Number 16

MARVIN GAYE - WHAT'S GOING ON

(Cleveland, Gaye, Benson)

(1971)

(USA #2)

Vietnam was raging, Tammi Terrell had died and Marvin Gaye was considering retiring altogether. What's Going On marked a turning point in his, and Motown's, career, with it's social conscience context Gaye was reacting the same way the youth of American was: they were in a situation and they needed to express themselves. Whilst the masses chose all forms of protest Gaye stuck to what motivated him: music. Ranked by Rolling Stone as the forth best song ever, it's powers of confusion, activism and sentimentality hold strong with even the most cynical of hearts. Gaye's smooth soulful vocals are contrasted by a background party and the layering of this own harmonies directed Gaye's music in a new direction. Several cover versions exist including 'Artists Against AIDS', which features Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child, and raps from Nelly and Eve, and Cyndi Lauper whose 1987 version reached #12 in the USA. Gaye's version, however, remains the definitive.