Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Commonly referred to as the "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul", he helped to shape the sound of Motown and soul music in the 1960s and 1970s. A cultural icon, Gaye is often considered one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Gaye began his career being guided by Harvey Fuqua, who put him in his group, Harvey and the Moonglows, before Gaye ventured into a solo career at the beginning of the 1960s. Signing to Motown's Tamla subsidiary, he achieved stardom with a series of hit singles such as "How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)", "Ain't That Peculiar" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and also earned success as a collaborative duet partner with several female artists, most notably, Diana Ross and Tammi Terrell, the latter of whom he recorded the hits "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "You're All I Need to Get By". Following the successful release of his landmark album, What's Going On and its hit of the same name, in 1971, Gaye became one of the first Motown artists to break away from the reins of a production company, later producing the albums, Let's Get It On, I Want You and Here, My Dear.

After a period as a tax exile in Europe and leaving Motown for Columbia Records in 1982, Gaye re-emerged that year with "Sexual Healing" and its album, Midnight Love, which became his most successful single and album respectively to date and performed a memorable rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game. The success of "Sexual Healing" led to Gaye winning an American Music Award and two Grammy Awards.

On April 1, 1984, Gaye was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr. at his parents' house in Western Heights, Los Angeles, on the eve of his 45th birthday. Gay Sr. later pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, receiving a six-year suspended sentence and five years of probation.

In addition to 1960s soul music, Gaye also influenced 1970s soul music and his recordings of that era later influenced the R&B subgenres quiet storm and neo soul. Several of his hit singles and albums have made several best-of Rolling Stone lists, including its greatest albums and greatest songs of all time.

In addition to the two Grammys and American Music Award, Gaye's accolades include the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star and inductions into the NAACP Hall of Fame, National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early life

Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. was born on April 2, 1939, at Freedman's Hospital the Fairfax Apartments (now demolished) at 1617 1st Street SW in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. Although it was one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, with many elegant Federal-style homes, most buildings were small, in disrepair, and lacking electricity and running water. The alleys were full of one- and two-story shacks, and nearly every dwelling was overcrowded. Gaye and his friends nicknamed the area "Simple City", calling it "half-city, half country".

Gaye was the second of the couple's four children. He had two sisters, Jeanne and Zeola, and one brother, Frankie Gaye. He also had two half-brothers: Michael Cooper, his mother's son from a previous relationship, and Antwaun Carey Gay, born as a result of one of his father's extramarital affairs. and then Randall Junior High School. Gaye began to take singing much more seriously in junior high, and he joined and became a singing star with the Randall Junior High Glee Club.

left|thumb|Gaye with [[Gordon Banks (musician)|Gordon Banks, his guitarist and brother-in-law, during the Sexual Healing Tour in 1983.]]

On February 13, 1983, Gaye sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the NBA All-Star Game at The Forum in Inglewood, California — accompanied by Gordon Banks, who played the studio tape from the stands. It has since been regarded as one of the greatest performances of the national anthem in its history. Ten days later, on February 23, Gaye performed "Sexual Healing" at the 25th Annual Grammy Awards and later won his Grammy shortly after the performance, presented to him by Rick James and Grace Jones. Gaye's final television performance occurred at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever TV special on May 16, 1983, where, after playing the piano and delivering a speech on the history of black music, including Motown itself, he performed "What's Going On".

Gaye embarked on his final concert tour in North America, titled the Sexual Healing Tour, on April 18, 1983, at Humphreys by the Bay in San Diego. The 51-date tour included 50 dates in the United States and one date in Canada. Earlier shows were received well, including several dates at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California. Gaye broke Barry Manilow's then-record of five sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall with six. By then, however, due to cocaine and PCP-triggered paranoia, increasing vocal issues and illness, the tour struggled to perform well and midway through as Gaye finished the tour in the Pacific Southwest, the tour began suffering from ticket losses before ending on August 14, 1983, at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California. In February 1984, Midnight Love was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category, his 12th and final nomination.

In 2018, producer Quincy Jones claimed Gaye had been sexually involved with actor Marlon Brando, an allegation denied by Gaye's surviving family. Gaye's sister Zeola called the producer "wicked and vindictive" following Jones' allegations, while Gaye's eldest son Marvin III stated that his father "didn't have anything against homosexuals" and that Gaye was a "ladies' man". Marvin and his family moved to Los Angeles in September 1972, settling at a home in the Hollywood Hills. After separating from his first wife, he bought a one-bedroom apartment in Culver City, California where he lived for a couple of years before he and his then live-in girlfriend Janis, resettled in a home in Topanga, California. After a robbery occurred there, they moved to a mansion in Hidden Hills by 1975. That same year, he moved his parents to a home he bought specifically for them at the West Adams district of Los Angeles.

