A dynamic and diverse career, Marvin Gaye was a master of many styles and genres. He was sensual. He was sensitive. He was soft-spoken, and a dreamer, and reflective. He was the center of attention. He is behind some of music's greatest songs and albums alike and is someone whose music I am grateful to have had as a part of my life since childhood.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Here's 7 of my favorites from Marvin Gaye.
Week 57: MARVIN GAYE
#395/420 - Marvin Gaye, “Where Are We Going?”
Earlier this year, it was announced that a “lost” Marvin Gaye album centered around his “You’re the Man” single was going to finally be released. I was very excited to hear this, until I checked the track list, and realized I already had all of these songs and had already compiled them into my own playlist that has been in my music rotation since I was in high school. Nonetheless, even if it is not new to me as a big Marvin Gaye fan, I am glad these tracks are being highlighted and re-released, as many of them are among my favorites from him. This is the standout to me which I first obtained with its inclusion on the 2001 release of The Very Best of Marvin Gaye, where it was first officially put out.
This two disc compilation was my first deep dive into Marvin Gaye’s catalog and I immediately started going after the full albums these songs were pulled from after listening. This was first written and recorded during what I consider Marvin’s peak, right between his two best albums, What’s Going On and Let’s Get It On. It is such a treasure trove of great music from him, but the track lists were kept tight on those two albums, and as a result a ton of other fantastic songs fell to the wayside, enough to make a double LP with.
This is such a gentle, summer breeze of a song. The twinkling piano, Marvin’s relaxed vocals, the trumpet section, it’s remarkable this took several decades to reach the public; it’s so good. Although this was recorded around the time of Let’s Get It On, it’s definitely more of a What’s Going On track, and maybe that’s why it wasn’t included with the latter. It fits right in with the questioning themes of the former though, “Where are we going? What’s the future showing?” It was definitely on point with the times in the early 70s, and unfortunately, it is a question that feels just as relevant today.
Perhaps it is a question in self-reflection we must always ask ourselves, and I will gladly take Marvin Gaye’s music as a melodic reminder to do so.
#396/420 - Marvin Gaye, “Can I Get a Witness”
With so much music he is famous for later in his career, it’s (almost) possible to forget he was already killing it in the early 60s with tracks like this. Written by the Motown songwriting trio of Holland–Dozier–Holland, who also back Marvin up on vocals along with some of The Supremes, including Diana Ross, this is my favorite of Marvin’s earliest music. What a great, dynamic song. It’s got enough of a backbone to fit in right alongside the rock and roll hits of the time, but enough soul to be among the best of soul music back then too. The Funk Brothers deliver on piano and Marvin’s gospel roots shine through as he carries the track in what was apparently recorded in a single take.
This is hands-in-the-air dancing music for sure. The energy put forward by everyone involved is a treat. Marvin has incredible passion as a vocalist, and his range within he can produce a great, smooth, crisp sound is impressive to say the least. The song feels so involved, like you’re among the group, hearing him tell this tale, like, “can you believe what happened to me??” It’s a fantastic track among a very special time in modern popular music history.
Marvin would soon go on to have a large number of excellent duets with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, and most famously Tammi Terrell, which I don’t have within my seven, but I want to make mention of because they represent another great era of his music, and happen to be some of the best duets ever in my opinion. And not to mention, later in the 70s, he would even return to record with Diana Ross in a duet of their own, bringing it full circle from the early days with this wonder.
#397/420 - Marvin Gaye, “If I Should Die Tonight”
This is without a doubt one of my top three favorite albums of all time, and they are the top three by a significant margin. I love this album, and this is my favorite song on it. I first obtained this album on vinyl from a record store in Chicago when I was 18. Of course, I knew the song, “Let’s Get It On”, but otherwise I had never heard it previously. I was already into the album What’s Going On, but I sort of dismissed this one based on the title track just being about sex and not having all of the powerful messages behind it present on What’s Going On. I was definitely wrong. This album is about sex, but it’s also about love and relationships and heartbreak and it goes into these topics with the same depth as what Marvin did with political and social topics in What’s Going On. And not only does this album offer that depth, but the flow of the album and music itself are somehow even better. This is a very solid 10/10 from me.
