Monday, August 15, 2011
Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On"
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr was originally a starting member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows. His four octave vocal range was one of a kind in the late 1950s. Songs like "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"(which he refused to take credit for) gained his position as "The King Of Motown" and "Prince of Soul". Soon, this fame would gain recognition of one of the most prolific producers, Berry Gordy, whom signed him to Motown Records. Once apart of the Motown family, Gaye and their producers clashed on his musical direction. Marvin Gaye wanted to go in more of a jazz route, while Motown wanted him to stay more on a rhythm and blues direction. He also became a sessions drummers for such bands as The Miracles.
The lyrical content on Gaye's "What's Going On" was misinterpreted by a lot of his listeners. Many consumers thought that it was an anti-war song, however, Marvin's intent was to question the state of society in general. Barry Gordy feared that this "protest" song would ruin his sex symbol imagine. The Four Tops, the originators of the song, did not mean for this to be a song of protest, but yet a love song about understanding. They actually wanted to know "what's going on?". Marvin's spiritual, yet rebellious demeanor was the perfect catch for this song. His voice added the spice that this composition needed. Marvin would watch the riots going on in Detroit at the time and become inspired. He was also inspired by the Martin Luther King, Jr and Bobby Kennedy deaths. The moon landing was also another factor that helped Gaye gain inspiration. Stories of the Kent State University helped fuel the song with lines like "Picket lines and picket signs/Don't punish me with brutality". What was going on?
As the record was being put out, Marvin Gaye suffered the horrible death of Tammi Terrell due to a brain tumor. After her death, Gaye promised her dead body that he would never sing a duet nor would he ever perform on stage again. As soon as Barry Gordy heard the record and claimed that it "was the worst record I have ever heard". Through many fights with Gordy, Gaye was able to release his record on his own terms. Despite his "sex symbol" image, Marvin Gaye grew a beard and wanted to make sure that he gave the people something they had never heard before.
Compared to other Motown artists, Marvin Gaye had the courage to be himself. When Motown wanted rhythm and blues, Gaye gave them soul and jazz. They were singing their hit songs while Gaye sang along to Nat King Cole. The instrumentation was far different from other Motown artists as well. The use of chatter between two football players and first-try horns were ahead of the Motown era's time. The percussions gave the song an unusual feeling and the multilayered vocals added to Marvin Gaye's sound.
The sound of "What's Going On" left an everlasting impression on me since the first time I heard the song. The sincere vocals coupled with the amazing rhythm section helped create a feeling of sorrow and the need to assist the helpless. His vocal improvisations are very rare to that of a Motown artist, which makes him unique in his own genre.
The lyrical content on Gaye's "What's Going On" was misinterpreted by a lot of his listeners. Many consumers thought that it was an anti-war song, however, Marvin's intent was to question the state of society in general. Barry Gordy feared that this "protest" song would ruin his sex symbol imagine. The Four Tops, the originators of the song, did not mean for this to be a song of protest, but yet a love song about understanding. They actually wanted to know "what's going on?". Marvin's spiritual, yet rebellious demeanor was the perfect catch for this song. His voice added the spice that this composition needed. Marvin would watch the riots going on in Detroit at the time and become inspired. He was also inspired by the Martin Luther King, Jr and Bobby Kennedy deaths. The moon landing was also another factor that helped Gaye gain inspiration. Stories of the Kent State University helped fuel the song with lines like "Picket lines and picket signs/Don't punish me with brutality". What was going on?As the record was being put out, Marvin Gaye suffered the horrible death of Tammi Terrell due to a brain tumor. After her death, Gaye promised her dead body that he would never sing a duet nor would he ever perform on stage again. As soon as Barry Gordy heard the record and claimed that it "was the worst record I have ever heard". Through many fights with Gordy, Gaye was able to release his record on his own terms. Despite his "sex symbol" image, Marvin Gaye grew a beard and wanted to make sure that he gave the people something they had never heard before.