After purchasing what became Marvin's Room in West Hollywood, Gaye made the building into his own personal recording studio, apartment complex and nightclub. There, he recorded many of his late Motown-era recordings at the complex before the building was put on foreclosure following the singer filing for bankruptcy in October 1978.

During his prolonged stay in Ostend, Gaye lived at a seafront apartment at Residence Jane on the Albert-I Promenade 77 where he wrote "Sexual Healing". By 1982, he had moved to a 21-room villa just outside Ostend before returning to the United States. In 1983, Gaye rented a mansion in Sherman Oaks but due to his increasing debt and drug issues, he soon returned to his parents' property in West Adams, Los Angeles.

Death and funeral

thumb|upright|Gaye's Certificate of Death

In late 1983, Gaye convinced his bodyguard on his final concert tour, Andre White, to give his father Marvin Gay Sr. a .38 Special handgun, due to the singer's continued fears of being targeted. In the months leading up to his death, Gaye and his father struggled with keeping themselves separated from each other at the family house in the West Adams neighborhood of Western Heights Gay Sr. was initially charged with first-degree murder, but the charges were reduced to voluntary manslaughter following a diagnosis of a brain tumor. He was given a suspended six-year sentence and probation. He died at a nursing home in 1998.

Artistry

Instruments

thumb|upright|Gaye used the [[mellotron at the end of his 1971 hit, "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)".]]

During his early career, Gaye played drums on several recordings, first for Harvey Fuqua's Tri-Phi label and then shortly after joining Tamla Records. Among his significant contributions as a drummer include the songs "That's What Girls Are Made For" by the Spinners, "Beechwood 4-5789" by the Marvelettes, the studio and live recordings of "Fingertips" by Stevie Wonder and "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas.

During a tour by the Miracles in 1961, Gaye joined them on the road as their drummer. In addition to the drums, Gaye also used percussion instruments such as bells, finger cymbals, box drums, glockenspiels, vibraphones, bongos, congas, and cabasas.

Over time, Gaye relied less on drums and more on piano and various keyboard instruments, more prominently as he began producing his own music in the 1970s. By the release of What's Going On, Gaye had begun getting involved with synthesizers and programming machines. Gaye notably used the mellotron, a keyboard instrument, at the end of "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", a hit off the What's Going On album.

Gaye began using synthesizers more prominently starting with the soundtrack to Trouble Man and subsequent albums such as Let's Get It On, I Want You and Here, My Dear.

During the making of the Midnight Love album in 1982, Gaye was using the TR-808, a drum machine that became prominent in the early '80s. The synthesized electro-funk sound led to several R&B and hip-hop artists to use the machine for their own music.

Influences

As a child, Gaye's main influence was his minister father, mentioning that his father's sermons greatly impressed him. His early musical influence as a child was gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.

His first major musical influences outside of gospel music were doo-wop groups such as The Moonglows and The Capris. Gaye's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page lists the Capris' song, "God Only Knows" as "critical to his musical awakening". Of the Capris' song, Gaye said, "It fell from the heavens and hit me between the eyes. So much soul, so much hurt. I related to the story, to the way that no one except the Lord really can read the heart of lonely kids in love."

Gaye's main musical influences were Rudy West of The Five Keys, Clyde McPhatter, Ray Charles and Little Willie John. Gaye considered Frank Sinatra a major influence in what he wanted to be. He also was influenced by the vocal styles of Billy Eckstine and Nat King Cole.

In addition, Gaye was also inspired by Billie Holiday and Johnnie Ray, having been discovered singing Ray's hit, "Cry", by his classmates.

As his Motown career developed, Gaye took inspiration from fellow label mates such as David Ruffin of The Temptations and Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops, whose grittier voices led to Gaye and his producer seeking a similar sound in recordings such as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "That's the Way Love Is". Later in his life, Gaye reflected on the influence of Ruffin and Stubbs, stating: "I had heard something in their voices something my own voice lacked." He further explained, "the Tempts and Tops' music made me remember that when a lot of women listen to music, they want to feel the power of a real man."

