We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago….
He was told not to do it. He was going to wreck his career. Even though his label mates had been releasing topical songs with social themes for a few years…Marvin Gaye had stayed away and released the love songs that had made him a star. And yet, he was restless for something different. He had dipped his toes in the political waters, recording the song “Abraham, Martin & John” which had been released in the UK only in 1969 and was also on his 1970 album, “That’s The Way Love Is”. But that song was sentimental and didn’t really pack a socially conscious chord.
Enter Renaldo “Obie” Benson of the Four Tops. He had witnessed police brutality and violence committed on anti war protesters in Berkeley. He told the tale to Detroit songwriter Al Cleveland and he wrote a song. The Four Tops wouldnt do it…calling it a protest song. Benson gave the song to Gaye and Gaye tweaked it enough to receive partial writing credit. The song was “Whats Going On”. He continued to think about the social ills of America…especially for people of color (sound familiar?). After a long conversation with his soldier brother who told him tales of what was happening in Viet Nam, he could wait no more. He said in interviews that he “wanted to re-evaluate his whole concept of what he wanted his music to do”.
To record this new concept LP he brought in some jazz cats from Detroit to augment the Funk Brothers. The story goes that James Jamerson, who invented that great bass line, had to lay on the floor to play as he was too drunk to sit on a stool after being brought in from a live show he was playing. The odor of Mary Jane flowing through the studio added to the rebel ambiance. This was not going to be a Berry Gordy factory recording.
In fact, Gordy didn’t like it at all and refused to release it. One man at Motown disagreed. A sales executive named Barney Ales sent out 100,000 copies of the single to record stores without telling Gordy. Another 100,000 soon followed as the song became a hit. Gordy liked money too much to stop now. He told Gaye he could do whatever he wanted as long as the album was finished in 30 days. He got it done in 10. Ten days for all of this wonderfulness to be put down on vinyl. Even if it had only been the title track, Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) and Inner City Blues that would have been enough. add on an anti heroin song called “Fly The Friendly Skies”..a song dedicated to his brother Frankie about how returning vets were having problems re-assimilating….a song about saving disadvantaged children….a seven minute jam called Right On as Gaye fights with his own inner demons. All of the songs ran together in one continuous roll call of America’s problems in the early 70’s.
Released in May, it became Gaye’s first album to reach the Top 10, making to to #6 and staying on the chart for over a year. It became Motown’s biggest selling album within a year.
Critics were surprised but mostly on board. It has, over the years, ranked high on the lists of the all-time best LPs in pop/rock music history. It may be hard to realize now how groundbreaking this album was at the time. It’s a record that really can’t be separated from its time in history although we, as a society, continue to wrestle with some of these same issues 50 years later.
Give this a re-listen with your 2021 ears and see if you agree…
Comments