Photo: Photograph by Jim Britt, whose other (copyrighted) photos of Gaye from the same session—many of them in full color—can be seen at his website. Originally distributed by Motown Records. / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Marvin Gaye sits at the very top of my personal pantheon because he made beauty and conscience inseparable. Plenty of singers had voices as silky; almost none risked their commercial kingdom the way he did with What's Going On, turning Motown's hit machine toward war, ecology, and inner-city grief. Every time I revisit that record I hear a man arguing with his label, his church upbringing, and himself, and winning. His death, one day short of his forty-fifth birthday, still feels like an open wound in popular music. The Hall of Fame plaques are deserved, but his real monument is how every modern soul singer phrases around his ghost.
Overview
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (né Gay; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Commonly referred to as the "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul", he helped to shape the sound of Motown and soul music in the 1960s and 1970s. A cultural icon, Gaye is often considered one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Marvin Gaye
- Name (Japanese)
- マーヴィン・ゲイ
- Reading
- まーゔぃん・げい
- Born
- April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Rabbit
- Origin
- Washington, D.C., United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- singer / singer-songwriter / pianist / songwriter / soul musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Randall Junior High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1996 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
- 1987 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Singer — see all → · Singer-songwriter — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.