Vocal style

Gaye had a four-octave vocal range. From his earlier recordings as member of the Marquees and Harvey and the New Moonglows, and in his first several recordings with Motown, Gaye recorded mainly in the baritone and tenor ranges. He changed his tone to a rasp for his gospel-inspired early hits such as "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" and "Hitch Hike". As writer Eddie Holland explained, "He was the only singer I have ever heard known to take a song of that nature, that was so far removed from his natural voice where he liked singing, and do whatever it took to sell that song."

In songs such as "Pride and Joy", Gaye used three vocal ranges: his baritone range at the beginning, bringing a lighter tenor in the verses, and reaching a gospel mode in the chorus. Holland said Gaye had "one of the sweetest and prettiest voices you ever wanted to hear". He said that Gaye's "basic soul" was ballads and jazz, but he "had the ability to take a roughhouse, rock and roll, blues, R&B, any kind of song and make it his own". Gaye, he said, was the most versatile vocalist he had ever worked with.

Gaye changed his vocal style in the late 1960s, when he was advised to use a sharper, raspy voice—especially in Norman Whitfield's recordings. Gaye initially disliked the new style, considering it out of his range, but said he was "into being produce-able". After listening to David Ruffin and Levi Stubbs, Gaye said he started to develop what he called his "tough man voice"—saying, "I developed a growl." In the liner notes of his DVD set, Marvin Gaye: The Real Thing in Performance 1964–1981, Rob Bowman said that by the early 1970s, Gaye had developed "three distinct voices: his smooth, sweet tenor; a growling rasp; and an unreal falsetto." Bowman further wrote that the recording of the What's Going On single was "...the first single to use all three as Marvin developed a radical approach to constructing his recordings by layering a series of contrapuntal background vocal lines on different tracks, each one conceived and sung in isolation by Marvin himself." Bowman found that Gaye's multi-tracking of his tenor voice and other vocal styles "summon[ed] up what might be termed the ancient art of weaving".

Social commentary and concept albums

Before recording the What's Going On album, Gaye recorded a cover of the song "Abraham, Martin & John", which became a UK hit in June 1970. Despite some political music and socially conscious material recorded by The Temptations, Motown artists were often told to not delve into political and social commentary, for fear of alienating pop audiences. Early in his career, Gaye was affected by social events including the 1965 Watts riots and once asked himself: "with the world exploding around me, how am I supposed to keep singing love songs?" When Gaye called Gordy in the Bahamas about wanting to do protest music, Gordy told him: "Marvin, don't be ridiculous. That's taking things too far."

Gaye was inspired by the Black Panther Party and supported the efforts they put forth such as giving free meals to poor families door to door. However, he did not support the violent tactics the Panthers used to fight oppression, as Gaye's messages in many of his political songs were nonviolent. The lyrics and music of What's Going On discuss and illustrate issues during the 1960s/1970s such as racism, police brutality, drug abuse, environmental issues, anti-war, and black power issues. Gaye was inspired to make this album because of events such as the Vietnam War, the 1967 race riots in Detroit, and the Kent State shootings, as well as the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

Once Gaye presented Gordy with the What's Going On album, Gordy feared Gaye was risking the ruination of his image as a sex symbol. Following the album's success, Gaye tried a follow-up album, You're the Man. The title track only produced modest success, however, and Gaye and Motown shelved the album. Several of Gaye's unreleased songs of social commentary, including "The World Is Rated X", would be issued on posthumous compilation albums. What's Going On would later be described by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic as an album that "not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change". You're the Man was finally released on March 29, 2019, through Motown, Universal Music Enterprises, and Universal Music Group.

The What's Going On album also provided another first in both Motown and R&B music: Gaye and his engineers had composed the album in a song cycle, segueing previous songs into other songs giving the album a more cohesive feel as opposed to R&B albums that traditionally included filler tracks to complete the album. This style of music would influence recordings by artists such as Stevie Wonder and Barry White making the concept album format a part of 1970s R&B music. Although Gaye was not politically active outside of his music, he became a public figure for social change and inspired/educated many people through his work. Further in the article, Gaye was also credited with combining "the soulful directness of gospel music, the sweetness of soft-soul and pop, and the vocal musicianship of a jazz singer". As a Motown artist, Gaye was among the first to break from the reins of its production system, paving the way for Stevie Wonder. Gaye's 1970s recordings influenced forms of R&B predating the subgenres quiet storm and neo-soul while his 1980s recordings influenced contemporary R&B.

