With 1971's What's Going On, Marvin Gaye was responsible for arguably the greatest soul album ever made. Following that socio-political commentary, Gaye morphed into a crooning lothario for Let's Get It On and songs like "Sexual Healing", before his tragic death in 1984.
Marvin Gaye's life was always informed by his experience as a child craving the affection of his authoritarian father. Whatever Gaye did, his father angrily disapproved. When Gaye was discovered to have a talent for singing, he was chastised for using it for secular music instead of gospel. But while Gaye wanted to please his father, he was also angry and confused by him. Reverend Marvin Gay Senior was a puritanical preacher by day, but by night he abused Mrs. Gay and wore her clothes, contradicting his conservative public teachings. Like father, like son: both were deeply religious, but unable to escape the unholy temptations of modern life. The life and music of Marvin Gaye reflected such contradictions: a world famous pop star and sex symbol, surrounded by money, women and drugs, pained by the guilt of vice and indiscipline.
Joining Motown in 1961 as a session drummer, Marvin Gay Jr added an 'e' to the end of his name as he emerged as a talented singer. As a safe, gentlemanly crooner he soon became a major Motown star - with singles like "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", "I'll Be Doggone" and "Ain't That Peculiar" all going Top 10. Gaye then teamed up with Tammi Terrell for a number of love-duet albums and hit singles, like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "You're All I Need to Get By". Tragically, Terrell was then diagnosed as suffering from an incurable brain tumour. In 1968, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", a cover of a Gladys Knight & The Pips song, was Gaye's biggest hit yet, reaching No.1 worldwide and selling four million copies. But over the next few years, Gaye became depressed about Terrell's illness, and was bored by singing formulaic love songs. Terrell died in 1970, and a deeply affected Gaye went into seclusion. It was in this soul-searching period that Gaye recorded "What's Going On", a jazzy social commentary that was markedly different from his previous work. It was a surprise hit single, leading to a full album of the same name; What's Going On (1971) was a huge critical and commercial success, and is considered one of soul music's defining albums and one of the finest records of the 70s. Taking jazz and funk styles, and lyrics about societal problems, the environment, love and war, it proved to be Gaye's greatest achievement.
What's Going On was followed by a largely instrumental soundtrack to a blaxploitation film (Trouble Man), and a new direction with the explicitly sexual Let's Get It On (1973). It was another masterpiece - selling even more than What's Going On, and providing a blueprint for the extra-sensual crooning of Barry White and Teddy Pendergrass later in the decade. A similar LP, I Want You, was released in 1976, before the remarkable 1978 album Here, My Dear. Here, My Dear was the result of a divorce agreement reached between Gaye and his wife, Anna, wherein she was entitled to half the profits from his next album. Incredibly, Gaye made the album an explicit explanation of their failed marriage, directly addressing many of the songs to Anna, such as "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You?". It was deeply personal and confessional, and was not received well by critics or consumers. Now it is known as another landmark in Gaye's career: strange but unique, and beautiful for its stark honesty.
The early 80s were a difficult time for Gaye. By now he was struggling with tax problems and a heavy cocaine addiction that was causing unpredictable behaviour. In Our Lifetime was released in 1981 without Gaye's permission - Motown had got tired of his endless procrastination. 1982 saw another smash hit single - "Sexual Healing", from the album Midnight Love. That was to be his last lifetime release. Following more depression and paranoia, Gaye moved back into his parents' house, where he continually argued with his resentful father. After one argument, Gaye knocked over and kicked his father. Gay Sr. returned minutes later with a handgun in his hand, and shot his son through the heart. Marvin Gaye died on April 1, 1984, murdered by his father with a gun he had bought him for Christmas.
