History Music / MarvinGaye

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In "What's Going On?," someone audibly says "fuck" during the sampled chatter.

* ProtestSong: "What's Going On".

->''"When Marvin Gaye opened his mouth, the notes that came out... he would put his entire DNA into those notes. There was that much feeling. He was the tone king."''

Gaye started out as a member of the doo-wop group the Moonglows, and then embarked on an extremely successful solo career on Creator/{{Motown}} Records. His early hits included "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "I'll Be Doggone." During the same period, he was writing hits for other Motown groups, such as the Marvelettes' "Beechwood 4-5789" and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street," and was a session drummer. Marvin's works defined the "Motown Sound," which was a blend of R&B and pop music with orchestral strings.

Gaye's best-regarded album was ''Music/WhatsGoingOn'' (1971), a critical and commercial success[[note]](pretty much any list of "Greatest Albums in History" you'll ever see will have three albums at or near the top: Music/TheBeatles' ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'', Music/TheBeachBoys' ''Music/PetSounds'', and ''What's Going On'')[[/note]] that spawned hits such as the title track and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." After the album's release, Gaye renegotiated a contract with Motown that allowed him creative control and made him the highest-earning African-American musician at the time. Gaye moved to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles from UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in order to score the blaxploitation film ''Trouble Man''; the soundtrack was a hit.

After the socially-conscious ''What's Going On'', Gaye switched to sensual songs for his next album ''Let's Get It On'' (1973). The album cemented Gaye's reputation as a sex symbol and became the biggest-selling album during his lifetime. The title track became his biggest-selling single. Gaye slowly moved towards funk with this album and his next few.

In 1982, Gaye signed with Creator/ColumbiaRecords, which released his comeback album ''Midnight Love'' (1982) and the Grammy-winning single "Sexual Healing," which was a change in style to European-flavored pop and contemporary R&B. After going on a tour of the U.S., he moved into his parents' home.

Albums by him with their own page:

* ''Music/WhatsGoingOn'' (1971)

!!Marvin Gaye's work provides examples of:

** "Here My Dear" is a double album with 6 of the tracks running six minutes or more. There's also "Right On" from Music/WhatsGoingOn, "Ego Tripping Out", and "Come Live With Me Angel".

* HotterAndSexier: Starting with the (appropriately titled) "Let's Get It On" and on up
* IntercourseWithYou: Many of Marvin's songs, most famously "Let's Get It On" and "Sexual Healing"
* LastNoteNightmare: "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"

* YourCheatingHeart: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". The song is about a man (the narrator of the song) and his girlfriend/wife when the former finds out that the latter loves someone else through hearing it from other people, and lamenting that she not only didn't bother to ''tell him'' that she didn't love him anymore, but that she's very likely to pick the other man and end their relationship. The "cheating" aspect becomes more apparent when the song was performed live, when a member of the band would pretend to call Marvin on the phone to tell him that he saw the woman heading into a motel room with another man.

* RealitySubtext: Nearly every song off "Here, My Dear" is about Gaye's (then) crumbling marriage and financial situation.

* ConceptAlbum: ''What's Going On'' and "Here, My Dear''.

* ConceptAlbum: ''What's Going On''.

* SignatureSong: Either "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" or "Sexual Healing".
* VindicatedByHistory: ''Here, My Dear'' originally flopped and wasn't seen as being a very good album in the eyes of the public. Today, however, it's considered one of Gaye's best works.

In 1978, Gaye's wife, Anna Gordy (the sister of Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown) divorced him, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking money in palimony to support their adopted son. As a result of a deal Gaye's lawyer made, Gaye would give her half the royalties from his next album. He wrote an album in three months, but held onto the album that would become ''Here, My Dear'' (1978) a year later. At the time of its release, the album was indeed neither critically nor commercially successful, leading to accusations that Gaye released a lackluster album intentionally to make sure his ex-wife would end up with as little money as possible, despite this being against Gaye's best interest. Regardless, the album has since been VindicatedByHistory, and today is seen as one of his best albums. The following year, Gaye filed for bankruptcy and moved to Hawaii. His next album, ''In Our Lifetime'' (1981), was edited and remixed by Motown without Gaye's consent; he terminated his contract with Motown shortly afterward and moved to UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}}.

In 1978, Gaye divorced his wife, Anna Gordy (the sister of Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown). He wrote an album about it titled ''Here, My Dear'' (1978), which was a flop. The following year, Gaye filed for bankruptcy and moved to Hawaii. His next album, ''In Our Lifetime'' (1981), was edited and remixed by Motown without Gaye's consent; he terminated his contract with Motown shortly afterward and moved to UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}}.

* ProtestSong: "What's Going On"
* SpringtimeForHitler: {{Zigzagged}} with ''Here, My Dear''. It was the result of a deal Gaye's lawyer made in Gaye's divorce from Anna Gordy in which Gaye would give her half the royalties from his next album. Gaye, not really wanting to give Gordy any more than he had to, intended to put out a lackluster effort. At the time of its release, the album was indeed neither critically nor commercially successful, but the project had ended up being so emotional for Gaye that he was upset by the poor reception. In the years since his death it has come to be regarded as one of his best.