David Ritz wrote in a 1991 revision of his biography of Gaye, "since 1983, Marvin's name has been mentioned—in reverential tones—on no less than seven top-ten hit records." Gaye's name has been used in the title of several hits, including Big Sean's "Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay" and Charlie Puth's debut hit, "Marvin Gaye", a duet with Meghan Trainor. The 1983 Spandau Ballet hit "True" mentions "Listening to Marvin all night long...".

Achievements

Gaye landed a charting single on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts every year between 1962 and 1974.

One of the most successful charting artists in Billboard history, he recorded 56 charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100, with 41 top 40 entries, 18 top ten singles and three number one singles. On the R&B charts, he recorded over 67 charting singles, 62 top 40 entries, 39 top ten singles and thirteen number one hits recorded between 1965 and 1982.

Seven of Gaye's albums between 1969 and 1982 topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while six peaked inside the top ten of the Billboard 200 between 1971 and 1982.

As a songwriter, in addition to his own hits such as "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", "If This World Were Mine", "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Let's Get It On", Gaye co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, most notably "Beechwood 4-5789" for the Marvelettes, "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas, "Baby, I'm for Real" and "The Bells" for the Originals during his Motown tenure. Gaye also penned songs for Diana Ross and the Miracles. Gaye is the co-songwriter of Paul Young's number one UK hit cover of his 1962 tune, "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)", which topped the UK charts for three weeks in July 1983.

Gaye's 1962 hit composition "Hitch Hike" influenced the Velvet Underground's "There She Goes Again". In addition, some of Gaye's compositions for others and his own composed hit singles have been covered by artists as diverse as Van Halen, Mick Jagger and David Bowie, After 7, Cyndi Lauper, Color Me Badd, Luther Vandross, Kate Bush and Aaliyah.

When three of the singles from the What's Going On album reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, it made Gaye the first male artist to accomplish such a feat. In addition, all three songs topped the R&B charts, marking another chart feat. His 1977 single, "Got to Give It Up", became among one of the first songs to top the pop, R&B and dance charts.

His 1982 hit, "Sexual Healing", became the first R&B single since the chart's 1958 inception to stay atop the charts for ten consecutive weeks, which remained a chart record for over a decade until Whitney Houston's 1992 hit, "I Will Always Love You", broke the record in February 1993.

Awards and honors

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1987, declaring that Gaye "made a huge contribution to soul music in general and the Motown Sound in particular". The page stated that Gaye "possessed a classic R&B voice that was edged with grit yet tempered with sweetness". The page further states that Gaye "projected an air of soulful authority driven by fervid conviction and heartbroken vulnerability".

A year later, Gaye's mother founded the Marvin P. Gaye Jr. Memorial Foundation in dedication to her son to help those suffering from drug abuse and alcoholism; however she died a day before the memorial was set to open in 1987. Gaye's sister Jeanne once served as the foundation's chairperson. In 1988, a year after his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Gaye was inducted posthumously to the NAACP Hall of Fame. In 1990, Gaye received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1996, Gaye posthumously received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed three Gaye recordings, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "What's Going On" and "Sexual Healing", among its list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Gaye No. 18 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", sixth on their list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" and No. 82 on their list of the "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time". Q magazine ranked Gaye sixth on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers".

Three of Gaye's albums – What's Going On (1971), Let's Get It On (1973), and Here, My Dear (1978) – were ranked by Rolling Stone on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. What's Going On remains his largest-ranked album, reaching No. 6 on the Rolling Stone list and topped the NME list of the Top 100 Albums of All Time in 1985 and was later chosen in 2003 for inclusion by the Library of Congress to its National Recording Registry. In a revised 2020 Rolling Stone list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, What's Going On was listed as the greatest album of all time. In addition, four of his songs – "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "What's Going On", "Let's Get It On" and "Sexual Healing" – made it on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2005, Gaye was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

thumb|[[Karen Bass and Gaye's family at the dedication of the Marvin Gaye Post Office in Los Angeles in 2019]]

In 2006, Watts Branch Park, a park in Washington that Gaye frequented as a teenager, was renamed Marvin Gaye Park. Three years later, the 5200 block of Foote Street NE in Deanwood, Washington, D.C., was renamed Marvin Gaye Way. In August 2014, Gaye was inducted to the official Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in its second class. In October 2015, the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced Gaye as a nominee for induction to the Hall's 2016 class after posthumous nominations were included. Gaye was named as a posthumous inductee to that hall on March 2, 2016. Gaye was subsequently inducted to the Songwriters Hall on June 9, 2016. In July 2018, a bill by California politician Karen Bass to rename a post office in South Los Angeles after Gaye was signed into law by President Donald Trump. Gaye was ranked No. 20 on Rolling Stones "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time" published in January 2023. In June 2025, Billboard ranked Gaye the tenth best R&B artist of all time.

