“The police was beating on the kids, but they wasn’t bothering anybody. 7 Gross Things About Someone Going Down On You. He put himself in his brother's shoes and wrote a song that stands among the most tuneful works of consciousness-raising in American music. I said 'no man, it's a love song, about love and understanding. The singer responded to Terrell's death by refusing to perform onstage for several years. The style is loose, funky and cavalier. Right on, baby Right on Right on. It eventually sold over two million copies, becoming then the fastest-selling Motown single ever. It was the title track of his album What's Going On?, released in May 1971. [21]. During this secluded period, Gaye ditched his previous clean-cut image to grow a beard, and prefer to wear sweatsuits instead of dress suits and sweaters.[5]. Learn more about Where the Wild Things Are. [16] To ease Gordy's worries, Gaye and the album's engineers entered The Sound Factory in West Hollywood in early May, integrating the orchestra somewhat closer with the rhythm tracks, while Gaye used different vocal tracks and added extra instrumentation. That's taking things too far.". 4 Non Blondes – Whats Going On Lyrics. Bloomberg delivers business and markets news, data, analysis, and video to the world, featuring stories from Businessweek and Bloomberg News on everything pertaining to technology Musician Elgie Stover, who was later a caterer for Bill Clinton, was the man who opened the song's track with the words, 'hey, man, what's happening?' [10] Jamerson was pulled into the recording studio by Gaye after he located Jamerson playing with a local band at a blues bar and Eli Fontaine, the saxophonist behind "Baby, I'm For Real", also participated in the recording. One question led to another. What's going on? While traveling on his tour bus with the Four Tops on May 15, 1969, Four Tops member Renaldo "Obie" Benson witnessed an act of police brutality and violence committed on anti-war protesters who had been protesting at Berkeley's People's Park in what was later termed as "Bloody Thursday". When Gaye heard the playback to what Fontaine thought was simply a demo, Gaye instantly decided that the riff was the ideal way to start the song. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBowman2006 (, Recording Industry Association of America, Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies, List of number-one R&B albums of 1971 (U.S.). In 2001, a "Deluxe Edition" 2-CD version of the album was released by Motown, which included the original LP as released, the discarded "Detroit Mix" of the album, and the mono 45 rpm mixes of the singles. What's up 25 years and I'm alive here still Trying to get up that great big hill of hope For a destination I realized quickly when I knew I should That the world was made up of this Brotherhood of man For whatever that means And so I cry somethimes when I'm lying in bed Just to get it all out what's in my head And I'm, I am feeling a little peculiar So I wake in the … Marvin Gaye's protest anthem 'What's Going On' was a powerful and groundbreaking song at the time of its release in 1971, but fast forward nearly 50 years later and it is sadly still just as relevant for the world in 2020. But I can do it with music."[13]. If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? Motown conductor David Van De Pitte said that Jamerson "always kept a bottle of [the Greek spirit] Metaxa in his bass case. - as told by, The Story of... 'Merry Christmas Everyone' by Shakin, The Story of... 'All I Want for Christmas is You' by, The Story of... 'The Power of Love' by Frankie Goes to, The Story of... 'Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy' by, Adam Lambert's self-recorded video of 'Please Come Home, When Luther Vandross flawlessly sang 'Have Yourself a, Merry Little Christmas' on 1995 TV special, Celebrity deaths in 2020: Paying tribute to the stars, Tom Jones singing ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’ as Ella, Download 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' on iTunes, Read more: The 25 greatest Motown songs, ranked. Mother, mother Everybody thinks we're wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us … Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Greatest Hits, Motown Remembers Marvin Gaye: Never Before Released Masters, The Real Thing: In Performance (1964–1981), If I Could Build My Whole World Around You, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=What%27s_Going_On_(Marvin_Gaye_album)&oldid=995447902, United States National Recording Registry recordings, Psychedelic music albums by American artists, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017, Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Best Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time, The World Critics Best Albums of All Time, The 40 Most Influential Records of the 20th Century, All Times Top 100 Albums + Top 50 by Decade, The