Marvin Gaye – Silky Soul Singer
by Erika Cox
Marvin Gaye has been rightfully given the nickname of “Silky Soul
Singer.” His voice was silky smooth full of passion, emotion, and plenty
of soul. He contributed to the diversity of rock and roll during the
1960’s, 70’s, and even with a strong comeback in the mid-80’s until his
untimely death.
Marvin Gay, Jr. (he added the “e” later on) was born on April 2, 1939 in
Washington, DC. His father was a preacher and known for being very
strict. Gaye began singing in his father’s church when he was just a
small boy. After high school, he briefly joined the U.S. Air force but
was discharged for not obeying orders. He returned to D.C. to start a
singing career where he sang
doo-wop on the street corners with several
doo-wop groups and eventually formed his own group in 1957, the
Marquees, with Bo Didley singing as back up. In 1958, after the group
recorded their first song they were noticed by Harvey Fuqua, a record
and band promoter. Fuqua renamed the group the Moonglows. However, the
group would disband shortly after. Fugua knew there was something
special about Gaye and introduced him to
Motown Records, but it was
Berry Gordy’s sister, Gwen, who introduced Gaye to Berry Gordy.
Gordy signed Gaye as a drummer to the label. He played drums on most of
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ songs. Gaye eventually got his own
record deal with Motown as a singer and starting making records with
many of them becoming hits on the R&B and Pop charts. His first hit in
1962 was “Stubborn Kind of Fellow.” Gaye went on to record a number of
hit records that mostly dealt with relationships. He eventually married
Gordy’s other sister, Anne, but the marriage was very rocky and ended in
the 1970’s. Shortly after, Gaye married Janis Hunter, which also
eventually ended in divorce. Marvin teamed up with Tami Terrell and had
a number of hits until Terrell became ill with a brain tumor and died in
1970.
Gaye became extremely depressed over Terrell’s sickness and death and
sought drugs and alcohol as a way to deal with his problems, however, he
continued to record albums. Gaye recorded one of his most popular
albums, “What’s Going On” in 1971.
He would also team up with
Diana Ross
and record hit songs. All the while, Gaye was suffering from major
financial and a serious drug problem. Eventually he tried to find
solace, he retreated to Hawaii and then to Belgium to get some sort of
inner and spiritual healing. At the same time, Gaye slowly became
displeased with Motown due to musical differences, Gaye wanted complete
musical freedom and did not want to conform to the strict rules of
Gordy’s leadership at Motown. He didn’t like to be told what to do or
how to do it and would often rebel.
The final straw with Motown was when
the label released one of Gaye’s records in 1981 without him knowing or
approving it. Gaye abruptly left Motown and signed with Columbia records
in 1982. He released an album that contained the very successful hit
song, “Sexual Healing”, which was seen as a great and welcomed comeback
for Gaye.
With “Sexual Healing” Gaye finally got the long overdue respect he
deserved from some in the music industry when he won his first Grammy
for the hit song. Gaye had encountered newfound fame with “Sexual
Healing.” Gaye performed a very emotional and historic performance of
the Star Spangled Banner at the NBA All-Star game.
He tried to tour but
often encountered health problems. But despite all of his renewed fame
and fortune, recognition and respect, Gaye couldn’t work out his
differences with the main person he sought love and approval from, his
father. Unfortunately, his problems and depression stayed with him and
he continued to battle his drug addiction, which made him become
paranoid. Still suffering from financial and drug problems Gaye lived
with his parents. On April 1, 1984 one day before his 45th birthday,
Gaye was shot and killed by his father. The shooting stemmed from an
argument his parents were having over bills. Gaye’s father physically
attacked his mother and Gaye confronted his father. Some say Gaye
threatened suicide often and this was a way for him to end his life.
His father was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading
guilty of manslaughter. First-degree murder charges were dropped after
it was discovered that his father had a brain tumor, he died in 1998
from pneumonia. After Gaye’s death, Motown and Columbia released some of
Gaye’s unrecorded material and he received numerous awards and
recognition shortly after his death. There have been many tributes and
remakes of his songs by various artists from most of the music genres.
Gaye was very influential to many artists while he was alive and after
his death. He was seen as a groundbreaker that expressed self-expression
and freedom through his music. He refused to follow anyone’s style or
anyone’s demands to be a certain type of artist or record certain types
of songs. He recorded, sang, and performed what he felt and giving
everything he had. Three years after his death in 1987, Marvin Gaye was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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