, the amazing Marvin Gaye. The silky smooth balladeer was one of the influential faces of what we call the Motown sound. Now from 1961 to 1971, Motown had 110 top 10 hits. Top artists on the Motown label during that period included the Supremes, Diana Ross, the Four Tops, and the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes,  the Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas and the Spinners, just to name a few. So now you know what type of cloth I’m talking about.

Gaye was born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. on April 2, 1939, at Freedman’s Hospital^[ in Washington, D.C., to church minister Marvin Gay Sr., and domestic worker Alberta Gay. His first home was in a public housing project, the Fairfax Apartments, which used to be on 1st Street SW in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. Gaye and his friends nicknamed the area “Simple City”, owing to its being “half-city, half country.” That funny.. when I was growing up in DC we used to call Ivy City “Simple City.” Anywho.. in 1961 Marvin Gaye released his first single, “Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide”. Gaye’s initial recordings failed commercially and he spent most of 1961 performing session work as a drummer for artists such as The Miracles, The Marvelettes and blues artist Jimmy Reed for $5 (US$42 in 2018 dollars) a week. In 1963 “Pride and Joy” became Gaye’s first top ten single.  I was a little whippersnapper back then, but I can still see my Mamma, Daddy and their friends drinking and dancing to the song.. all the kids sitting around and sanging .. Pride and Joy!! Pride and Joy!! Those were the days..

In 1964, Gaye recorded a successful duet album with singer Mary Wells titled Together, which reached No. 42 on the pop album chart. The album’s two-sided single, including “Once Upon a Time” and ‘What’s the Matter With You Baby”, each reached the top 20. Gaye’s next solo hit, “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”, which Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote for him, reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and reached the top 50 in the UK. Gaye started getting television exposure around this time, on shows such as American Bandstand. Also in 1964, he appeared in the concert film, The T.A.M.I. Show. Gaye had two number-one R&B singles in 1965 with the Miracles–composed “I’ll Be Doggone” and “Ain’t That Peculiar”. Both songs became million-sellers.  After scoring a hit duet, “It Takes Two” with Kim Weston, Gaye began working with Tammi Terrell on a series of duets, mostly composed by Ashford & Simpson, including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “Your Precious Love”, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “You’re All I Need to Get By”.

His most successful record was “Sexual Healing.” Sexual Healing won Gaye his first two Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, in February 1983, and also won Gaye an American Music Award in the R&B-soul category. People magazine called it “America’s hottest musical turn-on since Olivia Newton-John demanded we get Physical.” Midnight Love was released to stores a day after the single’s release, and was equally successful, peaking at the top ten of the Billboard 200 and becoming Gaye’s eighth No. 1 album on the Top Black Albums chart, eventually selling over six million copies worldwide, three million alone in the U.S. I have only scratched the surface in this story about Marvin Gaye. I wanted to touch on his accomplishments before I talked about his death.

On April 1, 1984 Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gaye Sr. Earlier, the two men had been involved in a physical altercation when Gaye intervened in a fight between his parents. After Gaye’s funeral, his body was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park at the Hollywood Hills; his ashes were later scattered into the Pacific Ocean. Initially charged with first-degree murder, Gay Sr.’s charges dropped to voluntary manslaughter. Marvin Gay Sr. was later sentenced to a suspended six-year sentence and probation. He died at a nursing home in 1998. It was a terrible ending to a promising life. Many people try to imitate Marvin Gaye, but there is nothing like the real thing.

In Honor Of Marvin Gaye.