Washington, DC History & Culture, a local nonprofit organization, hosted a Zoom webinar on Feb. 27 focusing on Marvin Gaye’s life and music career.
Robert Kelleman, a co-founder of Washington, DC History & Culture, discussed Gaye’s significance in music history in a virtual presentation, as he was an important face of Motown music.
Kelleman opened his presentation by explaining that Gaye was born in D.C., contrary to popular belief. He was the son of a preacher, and his father was a strict disciplinarian. Kelleman pointed to a Washington Post article documenting sites in D.C. that are linked to Gaye, including a mural in Shaw.
“Most people would think that he was born in Detroit given the way that they embraced him as one of their own, but that was actually not the case,” Kelleman said.
The presentation dove into the origin of “Motown,” a play on the fact that Detroit was known as Motor City.
Gaye is a major part of D.C. culture and music — he began his musical career in D.C. and was in a group called the D.C. Tones, which he formed while attending Cardozo High School.
As his birthplace and hometown, The District also boasts several locations paying homage to Gaye. Marvin Gaye Park in Northeast D.C. serves as a place for people to come together. The mural of Marvin Gaye located in D.C.’s Shaw Uptown neighborhood is an integral part of keeping his D.C. music legacy alive. There was also a restaurant named after him in D.C., which unfortunately closed during the pandemic. Gaye also gave a concert at the Kennedy Center on May 1, 1972 which marked his return to D.C.
The city even celebrated “Marvin Gaye Day” on May 5, 2018.
The presentation honored songs that were significant in Gaye’s career in chronological order, while sharing context and history. The songs included “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” (1965), “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” (1968), which was the first #1 hit he had, and “Sexual Healing” (1982), which was #3 on the charts.
Some of the other songs, such as “Can I Get a Witness” and “You’re a Wonderful One,” were written by the legendary songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland.
The Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team was the most well-known songwriting team in Motown. The team was a trio consisting of brothers Eddie and Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier.
“How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” which was written by Holland-Dozier-Holland, was one of the biggest hits of Gaye’s career.
In the late 1960s, Gaye started doing duets. His duets with Tammi Terrell were highly successful. They included “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Your Precious Love.”
Later in his career, Gaye got involved with the songwriting process for his songs. Some of the songs he wrote include “Got To Give It Up,” “Let’s Get It On” and “Sexual Healing.”
According to Kelleman, several attempts have been made to make a Hollywood-style biopic of Gaye’s life and career, but none of them were successful. One independently financed movie attempt, starring Jesse L. Martin as Gaye, came close to materializing but ran into funding complications. Lenny Kravitz was originally supposed to play the role of Gaye before he dropped out.
Kelleman closed the historical presentation by explaining the death of Gaye, who was murdered by his father during a physical altercation at his home in Los Angeles in 1984. Gaye’s father received a prison sentence of six years with an additional five years of probation.
To end on a positive note, Kelleman concluded the presentation with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” a reminder of the genius and legacy of Gaye in D.C. and beyond.
