Gaye, Marvin (redirected from Gaye)

Gaye, Marvin (Pentz)

 orig. Marvin Pentz Gay

(born April 2, 1939, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died April 1, 1984, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. singer and songwriter. Son of a Pentecostal minister, he learned to sing in church. He signed a contract with Harvey Fuqua (b. 1924) in 1959 and followed him to Motown, where he played drums on early Smokey Robinson hits. His own hits (from 1962) climaxed in “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1967). He paired with female singers, including Tammi Terrell (1946–70), in songs by Nick Ashford (b. 1943) and Valerie Simpson (b. 1948). With What's Goin' On? (1971) his songs became more socially conscious. Troubled in his personal relationships and finances, he reemerged in 1982 with “Sexual Healing.” He was shot to death by his father in a quarrel.

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Gaye, Marvin (Pentz, Jr.) (1939–84) singer, composer; born in Washington, D.C. Composer of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and other soul classics, he sang gospel music in his father's church before joining a doo-wop group, the Rainbows, when he was 15. In 1957, he recorded with the Marquees in Washington, and in 1959 with the Moonglows in Chicago. After moving to Detroit in 1960, he began working as a drummer and back-up vocalist at Motown Records. The following year, he married Motown president Berry Gordy's sister, Anna Gordy, and recorded an album of ballads. In 1962, he scored his first chart success with "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," and for the next seven years he released a continual series of hit records and made regular concert tours in the U.S.A. and abroad. In 1971, the album What's Going On marked a breakthrough for Gaye as a socially-conscious songwriter. He found success with this new style for the next ten years, a period in which he was also beset by financial, mental, and drug problems, which culminated in his shooting death by his father.