In May 1971, Marvin Gaye released an album that would become one of the most profound musical statements of its era—and perhaps of any era. What’s Going On wasn’t simply an album; it was a deeply personal manifesto wrapped in an ambitious blend of jazz, soul, and orchestral flourishes.
Shaped by Gaye’s turbulent experiences and creative resilience, the record broke new ground by centring on social issues at a time when Motown was famous for escapist romance. Gaye’s insistence on voicing themes of war, environmental concerns, and racial injustice marked a rare moment when mainstream soul embraced social commentary with artistry, lyricism, and an uncompromising commitment to truth.
Marvin Gaye: A Voice for the Troubled Times
In the late 1960s, Gaye faced significant personal losses. His duet partner and close friend Tammi Terrell had passed away in 1970 from a brain tumour, which sent him into a period of isolation and introspection. At the same time, America was deeply divided over the Vietnam War, and Gaye’s brother Frankie returned from service with harrowing stories of combat and homefront indifference. These influences made Gaye question his own role as an artist. He famously asked, “With the world exploding around me, how am I supposed to keep singing love songs?” This sense of urgency spurred Gaye to move beyond romance and explore a broader human connection, giving his voice to the disenchanted and unheard.
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When Gaye approached Motown’s founder, Berry Gordy, with the idea of a politically charged album, he met resistance. Gordy, long accustomed to producing commercially safe hits, doubted the viability of a socially conscious record. But Gaye was adamant, refusing to record anything else until What’s Going On was released. In a striking act of creative defiance, Gaye gambled his career on the album's potential impact.
Photo by tomovox, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
Crafting the Sound of What’s Going On
Once in the studio, Gaye’s vision took shape in ways that were innovative even for Motown’s polished production standards. Recorded at Detroit’s Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studios, and later finalised at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles, What’s Going On was a sonic departure from Motown’s standard fare. Drawing on jazz influences, Gaye employed the multi-tracking of vocals to create a layered effect, capturing a kind of spiritual conversation within his own voice. This dual-lead technique, born out of a mixing accident by engineers Kenneth Sands and Steve Smith, became central to the album’s introspective sound.
Gaye collaborated closely with Motown’s in-house musicians, the Funk Brothers, but introduced new players as well, including Chet Forest on drums and Detroit Symphony Orchestra strings. This ensemble approach gave the record a lush, layered sound that oscillated between rich orchestration and raw rhythm. James Jamerson’s bass playing, captured in part as he lay on the floor inebriated yet instinctively brilliant, became one of the album's hallmarks. His loose, emotive bass lines underscored Gaye’s vocal warmth, giving tracks like “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” an aching depth.
The album’s opener, “What’s Going On,” set the tone with its blend of saxophone, soft percussion, and conversational vocal delivery. When Eli Fontaine, the saxophonist, first played the opening riff, it was intended as a demo. But Gaye knew instinctively that this moment of “goofing off” was exactly right, giving the song its now-famous intro. This spontaneous style, interwoven with controlled orchestration, lent What’s Going On a feeling of openness and discovery.
Photo by John Logue, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Expanding Soul Music’s Scope
While Motown was celebrated for its polished love songs, Gaye turned that smoothness on its head, addressing themes rarely explored in mainstream music. Each song flowed seamlessly into the next, creating a continuous, reflective experience that critics later described as one of the first R&B concept albums. This song cycle structure not only lent cohesion but also mirrored the interconnected social issues Gaye explored. Tracks like “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” spoke to environmental degradation at a time when such discussions were far from mainstream. “Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky),” meanwhile, dealt with heroin addiction, capturing a moment of intense vulnerability without losing the album’s sense of grace.
The record’s narrative, told from the perspective of a Vietnam veteran returning to a country torn by strife and disillusionment, was ambitious. Songs like “What’s Happening Brother,” a conversation between Gaye and his brother Frankie, captured the profound sense of displacement felt by many veterans and inner-city residents alike. This approach gave voice to the disillusioned, elevating Gaye from a mere entertainer to a societal observer and advocate.
Photo by David Johnson, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
Legacy: An Album that Resonates Across Decades
What’s Going On quickly climbed the charts, and its success marked a significant shift in how soul music could interact with culture. Beyond sales, the album cemented Gaye’s legacy as a trailblazer willing to use his platform to address uncomfortable truths. At a time when most popular music was commercial or escapist, Gaye’s choice to tackle poverty, environmental issues, and racism on a mainstream record was radical. The critical reception was overwhelmingly positive; Rolling Stone lauded it as “a vast, melodically deft symphonic pop suite,” a description that underscored the album's fusion of complex themes and accessible music.
What’s Going On has only grown in stature, continually cited as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2020, it was named the best album ever by Rolling Stone in a poll of musicians, replacing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at the top of the list. The album’s enduring relevance speaks to Gaye’s foresight; his questions remain piercingly relevant today, as society grapples with similar issues of inequality, environmental decline, and the challenges of war. It stands as a reminder of how music, in the hands of an artist willing to take risks, can transcend entertainment and become a tool for empathy and awareness.
Gaye’s question—“What’s going on?”—echoes through time, its urgency undimmed, urging each new generation to look inward, challenge outward, and listen closely.
This photo of Marvin Gaye is in the public domain, originally published in the United States before 1978 without a copyright notice.
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