Compared to other Motown artists, Marvin Gaye had the courage to be himself. When Motown wanted rhythm and blues, Gaye gave them soul and jazz. They were singing their hit songs while Gaye sang along to Nat King Cole. The instrumentation was far different from other Motown artists as well. The use of chatter between two football players and first-try horns were ahead of the Motown era's time. The percussions gave the song an unusual feeling and the multilayered vocals added to Marvin Gaye's sound.
The sound of "What's Going On" left an everlasting impression on me since the first time I heard the song. The sincere vocals coupled with the amazing rhythm section helped create a feeling of sorrow and the need to assist the helpless. His vocal improvisations are very rare to that of a Motown artist, which makes him unique in his own genre.
Society was undergoing many dramatic changes during the time of the 1960s- the 1970s. On the cusp of the music scene, consumers were shifting towards a rock sound that had become engulfed by a punk image. Wearing leather jackets while acting socially unacceptable on and off the stage, the Velvet Underground & Nico were at the head of this movement. This revolutionary band was composed of Lou Reed (singer/songwriter), John Cale (bassist), Sterling Morrison (guitarist), Maureen Tucker (drummer), and Nico (vocalist) stood out in more than one way. Their image was far more disconsolate that many of the jam and pop bands surrounding the music scene of the sixties and seventies. The type of music that they showcased was not too far from their image, as they created a sound together that can only be described as raw. Part of the reason their industrial sound got so popular so quickly was due to the support provided to them via Andy Warhol. For those who don't know, Andy Warhol was an imaginative, surreal, artistic master who created pieces such as "Campell's Soup" which is still celebrated to this day! He also had a passion for progressive music, which as I stated earlier, was an edgy hard, rock-at this time. Noticing the talent that the Velvet Underground & Nico harbored, Andy Warhol took them in and became their not only mentor but also their sole producer. Andy Warhol aided in the success of the Velvet Underground & Nico via pushing them to think out of the box and supporting their extraverted nature.
At this time, this was called revolutionary because the Velvet Underground & Nico came out in 1963. The beginning of the sixties was a time of a poppy, innocent sound including renowned bands such as the Beach Boys and the Supremes. The Velvet Underground broke out of this conformity and instead of singing songs such as "Build Me Up Buttercup" they preformed hit singles specifically including the notable "Heroin" and "White Light". In this sense, they broke boundaries for both famous and non-famous musicians showing that expression is not meant to have limits and that these people should not be afraid to test the waters of fame. Due to the "abnormal sound" of the Velvet Underground & Nico, their breakthrough was not initially respected or even noticed. This was probably due to the musician’s style of playing, innovating, and creating.
Lou Reed formed lyrics in a way that was far more explicit and dissident than the standard lyric of the 1960's. To cite a specific example within the aforementioned song "White Light/ White Heat": "Watch that speed freak, watch that speed freak everybody gonna go and make it every week Hmm hmm, White heat, Aww sputter mutter everybody gonna go kill their mother" these were lyrics that naturally took a while to become socially accepted. But, with the help of Andy Warhol's fame and production know-how coupled with the Velvet Underground & Nico's instrumentation talent, the band had no problem within due time becoming widespread.
For the reason that the Velvet Underground takes risks, I respect them as one of my favorite bands. The stood as nothing ready to take on a revolution that made them a historical something. Any band that can do this leaves an imprint within my top influences.
Peer Comment
Steve McKinnon,
Your blog entry on “Pet Sounds” by The Beach Boys was done quite well. All your facts are correct according to your references, and I am glad to see you actually do enjoy this type of music. It's amazing to see how a 23 year old Californian like Brian Wilson can do such ground breaking work during a time period where rock n' roll was thriving for something new. Unfortunately, your blog seems to have some grammar issues, like run-on sentences and improper punctuation (I understand this is not an English course, but I thought you would just like to know). Good luck on your up and coming assignments and make sure never to lose that "never-settle" mentality.
-Phil Jahnke
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