Marvin Gaye

Soul singer Marvin Gaye made some of his earliest recorded appearances playing drums on early Smoky Robinson hits. But his well-titled 1962 single "Stubborn kind of fellow" signalled both his temperament and the direction of his career… up the charts! The 1960s hits are well-known and loved—"How sweet it is (to be loved by you)", "Ain’t that peculiar", and "I heard it through the grapevine" gained him the nickname "The Prince of Motown".

When the decade changed, so did Gaye. His classic 1971 What’s Going On signalled a new maturity as well as a probing concern with civil rights and social justice. It remains a gold standard of soul music. But it wasn’t all political: Gaye’s 1973 LP Let’s Get It On was a sensual success, as was his duet album with Diana Ross (of The Supremes). Even his divorce settlement album (Here, My Dear) is full of great singing and interesting, creative arrangements.

As the seventies bled into the eighties, Gaye’s psychological troubles multiplied, doubtless fuelled by his drug problems. Moving home was not a helpful plan, as escalating conflict with his father, a former minister of the Apostolic Church, resulted in the man of god fatally shooting his son on 1 April 1984. Although it was a sad end for one of the great singers of American popular music we can celebrate his fabulous voice and rich, timeless albums through the music he left behind.