60 Fun Facts About Marvin Gaye

In which U.S. city was Marvin Gaye born and raised?

Washington, D.C.: he was born at Freedman's Hospital and grew up in public housing in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood, which he and his friends nicknamed 'Simple City'.

Which Motown subsidiary label released Marvin Gaye's music?

Tamla signed a singer who wanted to be a crooner in the Nat King Cole mould; only when those early records flopped did he turn to R&B.

Marvin Gaye's first Billboard Hot 100 number one, in December 1968, was his recording of which song?

I Heard It Through the Grapevine had been held back by Berry Gordy, who preferred another single; released at last in 1968, it stayed at number one for seven weeks.

Which duet partner collapsed in Marvin Gaye's arms on stage in October 1967?

Tammi Terrell collapsed into Gaye's arms mid-show on October 14, 1967; doctors found a brain tumor, and she died in March 1970 aged 24 after several operations.

Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, who brought Marvin Gaye the song 'What's Going On', sang with which Motown group?

The Four Tops' bass singer wrote it with Al Cleveland and pressed Gaye to sing it himself; Motown boss Berry Gordy at first refused to release what became a No. 2 hit.

Which studio band did Marvin Gaye credit on the What's Going On cover?

The Funk Brothers had played on Motown's hits without public credit until Gaye listed their names on the What's Going On cover in 1971; Motown's move to Los Angeles a year later broke the band up.

Which two pro football players sang harmony vocals on 'What's Going On'?

Mel Farr and Lem Barney, friends from Gaye's 1970 bid for a pro football tryout, joined the mock party chatter that opens the song and sang backing harmonies.

Which sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy became Marvin Gaye's first wife?

Anna Gordy and Gaye had a stormy marriage that ended in a drawn-out divorce, and the settlement became the subject of his 1978 double album.

Which 1978 Marvin Gaye album was made so its royalties could go toward his divorce settlement?

Here, My Dear: with the proceeds pledged to his ex-wife, Gaye made their failed marriage the album's subject; it stalled at No. 26 on the pop chart but is now counted among his finest work.

In which Belgian city did Marvin Gaye live in 1981-82 and write 'Sexual Healing'?

Ostend: Gaye went to the North Sea resort in 1981 to recover from his drug problems, stayed about 18 months and wrote 'Sexual Healing' there.

Marvin Gaye left Motown in 1982 and signed with which company?

CBS Records: Gaye quit Motown after it issued an album without his consent, and CBS placed him on its Columbia label, where Midnight Love became his comeback.

Which first did 'Sexual Healing' bring Marvin Gaye?

A Grammy Award: after two decades of hits without a win, Gaye took home two in February 1983 for 'Sexual Healing', which itself peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100.

At which 1983 sporting event did Marvin Gaye sing his slowed-down, soulful national anthem?

The NBA All-Star Game: after a shaky rehearsal worried organizers, Gaye sang over a drum-machine tape at The Forum in Inglewood, and his anthem became the game's best-remembered moment.

Marvin Gaye was shot dead on April 1, 1984, one day before which occasion?

His 45th birthday: Gaye, born April 2, 1939, was shot at his parents' Los Angeles home with a revolver he himself had given his father.

To what charge did Marvin Gay Sr. plead no contest after the original first-degree murder charge was reduced?

Voluntary manslaughter: Gay Sr. entered the plea in September 1984 and walked free on a six-year suspended sentence with five years' probation; he died in a nursing home in 1998.

Under which name did Marvin Gaye's group the Marquees record for Chess after moving to Chicago in the late 1950s?

Harvey and the New Moonglows: Harvey Fuqua drafted the Marquees to replace his original Moonglows, then took Gaye on to Detroit, the road that led him to Motown.

Which U.S. military branch did a teenage Marvin Gaye join after dropping out of high school?

Air Force: he served only briefly before a discharge whose paperwork noted that he could not adjust to regimentation or authority.

Which rock and roll pioneer helped Marvin Gaye's group the Marquees make their only single, 'Wyatt Earp'?

Bo Diddley took the Marquees to OKeh after failing to get them signed to his own label, Chess, and produced the single, which sold poorly.

What instrument did Marvin Gaye play as a Motown session musician on 'Dancing in the Street' and 'Fingertips'?

Drums: before his own hits, Gaye earned his keep as a Motown session drummer and went out on the road as the Miracles' drummer.

What was Marvin Gaye's first hit single as a solo artist, released in 1962?

Stubborn Kind of Fellow: Gaye wanted to croon standards, but after those records failed he reluctantly cut this R&B dance tune, and it reached No. 8 on the R&B chart.