Guide to the 100 Important Rock Albums, The 100 Best Pop and Rock Albums of All Time, The World's 100 Best Albums + 300 Complements, The 50 Best Albums of All Time + Top 10 by Decade, 299 Nominations of the Best Album of All Time, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (Reprise)", "What's Going On" (Original Rejected Single Mix), "I Love the Ground You Walk On" (Instrumental), "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (Mono Single Version), "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (Mono Single Version), "Running from Love" (Version 2 with Strings), "What's Happening Brother" (Detroit Mix) – 2:43, "Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky)" (Detroit Mix) – 3:49, "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (Detroit Mix) – 3:08, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (Detroit Mix) – 5:46, Edouard Kesner, Meyer Shapiro, David Ireland, Nathan Gordon – violas, Italo Babini, Thaddeus Markiewicz, Edward Korkigan – cellos, Earl DeRouen – bongos and congas "Right On", This page was last edited on 21 December 2020, at 02:28. That September, Gaye approached Gordy with the "What's Going On" song while in California where Gordy had relocated. The album had a modest commercial reception in countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom; "Save the Children" reached number 41 on the latter country's singles chart, while the album reached number 56 twenty-five years after its original release. When Gordy heard the song, he turned down Gaye's request to release it, telling Gaye he felt it was "the worst thing I ever heard in my life". "[8][9] Returning to Detroit, Motown songwriter Al Cleveland wrote and composed a song based on his conversations with Benson of what he had seen in Berkeley. Benson sent the song to the Four Tops but his band mates turned the song down. [12] At one point, Marvin sat propped up in a bed with his hands in his face. When Fontaine protested that he was just "goofing around", Gaye replied: "you goof off exquisitely, thank you.". I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone. "[10][9] During this time, Gaye had been deeply affected by letters shared between him and his brother after he had returned from service in the Vietnam War over the treatment of Vietnam veterans. It was the city's worst unrest until the Rodney King riots of 1992. Gaye's introspective lyrics explore themes of drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War. Released on May 21, 1971, What's Going On became Gaye's first album to reach the Billboard Top LPs top ten, peaking at number six, and staying on the chart for over a year, selling over two million copies, within twelve months after its release, becoming Motown's and Gaye's best-selling album to that date until he released Let's Get It On in 1973. You really should be pretty comfy with science if you're going to read this without feeling overwhelmed. 17 Comments. It's hard to think of anything that feels better than another person's tongue on your body. Returning to Gaye's home outside Outer Drive, Benson played the song to Gaye on his guitar. This song was written by the former Motown producers Freddie Perren and … "[23] Richie Unterberger found the album somewhat overrated, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock (2003) that much of its "meandering introspection" paled in comparison to its three singles. Why are they attacking their own kids in the street? Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [and] the rewired blues of Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. On July 22, 2013. I took that as an omen that things were going to work out for me. I realized that I had to put my own fantasies behind me if I wanted to write songs that would reach the souls of people. I just have to do it my way. Marvin Gaye in 1970. But her chihuahua still shows his owner’s continuing love for baked goods — going by the name Cookie. The album's rhythm tracks and sound overdubs were recorded at Hitsville, or Studio A, while the strings, horns, lead and background vocals were recorded at Golden World, or Studio B. First Who, Then What—get the right people on the bus—is a concept developed in the book Good to Great. Exclusive. "[11] One night, he called Berry Gordy about doing a protest record, to which Gordy chastised him, "Marvin, don't be ridiculous. This led to internal tensions among U.S. bishops about how to handle the matter of Holy Communion for Catholic public officials who publicly and persistently diverge from Catholic teaching on issues like … "Wholy Holy" follows "God Is Love" as an emotional gospel plea advising people to "come together" to "proclaim love [as our] salvation". It also became Gaye's second number-one album on Billboard's Soul LPs chart, where it stayed for nine weeks as well as staying inside the Billboard Soul LPs chart for a record breaking 58 weeks throughout 1971 and 