Marvin Gaye

His first marriage was to Anna Gordy who was 17 years his senior. They met in 1960 and tied the knot in 1963. Together they adopted one baby boy. The marriage crumbled and the couple later divorced, leaving Gaye devastated.

He married Janis Hunter in 1977 and had two children with her. The marriage was troubled due to his drug addiction and mental health problems and ended in 1981.

His already problematic personal life came to a tragic end when on April 1, 1984, his father who had always been abusive towards him, shot him dead.

He was born to Marvin Gay, Sr. and Alberta. His father worked as a church minister while his mother was a domestic worker. He had five siblings including his brothers from his mother’s previous marriage and father’s extra-marital affair.

He grew up in a troubled home and was frequently subjected to physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father. Interested in music from a young age, he found solace in singing and playing musical instruments.

He went to the Cardozo High School and also started performing with some local bands. When he was a teenager his father’s behavior towards him worsened and unable to take it anymore Marvin left home and dropped out of school.

He dreamt of being a pilot and joined the United States Air Force when he was 17. However, when he was only given menial jobs to do, he was disappointed and faked illness to get discharged.

Along with a friend, Reese Palmer, he formed the vocal quartet, The Marquees. The group later changed their name to ‘Harvey’ and began recording songs. They found work as session singers for the other acts like Chuck Berry.

Eventually Gaye started pursuing a solo career and released his first single, ‘Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide’ in 1961 followed by the album ‘The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye’ some weeks later.

His single ‘Stubborn Kind of Fellow’ became his first solo hit in 1962. It reached No. 8 on the R&B charts. The very next year he achieved his first top ten single, ‘Pride and Joy’.

His solo career was going steady and he also started singing duets with female singers like Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell. His partnership with Tammi was a very successful one and the duo gave hits like ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ (1967) and ‘You’re All I Need to Get By’ (1968).

He is best known for the single ‘Sexual healing’ which was released in 1982. The song spent a staggering ten weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Black Singles, and is considered the biggest R&B hit of the 1980s. The single also found success internationally.