After further studying the musical background of Marvin Gaye prior to the recording of “What’s Going On”, He gave off the image of being a ladies man. All of the women wanted him because of who he was and because of the type of music/songs that he created. Before releasing the “What’s Going On” Record, He went to Berry Gordon with excitement, which Berry was afraid that Marvin was headed for destruction, he said to Marvin (as stated in Part One of What’s Going On by Ben Edmonds, “'Marvin, why do you want to ruin your career? Why do you want to put out a song about the Vietnam War, police brutality and all of these things? You've got all these great love songs. You're the hottest artist, the sex symbol of the '60s and '70s...' "(http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/dec/08/extract)”. With the two classics under his belt, Grapevine and Baby I’m For Real, he was merely ready to add a third one also…as so he did. It wasn’t until Marvin’s brother, Frankie, came home from a three year tour in the Vietnam War, the Race Riots in San Francisco and Detroit, and the way Marvin felt about it all, which then inspired him to write and contribute to getting the message out to the world; “"He said, 'Damn, Frankie, what can I do?' I let him know that he could fight in so many other ways, especially through his music...” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/dec/08/extract). Once Berry Gordy refused to release Marvin’s heartfelt classic, Marvin went through many obstacles in his life with his finances and still having those assets attached. He literally stopped creating/releasing music, but for a purpose. “…Berry Gordy refused to release What's Going On, reportedly calling it "the worst thing I've ever heard in my life".
“Marvin immediately issued an ultimatum of his own: until Berry Gordy and his Quality Control cabal came to their senses and released What's Going On, the singer would record nothing more for the company”( http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/dec/08/extract).
What set Marvin’s “What’s Going On” apart from the other soul recordings and Motown records back in his era were the guts he possessed to speak out on such circumstances and his well-known vocal production technique, which was merely created by accident. “And the record's most imitated stylistic feature, Marvin's multi-layered lead vocal, was not part of the original blueprint. “That double lead voice was a mistake on my part," admits engineer Ken Sands” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/dec/08/extract). As a musicologist and as a listener, Marvin Gaye has proved to me that you should always stand for what you believe in, and the message is far more important than just selling records – it’s about changing lives. Marvin Gaye is by far the most influential R&B/Pop artist in my book!
