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STUBBORN KIND OF FELLA - REMEMBERING MARVIN GAYE
Beginning Tuesday 24 January, 21:30-22:00
Presented in six parts by Smokey Robinson
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| This series will be available to hear again for seven days after broadcast but you can listen to other documentaries via the BBC Radio Player. |
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Marvin Gaye, died on 1st April 1984, the day before his 45th Birthday - at the hands of his father. This series goes behind the music to discover the many sides of Marvin Gaye. In this 6 part series, fellow Motown Legend, Smokey Robinson pays homage and seeks to discover the real man behind the music.
PROGRAMME 1. STUBBORN KIND OF FELLOW
His arrival at Motown in Detroit
We discover the shy, insecure side of Marvin that emerged in his teens and early twenty's, while he was mastering the art of music and developing his singing voice, originally wanting more than anything to be a crooner like Frank Sinatra. His arrival at Motown in Detroit bought out another side of his nature - his stubbornness, refusing to audition, and continuing his quest to be the Black Sinatra. Although he began to write, Marvin's stubbornness would continue throughout his musical career with positive and negative effects.
PROGRAMME 2. IT TAKES TWO
This programme explores Marvin's early relationships with women both on a personal and a professional level. His duets with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross and of course, Tammi Terrell became legendary, and although put a strain on his marriage, moved Marvin even higher into the Motown stratosphere. Tammi's death had a notable effect on Marvin and his music, and many thought he'd never perform again.
PROGRAMME 3. MERCY, MERCY ME
This programme explores the spiritual side of Marvin Gaye. There is no doubt that he was a very spiritual man coming from a very strict, religious upbringing in the Pentecostal Church. At Motown a more spiritual side of his nature emerged when Marvin's brother, Frank's returned from Vietnam. It was Frank's accounts of his experiences that motivated Marvin to return to the studio. His political awakening to the Vietnam War and to the social climate in America led him to record, What's Going On. Originally rejected by Motown and left on the shelf, the album became a timeless classic.
PROGRAMME 4. LET'S GET IT ON
Marvin Gaye recorded some of the most sexy, soulful love songs of all times and this programme explores his image as a sex symbol to his female fans. The long-simmering eroticism implicit in much of Gaye's work reached its boiling point with 1973's Let's Get It On. One of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded; it became the most commercially successful effort of his career, and the title cut became his second Number One hit. However, his own love life was far from ideal, with 2 very publicised turbulent marriages, his predilection for prostitutes and the darker side of life, and his ambivalence at being considered a sex icon by women the world over. However, he'll forever be remembered for his ability to write classic love songs including I Want You, All the Way Around and of course, Sexual Healing.
PROGRAMME 5. TROUBLE MAN
This programme explores the darker side of Marvin Gaye including his drug addiction. In 1972, Marvin wrote the soundtrack for the film Trouble Man, and the title best sums up his personality. Unhappiness clung to him as he struggled with discipline and disorder, sex and salvation - these were the elements that haunted Marvin's fertile imagination. Eventually, Marvin's reliance on cocaine caused him extreme paranoia, and an obsession with guns. His fight to conquer his addiction unfortunately led to his tragic end. On the afternoon of April 1, 1984 - one day before his 45th birthday - Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by the Reverend Marvin Gaye, Sr. in the aftermath of a heated argument.
PROGRAMME 6. GOT TO GIVE IT UP - THE LEGACY
This programme celebrates the musical legend of Marvin Gaye, and explores the effects of his murder. His death also bought a critical re-evaluation of his work, which deemed 'What's Going On' to be one of the landmark albums in popular music history. The career of Marvin Gaye blazed the trail for the continued evolution of black music, his work not only redefined soul music as a creative force, but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change. We celebrate his legacy with contributions from a whole new generation of artists, who cite him as an inspiration, and an influence on their own musical careers.
Zeola Gaye - Marvin's youngest sister -"Marvin loved my mother v much, and he loved my father also. But he never loved anyone as much in his life as he did our mother."
Jack Ashford of Funk Brothers - "Everyone knew about Marvin's battle with his father. He had a million $ cheque blown up and stuck on wall of his studio in LA, and he said to me Jack what do you think of that? I said that's great Marvin, and he said my dad didn't think much of it."
Leon Ware - Marvin Gaye will be remembered in history as a true genius for expressing his inner feelings in song. When he sings it's like painting a canvas."
Contributors: Smokey Robinson, Jan Gaye - Marvin's 2nd wife, Zeola Gaye - Marvin's younger sister, Kim Weston - duet singer, Jack Ashford & Alan Slutsky of the Funk Brothers, Motown songwriter/producer Johnny Bristol, Lamont Dozier, Gladys Knight, Leon Ware - co writer of I Want You, Ronald Isley, Martha Reeves, musical arranger, Gordon Banks, Motown historian Sharon Davis, Steve Turner - author of "Trouble Man - the Life & Death of Marvin Gaye"
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