Gaye, Marvin 1939–1984

views updated

Marvin Gaye 1939–1984

Singer, songwriter

Marvin Gaye was one of the best-selling soul artists of his generation, a Motown prodigy whose work displayed everything from sexual passion to social consciousness. Gaye’s murder at the hands of his own father in 1984 shocked all but his closest friends, who knew of his family quarrels, his cocaine dependency, and his despondency despite a brilliant 1983 comeback. New York Times contributor Robert Palmer called Gaye “one of the most gifted writer-arrangers, and one of the most musicianly singers, in pop music,” adding that his songs “have enjoyed a life far longer than that of most pop and soul hits.”

Gaye’s tragic life was foreshadowed by his difficult childhood and rebellious teen years. He was born in 1939 in Washington, D.C., and was named after his father, Marvin Pentz Gay. The elder Gay was an evangelical minister who ruled his home with an iron fist, often beating his willful son. Although Marvin, Jr., first learned music in church, often performing after his father’s sermons, he longed for a secular career. After serving briefly in the Air Force, he returned to Washington and joined a vocal group called the Marquees. He added the “e” to the end of his name because he thought it looked more professional.

The Marquees made several recordings and attracted a following among the rhythm and blues crowd. In 1958 singer Harvey Fuqua drafted them to replace his original backup group, renaming them the Moonglows. During a concert in Detroit in 1961 Gaye met fledgling music producer Berry Gordy, whose Motown Records business showed great promise. Gordy persuaded Gaye to sign with Motown as a solo artist, and shortly after joining the label Gaye married Gordy’s sister, Anna. Gaye’s first work for Motown was as a backup instrumentalist on disks by Smokey Robinson, among others. He was not long in proving himself as a vocalist, however. His fourth Motown single, “That Stubborn Kinda Fellow,” was the first of a staggering number of pop-soul hits that he would accumulate through the 1960s.

As Motown Records flourished, so did Marvin Gaye. His solo recordings and duets with Mary Wells and Kim Weston quickly assured him superstar status. Gaye’s best-known works from the 1960s—hits such as “Can I Get a Witness,” “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You,” and most notably, “I Heard It through the Grapevine”—

At a Glance…

Born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (professionally known as Marvin Gaye), April 2, 1939, in Washington, DC; died of gunshot wounds, April 1, 1984; son of Marvin (a minister) and Alberta Gay; married Anna Gordy, c. 1964 (divorced, 1976); married Janis Hunter, 1976 (divorced, 1982); children: (first marriage) Marvin III; (second marriage) Nona, Frankie.

Singer, songwriter, guitar and piano player, 1956-84. Member of group the Marquees, 1957-58, and the Moonglows, 1958-61; solo and duet performer and recording artist, 1961-84. Signed with Motown Records, c. 1961, first hit record, “That Stubborn Kinda Fellow,” 1962; moved to Columbia Records, 1982. Military service: Served in the U.S. Air Force.

Awards: Two Grammy Awards, 1983, for single “Sexual Healing”; numerous gold and platinum album citations.

are considered soul classics today. In the mid-1960s Gaye teamed with soprano Tammi Terrell for a series of romantic ballads, many of which also topped the charts. The Gaye-Terrell hit list included “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “Your Precious Love,” “Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real Thing,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

Tragedy struck Gaye in 1967 when Terrell collapsed in his arms in the middle of a live concert. She died three years later after immense suffering caused by a brain tumor. Although Gaye claimed that he was not romantically involved with Terrell, her illness and death affected him profoundly. He took a hiatus from the business, and when he returned he insisted on retaining creative control of his work. At the time—1971—this demand was new to Motown; Gordy produced most of the albums and relied on a team of songwriters who churned out formula hits. Gaye was not the only artist who rebelled against the Motown system, but he was the first to do so. Late in 1971 he released What’s Going On, an album of songs he wrote, sang, and played himself.

Social Consciousness and Sexuality

What’s Going On was a milestone for Motown as well as for Gaye. The album addresses such timely issues as the Vietnam War, pollution, addiction, and the miseries of ghetto life—the first Motown work to deal with social ills. Down Beat contributor Steve Bloom described the recording as “a blistering indictment of America’s misguided priorities combined with God-is-the-answer proselytizing—clearly the work of a preacher’s son.” One single, “Mercy, Mercy Me,” made the Top 10 on the pop charts, and Gaye was praised universally for his cogent musical statements.

Ironically, having established himself as more than a dance-stepping, crooning Motown star, Gaye returned to romantic music almost immediately. Here too he blazed a new trail, however, offering frankly sexual songs that heaped praises on unseen lovers. His last hit of the 1970s, “Let’s Get It On,” added volumes of suggestion to his reputation as a seductive ladies’ man. Sadly, Gaye began a long downward spiral in the mid-1970s, largely because he became seriously involved with cocaine use. He divorced Anna Gordy in 1976 and immediately married Janis Hunter. That marriage too collapsed, with allegations of beating and mental harassment. At one point Gaye even arranged for his son by his second marriage to be kidnapped and brought to him in Hawaii. (Hunter endured a week of anguish before she discovered her son’s whereabouts.) During this period Gaye also attempted suicide by ingesting an ounce of cocaine in an hour.

By 1981 Gaye found himself deeply in debt to his ex-wives and the federal government. A tour of Europe, including a royal reception in England, revived his confidence somewhat, and he signed a new contract with Columbia Records. The executives at Columbia began to sort out his finances and brought him back to the studio to record. Gaye’s 1982 release Midnight Love was hailed as a masterful comeback; the single “Sexual Healing” won him his first two Grammy awards.

An Untimely Death

Unfortunately, Gaye had been unable to kick his cocaine habit. A tour in the wake of the Midnight Love album was marred by fits of paranoia and stage fright, and after it ended Gaye retreated into the home he had bought for his parents and spent most of his time taking drugs. He was shot at point-blank range after a Sunday morning quarrel with his father, the last of many heated arguments between the two. He died April 1,1984, one day short of his forty-fifth birthday.

Gaye died without a will, owing millions of dollars to the Internal Revenue Service. In the ensuing scramble to make money off his name, many of his family members revealed the details of his last months—he was portrayed as a distrustful, anxious, and desperately unhappy person who tried repeatedly to free himself from the use of cocaine. Some even suggested that he provoked his father into the shooting as a macabre form of suicide— he had been making suicide threats for some time.

In a Rolling Stone feature about Gaye’s estate, Mary A. Fischer wrote: “The temptation is to think of Marvin Gaye as a reckless, selfish man who only took care of himself—and didn’t even do a very good job of that. There was, of course, another side to him that was generous, charming and deep, and that produced so much memorable music. But he suffered from a lack of the thing he desperately longed for but never received— his father’s love. Finally, it did him in.” Steve Bloom preferred to accent the positive contributions Gaye made to the world of pop and soul. Bloom called Gaye’s legacy “a body of brilliant… music that will endure and continue to serve as inspiration to all,” concluding: “Risk-taking, rule-breaking, and love-making were what Marvin Gaye was all about.”