Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye (Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr.) (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an African American pop, soul and R&B singer who gained international fame during the 1960s and 1970s as an artist on the Motown label. His best records are still highly regarded, and he is often cited as one of the finest singers of his era. Along with Stevie Wonder, Gaye is notable for fighting the hitmaking but creatively restrictive Motown record-making process, in which performers and songwriters/record producers were generally kept in separate camps [1] (#wp-endnote_GayeMotown). Gaye forced Motown to release his 1971 album What's Going On, which is today hailed as one of the best soul albums of all time. Subsequent releases proved that Gaye, who had been a part-time songwriter for Motown artists during his early years with the label, could write and produce his own singles without having to rely on the Motown system. This achievement would pave the way for the successes of later self-sufficient singer-songwriter-producers in African American music, such as Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Babyface, and R. Kelly.