Which Marvelettes hit did Marvin Gaye co-write in 1962?

Beechwood 4-5789: Gaye wrote it with Mickey Stevenson and George Gordy, it climbed to No. 17 on the Hot 100, and the Carpenters put it back on the chart with a 1982 cover.

Who wrote 'I'll Be Doggone' and 'Ain't That Peculiar', Marvin Gaye's first two R&B number ones?

Smokey Robinson wrote both 1965 singles with fellow Miracles, and the group sang the backing vocals on 'I'll Be Doggone', Gaye's first million-seller.

With which singer did Marvin Gaye record the hit duet 'It Takes Two'?

Kim Weston left Motown for MGM around the time 'It Takes Two' became a No. 14 hit, and the label soon paired Gaye with a new duet partner.

Which duet earned Marvin Gaye his first Grammy nomination?

Ain't No Mountain High Enough peaked at only No. 19 on the pop chart, yet it brought the nomination, for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, before any of his solo hits had earned one.

At which ballpark did Marvin Gaye sing the national anthem before Game 4 of the 1968 World Series?

Tiger Stadium: in Motown's home city, Gaye kept the anthem simple as the Tigers hosted the St. Louis Cardinals, who won that day before Detroit took the Series in seven games.

For which 1972 blaxploitation film did Marvin Gaye produce the soundtrack and score?

Trouble Man: Gaye wrote and produced the score instead of repeating What's Going On, and in Captain America: The Winter Soldier the Falcon tells Cap the album is essential catching-up.

Which Marvin Gaye single became his second Hot 100 number one, in September 1973?

Let's Get It On topped the Hot 100 in September 1973; while he was making the record Gaye met Janis Hunter, who would become his second wife.

Which Motown star was Marvin Gaye's partner on his final duet album?

Diana Ross, then pregnant, objected to Gaye smoking in the studio, and by their engineer's account the two recorded most of Diana & Marvin apart.

Marvin Gaye persuaded Frankie Beverly to rename his band from Raw Soul to what?

Maze: after his sister-in-law pointed the band out, Gaye took Frankie Beverly's group on the road as his opening act and urged them to find a better name than Raw Soul.

Which Marvin Gaye number one was a studio track on 1977's Live at the London Palladium?

Got to Give It Up: pressed by Motown for a disco record, Gaye answered with a parody of the genre, tucked onto the live album's last side, and it topped the pop, R&B and dance charts.

Which 2013 hit was found by a jury to have copied Marvin Gaye's 'Got to Give It Up'?

Blurred Lines: a jury found in March 2015 that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had copied the song and awarded Gaye's children more than $7 million, later reduced to $5.3 million.

Which Marvin Gaye album did Motown release without his consent in 1981, dropping the title's question mark?

In Our Lifetime: Gaye said Motown remixed his unfinished tapes and rushed them out without the title's question mark, and the row ended his two decades with the label.

Which shelved Marvin Gaye album, the intended follow-up to What's Going On, was finally released in 2019?

You're the Man: after the title single fell short on the pop chart, Gaye abandoned the album; Motown finally released it in 2019 to mark what would have been his 80th birthday.

The famous opening line of 'What's Going On' was a session player's unplanned riff on which instrument?

Alto saxophone: the riff was never meant for the record, but Gaye kept it as the intro and, when the player protested that he had only been goofing around, told him he goofed off exquisitely.

Which drum machine, later a hip-hop staple, did Marvin Gaye use on 1982's Midnight Love?

Roland TR-808: guitarist Gordon Banks helped Gaye work out how to program the new machine, and 'Sexual Healing' became one of the first hit singles built on its beat.

Which cause is the subject of Marvin Gaye's 1971 hit 'Mercy Mercy Me'?

The environment: subtitled 'The Ecology', the song mourns a poisoned planet; Berry Gordy doubted such material would sell, yet it reached No. 4 on the Hot 100.

What was the profession of Marvin Gaye's father, Marvin Gay Sr.?

Church minister: Marvin Gay Sr. preached in the House of God, a strict Hebrew Pentecostal sect, and his son was singing at its services from early childhood.

Which Motown vocalists' grittier voices did Marvin Gaye credit for inspiring his 'tough man voice'?

David Ruffin and Levi Stubbs: Gaye said he heard in the Temptations and Four Tops leads something his own voice lacked, and 'developed a growl' to match it.

Which Marvin Gaye composition gave Paul Young a 1983 UK number one?

Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home): Gaye co-wrote and recorded it in 1962 without a hit, but Paul Young's cover spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK in 1983.

