What's Going On?!?!

Before the famously known song “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye, Marvin was in a couple of groups similar to The Temptations and Smokey and the Robinsons, as those groups were very popular back then. His image was clean cut and gave off a welcoming presence. Eventually, as time passed, he decided to do what was best for him, musically. Looking at how everyone was treating each other out in the streets, how war vets were being treated when they came home, and realizing that this is not the freedom that people fought so hard for, Gaye let out his emotions in a song. That song is “What’s Going On”.

During the 60’s and into the 70’s, the music of Motown was about romance, whether it be found or lost. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” took a whole new direction. Talking about social decline, social unrest and sending out a message to make people think about what is actually going on, Motown’s head brass didn’t like it at all. He worked very hard at recording, everyone that recorded it with him felt it was a hit but Barry Gordy, “founder and president of Motown records would not let it be played or made in mass for anyone to hear.  That was just one song. The rest of the album also titled “What’s Going On” were filled with soulful songs that talked about how the streets were, telling stories to hopefully open up the eyes of those doing wrong or sitting by and letting wrong happen.

The first thing that is noticed on What’s Going On is the vibe that it has. It’s first title track seems to lead in to the second song and by the end of the first song, you would have been mesmerized by the message that is being given to not just the African American communities but as a whole.