Marvin gaye anthology album cover
After his success with the Originals, Gaye changed his look, ditching his clean-cut, college boy image to grow a beard and dressing more casually, wearing sweatsuits. Gaye dealt with Terrell's death by going on a prolonged seclusion from the music business. On March 16, 1970, Terrell succumbed from her illness, roughly five weeks before her 25th birthday. The songs, " Baby, I'm for Real" and " The Bells", became hits as a result. I had a mind of my own and I wasn't using it." ĭuring this time, Gaye was able to prove his worth as a producer, producing several songs for Motown vocal group The Originals. I felt like a puppet-Berry's puppet, Anna's puppet. But Gaye was in no mood to celebrate: "My success didn't seem real. During this time, Gaye began experiencing international success for the first time in his career following the release of " I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and subsequent hit singles such as " Too Busy Thinking About My Baby", " Abraham, Martin & John" and " That's the Way Love Is". At one point, Gaye attempted suicide at a Detroit apartment with a handgun, only to be saved from committing the act by Berry Gordy's father. īy the end of the 1960s, Marvin Gaye had fallen into a deep depression following the brain tumor diagnosis of his Motown singing partner Tammi Terrell, the failure of his marriage to Anna Gordy, a growing dependency on cocaine, troubles with the IRS, and struggles with Motown Records, the label he had signed with in 1961.
#Marvin gaye anthology album cover update
The album was ranked number six both on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and in the magazine's update nine years later. Worldwide surveys of critics, musicians, and the general public have shown that What's Going On is regarded as one of the landmark recordings in pop music history, and one of the greatest albums of the 20th century. Having endured as a classic of 1970s soul, a deluxe edition set was released on February 27, 2001, and featured a rare recording of a May 1972 concert shot at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. What's Going On was an immediate success upon release, both commercially and critically. He has also been credited with criticizing global warming before the public outcry against it had become prominent.
Gaye's introspective lyrics discuss themes of drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War. 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 only hatred, suffering, and injustice. It has also been categorized as a song cycle the album ends with a reprise of the album's opening theme. The first Marvin Gaye album credited as being produced by the artist himself, What's Going On is a unified concept album consisting of nine songs, most of which lead into the next. What's Going On was the first album on which Motown Records' main studio band, the group of session musicians known as the Funk Brothers, received an official credit. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1970 and March–May 1971 at Hitsville U.S.A., Golden World and United Sound Studios in Detroit and at The Sound Factory in West Hollywood, California. What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. For other albums by this title, see What's Going On (disambiguation).
"What's Going On (album)" redirects here.