There’s only eight songs here, and one is a reprise of “Let’s Get It On”, but they are all so good and set such a perfect mood and atmosphere, nothing more is needed. It’s very soulful and emotional. I used to play this record at night and look out at the city from my 10th floor apartment, sometimes with company, sometimes alone, but always with the lights down, candles on, and often a nice drink. And it wasn’t just like, here’s sexy time with Marvin Gaye, it was and is just awesome music to sit back and relax with. It’s certainly not antithetical to love, but the words of the songs are not just “Let’s Get It On”, it’s much deeper than that. There are far more emotions on display here.
This song in particular is my favorite because of the emotion behind it. I’ve read that Marvin originally envisioned himself as a ballad singer, more like a Frank Sinatra or Nat King Cole, but he was given more upbeat, soulful songs to sing and that’s what he became famous on. This track was a chance for him to bring out that other side of himself as a vocalist and he is exceptional here, some of his best vocals ever. “Millions never… no, never! And millions never will, sugar. They never will. If I should die tonight…”
The idea of the song is from one person in love to another expressing that even if this moment were their last, their life had meaning because of that other person, and that they are so fortunate for that fact, because so few ever experience such beauty in their lives. Ed Townsend was a great writing partner for Marvin on this album. It is so passionate and such a beautiful sentiment. The sweeping instrumentation behind it is so perfect as well. The strings pull at your heartstrings wonderfully.
While there are still a few songs by Marvin Gaye I appreciate even more, nothing tops this album experience for me. I always buy red winter caps just to copy this album cover, it is such a favorite of mine. Every time I listen, I am newly impressed with how great it is, and this song is the centerpiece of Marvin’s masterpiece in my eyes. Let’s get it on, baby.
#398/420 - Marvin Gaye, “I Want You”
Some of the best songs in recorded music history about desire and lovemaking come from Marvin Gaye. “Let’s Get It On”, “Sexual Healing”, “After the Dance”, “Heavy Love Affair”, the list goes on, but my personal favorite of these is this song from his 1976 album of the same name. Here, Marvin steps into the disco era and the shift in style sounds effortless. The thumping, dropping beat of this song is infectious and Marvin’s vocals sail on top, cutting through the sound waves as smoothly as can be.
The lyrics are also really fantastic. When so many songs about sex and love are demanding of it, this song takes a different approach. “I want you the right way and I want you to want me too.” Marvin’s music had substance to it and whether dealing with politics, war, the environment, or simply gettin’ down in the bedroom, there were always good messages underneath the great music. It’s refreshing to hear music so devoid of malice. If you listen to Marvin Gaye in interviews, he was a very gentle, calm, soft-spoken person, and this control comes across well in his music where he can either push out or hold back the passion to fit the line, the situation, the mood. I really admire and look up to these qualities of his.
When I was younger, I remember seeing the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers with Bill Murray, and there is a scene where Bill Murray’s character is just sitting alone on the couch listening to this song, and the movie just lets it play for quite a long time without anything else really happening, as I recall. I was already a fan of this song when I saw that film and I remember thinking it was awesome. Only a song this good could randomly be inserted like that and carry a scene that had very little to do with what the song is about or the feeling of the song. Really a cool use of the music, and I’d be lying if I said I never just sat there and did the same.
#399/420 - Marvin Gaye, “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)”
This is the first Marvin Gaye song I remember listening to and loving. For some reason, I possessed the second cassette tape of Time Life’s Singers and Songwriters: 1970–1971 in my collection as a kid, and this was my favorite song on it. Written solely by Marvin Gaye, this is truly one of his very best. Everything it has to offer is basically a 10 out of 10. Musically, lyrically, everything is exceptional, and I am very glad to have had music like this is my life to hear as a child.