On what would have been Marvin Gaye's 80th birthday, the U.S. Postal Service honored Gaye with the dedication of a new commemorative Forever stamp during a first-day-of-issue ceremony at the Greek Theatre, where he once performed.

His 1983 NBA All-Star performance of the national anthem was used in a Nike commercial featuring the 2008 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Also, on CBS Sports' final NBA telecast to date (before the contract moved to NBC) at the conclusion of Game 5 of the 1990 Finals, they used Gaye's 1983 All-Star Game performance over the closing credits. When VH1 launched on January 1, 1985, Gaye's 1983 rendition of the national anthem was the first video they aired, immediately followed by Diana Ross' tribute song to Gaye, "Missing You". The 1985 Commodores song "Nightshift" was a tribute to Gaye and Jackie Wilson, who both died in 1984. One verse mentions Gaye's song "What's Going On".

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was played in a Levi's television advertisement in 1985. The result of the commercial's success led to the original song finding renewed success in Europe after Tamla-Motown re-released it in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. The song was later used for chewing gum commercials in Finland and to promote a brand of Lucky Strike cigarettes in Germany.

Gaye's music has also been used in numerous film soundtracks including Four Brothers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, both of which featured Gaye's music from his Trouble Man soundtrack. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was used in the opening credits of the film, The Big Chill.

In 2007, his song "A Funky Space Reincarnation" was used in the Charlize Theron–starred ad for Dior J'Adore perfume. A documentary about Gaye—What's Going On: The Marvin Gaye Story—was a UK/PBS co-production, directed by Jeremy Marre and was first broadcast in 2006. Two years later, the special re-aired with a different production and newer interviews after it was re-broadcast as an American Masters special. Two documentaries focusing on his 1981–82 stay in Ostend, titled Marvin Gaye Transit Ostende and Remember Marvin Gaye, were released in 1989 and 2001 respectively.

Earnings

In 2008, Gaye's estate earned $3.5 million (US$ in dollars). As a result, Gaye placed 13th in Forbes Magazine's "Top-Earning Dead Celebrities".

On March 11, 2015, Gaye's family was awarded $7.4 million in damages following a decision by an eight-member jury in Los Angeles that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had breached copyright by incorporating part of Gaye's song "Got to Give It Up" into their hit "Blurred Lines"; U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt reduced the sum later that year to $5.3 million, while adding royalties. In January 2016, the Gaye family requested that a California judge award an additional $2.66 million in attorneys' fees and $777,000 in legal expenses.

As of 2026, Gaye's estate was managed by Geffen Management Group and his legacy is protected through Creative Rights Group. Both are founded by talent manager Jeremy Geffen.

Attempted biopics

There have been several attempts to adapt Gaye's life story into a feature film. In February 2006, it was reported that Jesse L. Martin was to portray Gaye in a biopic titled Sexual Healing, named after Gaye's 1982 song of the same name. The film was to have been directed by Lauren Goodman and produced by James Gandolfini and Alexandra Ryan. The film was to depict the final three years of Gaye's life. Years later, other producers such as Jean-Luc Van Damme, Frederick Bestall and Jimmy De Brabant, came aboard and Goodman was replaced by Julien Temple. Lenny Kravitz was almost slated to play Gaye. The script was to be written by Matthew Broughton. The film was to have been distributed by Focus Features and released on April 1, 2014, the thirtieth anniversary of Gaye's death. This never came to fruition and it was announced that Focus Features no longer has involvement with the Gaye biopic as of June 2013.

In June 2008, it was announced that F. Gary Gray was going to direct a biopic titled Marvin. The script was to be written by C. Gaby Mitchell and the film was to be produced by David Foster and Duncan McGillivray and co-produced by Ryan Heppe. According to Gray, the film would cover Gaye's entire life, from his emergence at Motown through his defiance of Berry Gordy to record What's Going On and on up to his death.

