It’s perhaps the more bittersweet soulful moments of Spring. Perhaps the most everlastingly cruel April Fools Joke. A Day before his 45th Birthday, the complex relationship between Marvin Gaye Jr. and Sr. was cemented forever with a fatal shot.
What Marvin Gaye left us with was a nearly 25 year long catalog of work as the crowned prince of Soul Music. Always trying to center love and affection and the connection to the spiritual he sorely sought from the world in his music, he left us with a catalog of work as an independent star, a group member, and the most ideal duet partner for 5 leading ladies at Motown.
Interesting that this rather ghostly, ethereal piece of decade blurring unreleased post-doo-wop prayer came from the minds of his first wife, Anna Gordy and his Brother-in-Law George. Taken up again and dropped repeatedly between 1969 and 1971, there’s a bit of torture, a bit of hope out of reach, an aching reach for perfection that’ll never be to this song. That probably explains partially why it didn’t see release when it was finally completed in February of 1971. Plus, Marvin himself, on so many levels, had moved on, to What’s Going On? To other, less devotedly perfect depictions of love. However, this devotional snapshot riddled with angst is one of my favorite Marvin Gaye Performances.
Happy Birthday Marvin Gaye.
DJ Larsupreme 