In the summer of 1970, Berry Gordy sat in his office at Motown and told Marvin Gaye that his new song was "the worst thing I ever heard in my life." Can you imagine? The man who built the "Sound of Young America" thought the song that would eventually define soul music was a commercial death sentence. But Gaye wasn't budging. He told Gordy, "Put it out or I’ll never record for you again."
It was a standoff that changed music forever.
Honestly, looking back from 2026, Marvin Gaye What’s Going On doesn't just feel like an old record your parents liked. It feels like a survival manual. It’s an album that turned a "Prince of Motown" into a prophet. Before this, Marvin was the guy in the sharp suits singing "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)." He was the sex symbol. But by 1970, he was a man falling apart.
His duet partner and close friend Tammi Terrell had died in his arms after collapsing on stage. His marriage to Anna Gordy (Berry’s sister) was crumbling. His brother, Frankie, had just come back from three years in Vietnam with stories that made Marvin’s blood boil.
He was done with the love songs. He was done with the "Motown Machine."
The Berkeley Scuffle That Started It All
The title track didn't even start with Marvin. It started with Renaldo "Obie" Benson of the Four Tops. He was on a tour bus in Berkeley in 1969 when he saw the police beating up hippies at People's Park. He couldn't get the image out of his head. He kept asking himself, "What is happening here?"
He wrote a draft with songwriter Al Cleveland. The Four Tops hated it. They thought it was a "protest song," and back then, that was a dirty word for a group that wanted to stay on the pop charts. Benson even tried to give it to Joan Baez. She said no. Finally, he played it for Marvin during a game of golf.
Marvin loved it, but he originally wanted to produce it for a group called The Originals. Benson had to bribe him, basically. He offered Marvin a third of the songwriting royalties just to record it himself.
How the "Accidental" Sound Was Born
The recording of Marvin Gaye What's Going On was messy. Beautifully messy. If you listen closely to the title track, you’ll hear people talking in the background. That wasn’t a sound effect. Marvin invited Detroit Lions football players Mel Farr and Lem Barney into the studio. They were just hanging out, drinking, and "shuckin' and jivin'." Marvin told the engineer to keep the tapes rolling.
Then there’s the "double vocal" sound. That was a total mistake.
Engineer Kenneth Sands had recorded two different lead vocal takes. He played them both back at the same time just to let Marvin compare them. Marvin heard the two voices overlapping—one slightly behind the other, like a man talking to himself—and his eyes lit up. He decided right then and there that he’d never go back to a single vocal again. That "multi-layered" sound became his signature for the rest of his life.
Why Motown Tried to Kill the Record
Berry Gordy was a businessman. He liked hits. He liked songs that were two minutes and thirty seconds long and ended with a catchy hook. He didn't like "ecology" or "police brutality" as song topics.
He literally refused to release the single.
For months, the song sat on a shelf. It only got out because a Motown executive named Harry Balk sneaked it into production while Gordy was on vacation in the Bahamas. When it hit the streets, it sold 100,000 copies in the first week. It became the fastest-selling single in Motown history. Gordy realized he was wrong, called Marvin, and gave him an ultimatum: "Give me a full album in thirty days."
Marvin did it in ten.
The Funk Brothers and the Floor Session
The musicians on this album were The Funk Brothers, the legendary studio band that played on more #1 hits than the Beatles and the Stones combined. But for this session, things were different.
The most famous story involves James Jamerson, the greatest bass player to ever live. Marvin wanted Jamerson for the title track, but Jamerson was at a blues bar, completely wasted. Marvin’s people found him and dragged him to the studio. Jamerson was so drunk he couldn't sit on a stool. He ended up lying flat on his back on the floor, reading the charts, and playing that iconic, wandering bass line perfectly.
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You can’t manufacture that kind of soul. It’s impossible.
More Than Just a Protest Album
The album is a "song cycle." The tracks bleed into each other without stopping. It’s meant to be heard as one continuous thought.
- "What’s Happening Brother": This is written from the perspective of Marvin’s brother Frankie, a veteran coming home to a country that doesn't have a job for him.
- "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)": In 1971, people weren't really talking about "the environment." Marvin was singing about "oil wasted on the ocean" and "fish full of mercury" before most people even knew what a carbon footprint was.
- "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)": This is the rawest track on the record. It’s about the economic trap—"inflation no chance to increase savings." Sound familiar in 2026?
Marvin wasn't just complaining. He was grieving. You can hear it in the way he uses his voice. He’s not shouting; he’s almost whispering, like he’s tired of the fighting.
The Legacy of What's Going On in 2026
It’s weirdly haunting how relevant these lyrics still are. We’re still talking about the same things: war, the planet, and why we can't just get along.
When people ask what makes this the "greatest album of all time" (as Rolling Stone ranked it), it's not just the music. It’s the bravery. Marvin Gaye risked everything—his money, his fame, his relationship with his father-in-law—to say something real. He paved the way for Stevie Wonder to make Songs in the Key of Life. He paved the way for Kendrick Lamar and SZA.
He proved that soul music could have a brain and a conscience.
Lessons from Marvin's Masterpiece
If you're an artist, or even just someone trying to make sense of the world today, there are a few things to take away from this album's history:
- Trust your gut over the "experts." Berry Gordy was a genius, and even he didn't see the value in this record at first. If you have something to say, say it.
- Mistakes are often better than perfection. The double-track vocals and the background chatter are what make the album feel human. Don't polish the soul out of your work.
- Connect the personal to the political. Marvin didn't just sing about "the world." He sang about his brother. He sang about his God. He made the big problems feel personal.
If it’s been a while since you’ve sat down and listened to Marvin Gaye What’s Going On from start to finish, do it tonight. Put on some headphones, turn off your notifications, and just let it wash over you. It’s 35 minutes of music that will remind you why being human matters.
Next Steps for Music History Fans:
Check out the isolated bass tracks of James Jamerson on YouTube to hear the genius of the "floor session." Also, look for the 50th-anniversary "Detroit Mix" of the album—it’s a slightly rawer, more stripped-back version that gives you a better sense of what it sounded like in the room at Hitsville U.S.A. before the final gloss was added.