1972. "[3][4][2] In March of 1970, Gaye's singing partner Terrell died of a brain tumor. In 1994, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in the United States for sales of half a million copies after it was issued on CD. But if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much easier to change direction: “Hey, I got on this bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me.” Second, if you have … I'm going to be a songwriter. You're not. "[19], With the help of Motown sales executive Barney Ales, Harry Balk got the song released to record stores on January 20, 1971, sending 100,000 copies of the song without Gordy's knowledge, with another 100,000 copies sent after that success. In the Groove/I Heard It Through the Grapevine! Once Gaye heard Fontaine's riff, he told Fontaine to go home. In 1970, Benson gave the untitled song to Marvin Gaye, who added a new melody and changed the song and added his own lyrics. [5] However, his pursuit of a tryout was stopped after the owner of the team advised him that any future injury would derail his career. Writing for Rolling Stone in 1971, Vince Aletti praised Gaye's thematic approach towards social and political concerns, while discussing the surprise of Motown releasing such an album. Ooh, ooh ooh And I try, oh my God, do I try I try all the time in this institution And I pray, oh my God, do I pray I pray every single day for a revolution And so I cry sometimes When I'm lying in bed Just to get it all out What's … Some folks don’t like to hear why it should be a “given” that a team like the 0-13 New York Jets will lose to the 9-4 Los Angeles Rams. Oct. 26, 2015. CRAVE TART! The F.D.A. [2], Gaye started to experience more international success around this time as both a solo artist with hits such as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and as a dual artist with Tammi Terrell, but Gaye said during this time that he felt he "didn't deserve" his success and he felt like "a puppet - Berry's puppet, Anna's puppet. [41] In 1998 Q magazine readers placed it at number 97, while in 2001 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 4. Reviewer Eric Henderson of Slant stated the song had an "understandably mournful tone" in response to the fallout of the late 1960s counterculture movements. What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. The song had strong jazz, gospel, classical music orchestration, and arrangements. And I say: HEY! "I said 'no man, it's a love song, about love and understanding. Upset by the incident, Benson told author Ben Edmonds the he asked, 'What is happening here?'. When Gordy listened to the mix, he worried that no other hit single would emerge from it. The entire album's stylistic use of a song cycle gave it a cohesive feel and was one of R&B's first concept albums, described as "a groundbreaking experiment in collating a pseudo-classical suite of free-flowing songs. "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" was another emotional plea, this time for the environment. In 2001, a deluxe edition of the album was released, featuring a recording of Gaye's May 1972 concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Broad-ranging surveys of critics, musicians, and the general public have shown that What's Going On is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time and a landmark recording in popular music. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (Album Version)Couldn't find this anywhere on here, thought I'd do this a little justice. The song was released on January 21st, 1971 as the first single from Gaye’s eleventh studio album of the same name (“ What’s Going On “). Marvin Gaye’s classic ‘What’s going on?’. [5] Around the spring of 1970, Gaye also began seriously pursuing a career in football with the professional football team the Detroit Lions of the NFL, even working out with the Eastern Michigan Eagles football team. I'm not protesting. During phone conversations with Motown boss Berry Gordy, who was on holiday in the Bahamas at the time, Gaye told Gordy that he wanted to record a protest album, to which Gordy said: "Marvin, don't be ridiculous. Wife Annie Jamerson later said that when he returned home that night, he declared that the song was a "masterpiece". "[32] Billboard described the record as "a cross between Curtis Mayfield and that old Motown spell and outdoes anything Gaye's ever done". [36], A remastered deluxe edition with 28 additional tracks was released on May 31, 2011, to similar acclaim. [13] Afterwards, Gaye told his brother, "I didn't know how to fight before, but now I think I do. [24], According to Paul Gambaccini, Gaye's death in 1984 prompted a critical re-evaluation of the album, and most reviewers have since regarded it as an important masterpiece of popular music. I think that … What's Going On was ranked number 6 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, one of three Gaye albums to be