Which hall of fame inducted Marvin Gaye in 1987?

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Gaye entered less than three years after his death, inducted by Ashford & Simpson, the duo who wrote his best-known duets, with his family accepting for him.

Whose album did What's Going On replace atop Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list in 2020?

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band led the magazine's 2003 and 2012 lists, but the 2020 revote put What's Going On on top and dropped Sgt. Pepper to No. 24.

Which single was Marvin Gaye's first Billboard Hot 100 top-10 hit?

Pride and Joy, written as a tribute to the girlfriend he soon married, reached No. 10 on the Hot 100 in 1963; 'Hitch Hike' had stalled at No. 30.

What was Marvin Gaye's middle name?

Pentz: he was born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., after his father Marvin Pentz Gay Sr., and added the 'e' to his surname early in his recording career.

Marvin Gaye's daughter Nona played Zee in two sequels to which sci-fi film?

The Matrix: Nona Gaye took the part of Zee in The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions after Aaliyah, first cast in the role, died in a 2001 plane crash.

Which Motown star performed the ballad 'Lighting Up the Candles' at Marvin Gaye's funeral?

Stevie Wonder sang it at the 1984 service and seven years later made the song the closing track of his Jungle Fever soundtrack.

Which national honor did Marvin Gaye receive on what would have been his 80th birthday in 2019?

A commemorative postage stamp: the Postal Service issued it in its Music Icons series with a first-day ceremony at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, where Gaye had once performed.

What did Marvin Gaye's $1 million Motown deal after What's Going On give him?

Creative control: Gaye had produced What's Going On himself over Berry Gordy's doubts, and its success let him write that freedom into his new contract.

What was the title of Marvin Gaye's 1961 debut album?

The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye was a set of jazz and pop standards meant to make him a crooner; it sold poorly, pushing him toward R&B.

Which NFL team did a depressed Marvin Gaye try to join in 1970, after his duet partner's death?

Detroit Lions: his bid for a place on the team came to nothing, but he befriended two of its players, who went on to sing on 'What's Going On'.

What was Gaye's Sunset Boulevard recording studio, which doubled as his home and a dance club, called?

Marvin's Room, opened in 1975, was where he made his late-1970s records until his money troubles cost him the building; Drake later named a 2011 single after it.

Where were Marvin Gaye's ashes scattered after his funeral in 1984?

The Pacific Ocean: some 10,000 mourners came to his funeral in Los Angeles; he was then cremated, and his children and first wife scattered the ashes.

Who co-wrote 'Let's Get It On' with Marvin Gaye, after it was reworked from a religious ode?

Ed Townsend and Gaye recast a song that began with a spiritual, get-on-with-life theme as a plea for love and sex, and Townsend co-produced the album's first four tracks.

Which Let's Get It On track opens and closes with the sounds of a couple in bed?

You Sure Love to Ball is framed by a couple's moans, yet Motown still issued it as the album's third single, and it reached No. 13 on the soul chart.

Which group's 1985 hit 'Nightshift' was a tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson?

The Commodores had not had a big hit since Lionel Richie left; this tribute, sung by drummer Walter Orange, took them back to No. 3 on the Hot 100.

Which singer took a cover of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' into the US top 20 in 1987?

Cyndi Lauper took her True Colors cover to No. 12 in 1987; Berry Gordy had at first feared Gaye's original would cost the singer his pop audience.

Which song became the third top-ten single from What's Going On, after the title track and 'Mercy Mercy Me'?

Inner City Blues reached No. 9 in 1971 and, like the two singles before it, topped the R&B chart, all from an album Berry Gordy had feared held no hits.

Which Marvin Gaye hit gave James Taylor a 1975 top-five single?

How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You): Gaye's own Holland-Dozier-Holland single stopped at No. 6 in 1965, so James Taylor's No. 5 cover a decade later outdid the original.

Which posthumous Marvin Gaye album, released in 1985, yielded the R&B hit 'Sanctified Lady'?

Dream of a Lifetime: his last label and Motown pooled unreleased tapes for it a year after his death, and 'Sanctified Lady' became a top-five R&B hit.

Marvin Gaye co-wrote 'Dancing in the Street', a 1964 smash for which group?

Martha and the Vandellas took it to No. 2 in 1964; amid that summer's civil rights unrest many heard a call to take to the streets, though its lead singer insisted it was a party song.

Which 1976 album, made with Leon Ware, gave Marvin Gaye a No. 1 R&B title single?

I Want You: Leon Ware meant the title song for his own album until Berry Gordy heard a rough version and steered it to Gaye, whose single topped the R&B chart.