The percussion is awesome in this song, a rubber mallet on a wooden block being its defining touch, and Marvin plays piano and sings beautifully. It is a cry for our environment and the world we live in and the despair we put it through when we do not care for it. It isn’t overdramatic though, it is sincere. It comes from an honest place in the heart and that comes across very clearly with the way the song is produced and presented. It isn’t a man standing on a platform with a megaphone, it is a man sitting under a tree with his head lowered.
The effect on the “ahh”s at the end is haunting. As a kid and to this day, it always sounded like the personification of nature wailing in its beauty and tragedy.
Although this was a favorite for many years, one of the most memorable and striking memories I have with this song, and this entire album, came as an adult during my first really intense mushroom trip. I decided to listen to this album, and while under the influence of the drug, the music hit me in a way I think you could only even begin to understand if you have experienced the effects of psychedelic mushrooms as well. To attempt to describe it, the music became a part of me and was completely in control of my emotions. This song in particular was one of the most profound and dynamic to hear. The sadness and the hope made me cry and it made me feel very deeply for what it had to say and express. It was really a wonderful way to experience this album in a whole new way, and what a ride.
Of course, even without tapping into other planes of reality, this is a fantastic song. It’s just one so fantastic that there is even more to discover through altered states. A truly multidimensional song if there ever was one, and one so good I even named an episode of my series, “Friday Night Weekly” after it.
#399/420 - Marvin Gaye, “You”
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine” was Marvin’s breakout hit, but this single, released around the same time, is the undisputed king for me from his output in the ‘60s, and among my fluctuating-but-fairly-steady top ten favorite songs of all time. This song is just so good, and it’s the only song I can think of that pulls off stating nothing but the names of letters in its first line, and forming a complete sentence, and having it make sense… “U… U-I-C.” Brilliant!
Marvin kills it on the vocals here, just outstanding. The energy is exceptional, the passion, the delivery, so good! And the back-up singers, tremendous, and none other than Gladys Knight and the Pips! Did Marvin Gaye ever have some of the best vocalists backing him up in the 60s (before he just started providing his own back-up vocals)? Complete the trifecta with The Funk Brothers and you combine to have one amazing musical performance. The instrumentation is heavy, lively, and electric in its execution. It is just so fun simply to hear it.
The lyrics are very well done too, and Marvin just sails along through them, gliding up and down. The repetition of “you” throughout the song and the way it is emphasized whenever it comes up is infectious, such a groove, and fittingly appeared on his album, In the Groove, which was later retitled to I Heard It Through the Grapevine after its success as a single.
This song is just good music. A team of excellent writers and musicians came together to make an amazing track and I think its only Achilles heel is simply that its title is so plain, it is hard to search for or find without already knowing to look for it. Lots of Marvin’s songs have the word “you” in the title that were bigger hits and this one tends to get buried beneath them. But trust me when I say, it is worth digging for, because this song is truly one of his best!
I need you, baby. (I need you, babe!)
★★★★★/5
#399/420 - Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going On”
Although it is hard to pick only one, if I had to, I would consider this to be my favorite song. So, of course, it is also my favorite song by Marvin Gaye. This is a beautiful song and it is simultaneously one of the coolest, chillest, grooviest, hippest, happenin’est songs ever made. This song is a party, but it is a deep, thoughtful party, asking some of the most important questions of our time—my kind of party. Marvin addresses these questions from child to parent and sibling to sibling, framing us all as a single family.
You see, war is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate.
One of the greatest shames of humanity is war, especially unjust wars. They were a problem in 1970 and they are a problem 40 years later. To put it simply, “what’s going on?” The questions stack up from there, but the initial question posed is broad enough to cover the spectrum. What the hell is going on? What are we doing? What’s happening? Where are we going? Some of these became the titles of his other songs. It touches on brutality and judgment against those who protest war. It makes a call for love. It’s a message that will never not be relevant, even if the style and language is of the era it was written in.