Cameron Crowe had also been working on a biopic titled My Name Is Marvin. The film was to have been a Sony presentation with Scott Rudin as producer. Both Will Smith and Terrence Howard were considered for the role of Gaye. Crowe later confirmed in August 2011 that he abandoned the project: "We were working on the Marvin Gaye movie which is called My Name is Marvin, but the time just wasn't right for that movie." Members of Gaye's family, such as his ex-wife Janis and his son Marvin III, have expressed opposition to a biopic.

In July 2016, it was announced that a feature film documentary on Gaye would be released the following year delving into his life and the making of his 1971 album What's Going On. The film would be developed by Noah Media Group and Greenlight and is quoted to be "the defining portrait of this visionary artist and his impeccable album" by the film's producers Gabriel Clarke and Torquil Jones. The film will include "unseen footage" of Gaye. Gaye's family approved of the documentary. The series was approved by Gaye's family, including son Marvin III, who was to serve as executive producer, and Berry Gordy Jr. In June 2021, it was announced that the film Dre would be producing was greenlighted by Warner Bros. Pictures and would be directed by Allen Hughes for a projected 2023 release.

Acting

Gaye acted in two movies, featuring as a Vietnam veteran in both roles. His first performance was in the 1969 George McCowan film The Ballad of Andy Crocker, which starred Lee Majors. The film was about a war veteran returning to find that his expectations have not been met and he feels betrayed. Gaye had a prominent role in the film as David Owens. His other performance was in 1971. He had a role in the Lee Frost-directed biker-exploitation film Chrome and Hot Leather, about a group of Vietnam veterans taking on a bike gang. The film starred William Smith; Gaye played the part of Jim, one of the veterans.

Gaye did have acting aspirations and had signed with the William Morris Agency but that only lasted a year as Gaye was not satisfied with the support he was getting from the agency. In his interview with David Ritz, Gaye admitted being interested in show business particularly when he was hired to compose the soundtrack for Trouble Man. "No doubt I could have been a movie star, but it was something my subconscious rejected. Not that I didn't want it, I most certainly did. I just didn't have the fortitude to play the Hollywood game: to put myself out there, knowing they would eat my rear end like a piece of meat."

Discography

Solo studio albums

  • The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye (1961)
  • That Stubborn Kinda Fellow (1963)
  • When I'm Alone I Cry (1964)
  • Hello Broadway (1964)
  • How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You (1965)
  • A Tribute to the Great Nat King Cole (1965)
  • Moods of Marvin Gaye (1966)
  • In the Groove (1968)
  • M.P.G. (1969)
  • That's the Way Love Is (1970)
  • What's Going On (1971)
  • Trouble Man (1972)
  • Let's Get It On (1973)
  • I Want You (1976)
  • Here, My Dear (1978)
  • In Our Lifetime (1981)
  • Midnight Love (1982)

Collaborative albums

  • Together <small>(with Mary Wells)</small> (1964)
  • Take Two <small>(with Kim Weston)</small> (1966)
  • United <small>(with Tammi Terrell)</small> (1967)
  • You're All I Need <small>(with Tammi Terrell)</small> (1968)
  • Easy <small>(with Tammi Terrell)</small> (1969)
  • Diana & Marvin <small>(with Diana Ross)</small> (1973)

Posthumous albums

  • Dream of a Lifetime (1985)
  • Romantically Yours (1985)
  • Vulnerable (1997)
  • You're the Man (2019)
  • Funky Nation: The Detroit Instrumentals (2021)

Filmography

  • 1965: T.A.M.I. Show (documentary)
  • 1969: The Ballad of Andy Crocker (television movie)
  • 1971: Chrome and Hot Leather (television movie)
  • 1973: Save the Children (documentary)

Videography

  • Marvin Gaye: Live in Montreux 1980 (2003)
  • The Real Thing: In Performance (1964–1981) (2006)

See also

  • List of American Grammy Award winners and nominees
  • Pharrell Williams v. Bridgeport Music
  • List of tributes to Marvin Gaye

Explanatory notes

References

General and cited sources

  • Davis, Sharon (1991). Marvin Gaye: I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Croydon, Surrey: Book marque Ltd. .
  • Gambaccini, Paul (1987). The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time. New York: Harmony Books.
  • Heron, W. Kim (April 8, 1984). Marvin Gaye: A Life Marked by Complexity. Detroit Free Press.
  • Turner, Steve (1998). Trouble Man: The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye. London: Michael Joseph. .
  • White, Adam (1985). The Motown Story. London: Orbis. .
  • Marvin Gaye Biography
  • FBI Records: The Vault - Marvin Gaye at vault.fbi.gov
  • Additional archives