included, succeeded by 1973's Let's Get It On (number 165) and 1978's Here, My Dear (number 462). Decades later, the FBI told Congress in 1986 that “[t]he American media is sophisticated, and generally recognizes Soviet influence attempts.” But today, the media environment is considerably different, and the internet and social … Writing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), he deemed it both a "groundbreaking personal statement" and a Berry Gordy product, baited by three highly original singles but marred elsewhere by indistinct music and indulgent use of David Van De Pitte's strings, which Christgau called "the lowest kind of movie-background dreck". [10] As a result, Gaye angrily responded to Gordy's alleged putdown by going on strike until Gordy changed his mind. [8] Benson said, "My partners told me it was a protest song. I want to know what's going on. Gaye's lyrics explore themes of racism, drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War. "My partners told me it was a protest song", Benson said. Complete GENIUS. yeah yeaaah, HEY yeah yea I said hey, what's going on? I'm not a poet. [5][6][7] Gaye would befriend three of the Lions teammates, Mel Farr, Charlie Sanders and Lem Barney, as well as then Detroit Pistons star Dave Bing. Benson later said Gaye "added some things that were more ghetto, more natural, which made it seem like a story than a song... we measured him for the suit and he tailored the hell out of it.". What's Going On is a concept album with most of its songs segueing into the next and has been categorized as a song cycle; the album ends with a reprise of the album's opening theme. On the main Billboard Hot 100, it reached number two. The laid-back sessions of the single were credited to lots of "marijuana smoke and rounds of Scotch". Guess I seriously underestimated him. One question led to another. R eaders may recall that during the 2004 presidential campaign, Sen. John Kerry led the Democratic ticket. In a revised 2020 list, this time voted on by musicians instead of music critics, the album moved up to the top spot, replacing The Beatles' Sgt. [15] Fontaine's open alto saxophone riff on the song was not originally intended. [33] In MusicHound R&B (1998), Gary Graff said What's Going On was "not just a great Gaye album but is one of the great pop albums of all time",[25] and Rolling Stone later credited the album for having "revolutionized black music". and 'everything is everything'. I was very much affected by letters my brother was sending me from Vietnam, as well as the social situation here at home. While there, Benson witnessed police brutality and violence in the city's People's Park during a protest held by anti-war activists, in what was described later as 'Bloody Thursday'. Gaye also provided piano and keyboards, and also played a box drum to help alongside Chet Forest's drumming. The style is … It looks like the same voting system used in Michigan that caused the almost 6,000 Republican votes to go from President Donald Trump to Democratic candidate Joe Biden are causing trouble in Georgia. Anushka Sharma shared a post on her Instagram profile and she wrote: "A prolific cast, a fantastic crew and the most innovative team of writers and creators. Celebrity. Furthermore, the album was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 300,000 albums. The opening saxophone line, by musician Eli Fontaine, was not originally intended for the song. A truncated version of "God Is Love" follows "Save the Children" and makes references to God. The album was an immediate commercial and critical success, eventually being regarded as a classic of 1970s soul. Gaye added new musical composition, a new melody and lyrics that reflected Gaye's own disgust. Learn more about Where the Wild Things Are. There are very few performers who could carry a project like this off. '"[8][9], Benson offered the song to Marvin Gaye when he participated in a golf game with the singer. goodbonez BLM song written and performed by Naima Nascimento age 10. The central theme of "What's Going On" and the album of the same name came from Marvin Gaye 's own life. Scientists have families too! Here's the history of one of the most important songs of the 20th century: The song was co-written by Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye, and produced by Gaye himself. I've always admired Marvin Gaye, but I didn't expect that he would be one of them. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. There are a billion books out there for the pregnant masses, it's so nice to read something more advanced. The opening 30 seconds of the album's first track, which feature layered vocals, horns, and polyrhythm. "[20], The Absolute Sound described the album as “a brilliant psychedelic soul song-cycle. In January 1970, Motown released Gaye's next studio album, That's the Way Love Is, but Gaye refused to promote the recording, choosing to stay at home.