Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye, the Prince of Motown who broke away from the factory

From a Washington church household to What's Going On and Sexual Healing: Marvin Gaye reshaped soul and then took control of his own records.

Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. was born in Washington, D.C., in April 1939, the son of church minister Marvin Gay Sr. and domestic worker Alberta Gay. Harvey Fuqua guided his early career and put him in the group Harvey and the Moonglows, before Gaye began a solo career at the start of the 1960s. He signed with Motown's Tamla subsidiary and came to be called the “Prince of Motown” and the “Prince of Soul”.

The singles that followed made him a star: “How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)”, “Ain't That Peculiar” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”. His early work also drew on the Vandellas, who sang backing on his first hits, among them “Stubborn Kind of Fellow”, “Hitch Hike” and “Pride and Joy”. Duets became a second strength, with Diana Ross and above all Tammi Terrell, with whom he recorded “Ain't No Mountain High Enough” and “You're All I Need to Get By”.

The turning point was 1971. His landmark album What's Going On and its title song made Gaye one of the first Motown artists to break away from the reins of a production company, and he went on to produce Let's Get It On, I Want You and Here, My Dear himself. These 1970s recordings later influenced the R&B subgenres known as quiet storm and neo soul.

That same year he came back with “Sexual Healing” and the album Midnight Love, his most successful single and album to date, and in 1983 he gave a memorable rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the NBA All-Star Game. The song earned him an American Music Award and two Grammy Awards. On 1 April 1984, the day before his 45th birthday, he was shot and killed by his father at his parents' house in Los Angeles.