The Bio of Mr. Gaye
Alright…new obsession.
Mr. Marvin Gay(e).
I’ve just finished his biography by David Rtiz and I am completely blown away. It’s amazing, you think you know a person’s music, but you really have no idea.
Here are a few quick facts:
– Some of the later Tammi Terrell/Marvin Gaye duets were recorded with Valerie Simpson (of Ashford and Simpson) singing Tammi’s parts.
– Most of Mr. Gaye’s work was based on his feelings (loving or conflicting) about his wives Anna Gordy or Janis Hunter.
– Mr. Gaye was almost always high when recording songs in the studio.
– Mr. Gaye had serious self-esteem issues ranging from his inability to express himself sexually to the Madonna/whore qualities he looked for in his “perfect woman”
(That last point was especially poignant as you’d think that a person whose body of work is based on highly popular romantic duets and sexual anthems would have that kind of thing on lock….)
Not so.
Going back and listening to his music with the knowledge I have now is a chilling experience, especially when listening to the What’s Going On album. If you’ve only heard the one song, or maybe the one song and Inner City Blues, you are really missing out on some incredible work. I’m going to put it on Radio KaNisa later this week so look out for it.
Mr. Gaye was very VERY intelligent. A lot of his quotes are very introspective and full of allusions to the works enlightenment period authors, which is especially interesting since he never read their work. I wish he’d written his thoughts down in a book…or through poetry…we really have been robbed of a great mind…
…
I guess I’ll write more later…I just finished the book and had to write some semblance of an impression down before I went to sleep.
