Marvin Gaye’s music prior to What’s Going On seems best separated into the difference between wants and needs.  Sometimes the two intersect, but it’s hard to tell by appearance where Marvin is doing his own thing or toeing the Motown line with a smile.  By many accounts he wasn’t happy with the Motown formula (Edmonds, 2001) and was feeling stifled from his jazz preferences and affinity for Nat King Cole songs.  Listening to Save the Children, Nat King Cole’s singing style comes through.

Renaldo “Obie” Benson of the Four Tops, aided by lyricist Al Cleveland began the original shape of what became What’s Going On in 1969.  When the Four Tops shied from the song as a protest song, Benson began looking for another outlet.  Benson presented the song to Gaye and they played it together.  After Gaye made the song his own by adding lyrics, making minor changes to the melody, and turning it into a more visual story, Benson said, “We measured him for the suit and he tailored the hell out of it.” (Edmonds, 2001)

Marvin Gaye’s image changed dramatically during and after his production of What’s Going On. In video footage of his performance prior to What’s Going On he is seen in a suit, surrounded by neatly clad “go-go girls” while he croons about the pains and joys of love. (watchmojo, 2012)

Responding to the accounts he hears from his brother about the war in Viet Nam and the social upheaval of the late ‘60s, Gaye consciously begins to change his image.

To further disassociate himself from the tidy Motown niche labelled Marvin Gaye, the singer drastically altered his appearance. Like John Lennon and Jim Morrison, he grew a beard and dispensed with image-conscious fashion in favour of funkier attire. When people looked at Gaye, he wanted them to see someone they’d never seen before.

(Edmonds, 2001)

Whether directly or indirectly apparent (by listening without analyzing), much of the social turmoil made it into What’s Going On.  Events such as the assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy, race riots and police brutality in Watts, Detroit, Chicago, and at Kent State were all represented in some way.

It seems Marvin Gaye dragged Berry Gordy and Motown, kicking and screaming, out of the malt shop and into social awareness.  It’s not that any person alive at the time couldn’t see the news of everything going on…perhaps they just needed to pull the flamingo’s head out of the Las Vegas sand.

Getting What’s Going On released faced obstacles, which took Marvin Gaye considerable time to overcome.  So much time Marvin was able to beef himself up to 200 pounds in an attempt to join the Detroit Lions.

What’s Going On was completely and purposefully foreign to the Motown formula. It wasn’t just different; it flew in the face of Motown Quality Control.  Berry Gordy didn’t like it.  He reportedly called What’s Going On, “…the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life.” (Edmonds, 2001)

Perhaps Gordy’s true feelings were influenced by personal feelings as much as professional opinion.  Marvin Gaye was married to Berry Gordy’s sister and this sometimes slanted the professional relationship.  Gordy’s business judgment must also have been screaming in his ear to keep his business as far from politically charged subjects as possible.  The subject matter and lyrics of What’s Going On characteristically set it apart from the standard Motown repertoire.

Recording What’s Going On was complicated by its departure from the Motown formula.  Because Marvin wanted it to be different he systematically worked on replacing each Motown style trait with something characteristically new.

Van DePitte says that Gaye wanted to stay away from anything resembling a standard Motown beat. The arranger brought in veteran big band drummer Chet Forest, augmented by a phalanx of percussionists: Jack Ashford on tambourine, Eddie Brown on bongos and congas, Earl Derouen on congas and Jack Brokensha on vibes and assorted percussive toys.

(Edmonds, 2001)

As a listener, I am always impressed when someone with the ability to influence others takes the time to craft a statement artfully.  To question authority or the status quo in a manner that initiates awareness and makes a call to action is an art in itself.  Doing so without telling others what we think they should do takes great forethought and restraint.

As an industry professional, I admire the full process Marvin Gaye went through in reaching the decision to see What’s Going On through to release.  Not only did he have to change his place in the world by deciding to take on the banner of awareness, but he also had to risk his own career and living to hold out for something in which he believed.