Gaye's best-regarded album was ''What's Going On'' (1971), a critical and commercial success[[note]](pretty much any list of "Greatest Albums in History" you'll ever see will have three albums at or near the top: Music/TheBeatles' ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'', Music/TheBeachBoys' ''Pet Sounds'', and ''What's Going On'')[[/note]] that spawned hits such as the title track and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." After the album's release, Gaye renegotiated a contract with Motown that allowed him creative control and made him the highest-earning African-American musician at the time. Gaye moved to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles from UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in order to score the blaxploitation film ''Trouble Man''; the soundtrack was a hit.

In 1978, Gaye divorced his wife, Anna Gordy (the sister of Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown). He wrote an album about it titled ''Here, My Dear'' (1978), which was a flop. The following year, Gaye filed for bankruptcy and moved to Hawaii. His next album, ''In Our Lifetime'' (1981), was edited and remixed by Motown without Gaye's consent; he terminated his contract with Motown shortly afterward and moved to Belgium.

In 1982, Gaye signed with Columbia Records, which released his comeback album ''Midnight Love'' (1982) and the Grammy-winning single "Sexual Healing," which was a change in style to European-flavored pop and contemporary R&B. After going on a tour of the U.S., he moved into his parents' home.

->-- '''Music/{{Seal}}''', about MarvinGaye

Gaye's best-regarded album was ''What's Going On'' (1971), a critical and commercial success[[hottip:*:(pretty much any list of "Greatest Albums in History" you'll ever see will have three albums at or near the top: ''[[Music.TheBeatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'', ''[[TheBeachBoys Pet Sounds]]'', and ''What's Going On'')]] that spawned hits such as the title track and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." After the album's release, Gaye renegotiated a contract with Motown that allowed him creative control and made him the highest-earning African-American musician at the time. Gaye moved to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles from UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in order to score the blaxploitation film ''Trouble Man''; the soundtrack was a hit.

Gaye's best-regarded album was ''What's Going On'' (1971), a critical and commercial success[[hottip:*:(pretty much any list of "Greatest Albums in History" you'll ever see will have three albums at or near the top: ''[[Music.TheBeatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'', ''[[TheBeachBoys Pet Sounds]]'', and ''What's Going On'')]] that spawned hits such as the title track and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." After the album's release, Gaye renegotiated a contract with Motown that allowed him creative control and made him the highest-earning African-American musician at the time. Gaye moved to Los Angeles from Detroit in order to score the blaxploitation film ''Trouble Man''; the soundtrack was a hit.

Gaye started out as a member of the doo-wop group the Moonglows, and then embarked on an extremely successful solo career on {{Motown}} Records. His early hits included "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "I'll Be Doggone." During the same period, he was writing hits for other Motown groups, such as the Marvelettes' "Beechwood 4-5789" and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street," and was a session drummer. Marvin's works defined the "Motown Sound," which was a blend of R&B and pop music with orchestral strings.

Gaye's best-regarded album was ''What's Going On'' (1971), a critical and commercial success[[hottip:*:Pretty much any list of "Greatest Albums in History" you'll ever see will have three albums at or near the top: ''[[Music.TheBeatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'', ''[[TheBeachBoys Pet Sounds]]'', and ''What's Going On''.]] that spawned hits such as the title track and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." After the album's release, Gaye renegotiated a contract with Motown that allowed him creative control and made him the highest-earning African-American musician at the time. Gaye moved to Los Angeles from Detroit in order to score the blaxploitation film ''Trouble Man''; the soundtrack was a hit.

Gaye's best-regarded album was ''What's Going On'' (1971), a critical and commercial success that spawned hits such as the title track and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." After the album's release, Gaye renegotiated a contract with Motown that allowed him creative control and made him the highest-earning African-American musician at the time. Gaye moved to Los Angeles from Detroit in order to score the blaxploitation film ''Trouble Man''; the soundtrack was a hit.

* ExecutiveMeddling: "What's Going On" was intially rejected as a single by Berry Gordy. Once Gaye threatened to leave Motown if the single was not released, Gordy released it.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Gaye and Barry White were planning to record an album together. [[AuthorExistenceFailure Then Gaye got shot.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: His treatment of his first wife Anna Gordy Gaye.

In 1982, Gaye signed with Columbia Records, which released his comeback album ''Midnight Love'' and the Grammy-winning single "Sexual Healing," which was a change in style to European-flavored pop and contemporary R&B. After going on a tour of the U.S., he moved into his parents' home.

In 1978, Gaye divorced his wife, Anna Gordy (the sister of Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown). He wrote an album about it titled ''Here, My Dear'', which was a flop. The following year, Gaye filed for bankruptcy and moved to Hawaii. His next album, ''In Our Lifetime'', was edited and remixed by Motown without Gaye's consent; he terminated his contract with Motown shortly afterward and moved to Belgium.

After the socially-conscious ''What's Going On'', Gaye switched to sensual songs for his next album ''Let's Get It On''. The album cemented Gaye's reputation as a sex symbol and became the biggest-selling album during his lifetime. The title track became his biggest-selling single. Gaye slowly moved towards funk with this album and his next few.

Gaye's best-regarded album was ''What's Going On'', a critical and commercial success that spawned hits such as the title track and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." After the album's release, Gaye renegotiated a contract with Motown that allowed him creative control and made him the highest-earning African-American musician at the time. Gaye moved to Los Angeles from Detroit in order to score the blaxploitation film ''Trouble Man''; the soundtrack was a hit.