On that note, I love the chatter and atmosphere throughout the track and its use of casual language. “Hey.” “Hey, what’s happening?” “Brother, what’s up?” “Yeah, this is a groovy party, man. I can dig it.” “Yeah, brother, like, solid. Right on.” And then the saxophone sweeps in with the bass line. The music to this song is just awesome. The way it builds and swells and fills with emotion as it goes. It’s just the best. And Marvin Gaye’s vocals and scatting, dancing throughout the track are pulled off so well. It is really a treasure of a song.
Over the years, I have played this song hundreds of times and there are so many layers to it that I still discover new things to like about it even today. Amid so many fantastic songs that have been put into the world over the decades, it is one that shines among the brightest of them all.
Marvin Gaye was a truly gifted musician in so many ways. He had a wonderful heart and so much soul and passion to his art. He has written some of my favorite songs of all time and performed on even more. He’s influenced so many great musicians and music styles and even the person he was and the way he carried himself remain imitable qualities. Hearing his music or finding someone else who else who enjoys it is an immediate connection for me. Many of his songs bring an immediate smile to my face or take me back to a variety of times and places where I enjoyed this music either alone or with others. It is a great tragedy he was lost to this world by his own father. If only things would have been different. But though his life was taken before my time on this Earth, Marvin Gaye is still one of my absolute favorites and it is always a joy, pleasure, and privilege to share and appreciate the music and messages he left behind.
Only three weeks remain now, and next week, it’s a behemoth. My favorite currently active group is a favorite I know is shared by many. I have been lucky enough to see them live and they justifiably fill entire arenas night after night. It’s an easy band to connect with others over. They are daring, technical, and smart with their music, and I can think of no other modern band with such an incredible string of A quality albums throughout their now three decade long career, so many so that there is no consensus at all among fans of which is even their best. Nonetheless, I have my favorites and I look forward to sharing one of the most impressive bands I know, Radiohead.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Week 2: The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
Week 3: A Tribe Called Quest
Week 4: Weezer
Week 5: Bob Dylan
Week 6: Led Zeppelin
Week 7: 2Pac/Makaveli
Week 8: Billy Joel
Week 9: Electric Light Orchestra
Week 10: Elvis Presley
Week 11: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
Week 12: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Week 13: Nirvana
Week 14: The Doors
Week 15: The Rolling Stones
Week 16: Gnarls Barkley
Week 17: Gábor Szabó
Week 18: Galaxie 500
Week 19: Simon & Garfunkel
Week 20: Gorillaz
Week 21: Ennio Morricone
Week 22: The Moody Blues
Week 23: Koji Kondo
Week 24: Rob Zombie/White Zombie
Week 25: Paul McCartney/Wings
Week 26: George Harrison
Week 27: Phil Spector
Week 28: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Week 29: Public Enemy
Week 30: The Love Language
Week 31: Barry White
Week 32: Frank Sinatra
Week 33: David Bowie
Week 34: Queen
Week 35: The Offspring
Week 36: Louis Prima
Week 37: The Notorious B.I.G.
Week 38: Nancy Sinatra
Week 39: Stevie Wonder
Week 40: Roger Miller
Week 41: Röyksopp
Week 42: N.W.A
Week 43: Sly and the Family Stone
Week 44: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
Week 45: Supertramp
Week 46: "Weird Al" Yankovic
Week 47: The Kinks
Week 48: Eminem
Week 49: Mort Garson
Week 50: Foster the People
Week 51: Pink Floyd
Week 52: David Wise
Week 53: Sam Cooke
Week 54: Wu-Tang Clan
Week 55: The Beach Boys
Week 56: The Flaming Lips
View the full list of "420 Songs" here: https://tinyurl.com/y8fboudu (Google spreadsheet link)