1 June 1970: Number 15 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of pop music
Unlike many disputes between labels and artists, the argument between Berry Gordy Jr and his brother-in-law Marvin Gaye over What's Going On doesn't easily reduce to philistine versus visionary. Gordy's instincts had been the sharpest for a decade, and under him Motown was the highest-quality production line in pop's history. His objections weren't that Gaye's new music was too radical, but that it sounded "jazzy" and "old". Equally, Gaye hadn't simply been singing callow nonsense before presenting his boss with a meditation on the state of the world then threatening to retire if he couldn't release it. After all, pop doesn't strike much deeper than I Heard it Through the Grapevine'.
Gaye simply understood that the angry, confused feelings of the early 70s needed a different kind of music. Even if the questing drift of What's Going On didn't sound like a hit, it would resonate.
The song leaked, was a smash, and its parent album remains a masterpiece. The record helped kick off a golden era ? a half-decade when soul was the most sophisticated and emotionally wide-ranging pop music in the world.
Angela Marcello Paz Vega Rebecca Mader Eva Green Lauren Conrad
No comments:
Post a Comment