Generally regarded as the, or at least one of the, finest soul albums
ever recorded celebrates its 53rd birthday today.
The end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s was a troubled time for
the 'Trouble Man'. The loss of his partner Tammi Terrell to a brain
tumour, the failure of his marriage to Anna Gordy, IRS issues, a
growing addiction to cocaine and disputes with Motown. After Terrell's
death he refused to perform live and when Motown released his "That's
The Way Love Is" album he refused to promote it.
In 1969, whilst touring with the Four Tops, Renaldo 'Obie' Benson
experienced police brutality and violence on anti-war protesters. Upon
return to Detroit, after conversations about his experiences with Al
Cleveland, they wrote "What's Going On". Benson offered the song to
the Four Tops who refused it as they regarded it a protest song. He
then offered it to Gaye who suggested that the song would be perfect
for The Originals but Benson persuaded him that it was a song for him.
He accepted the song on the condition that he could change it and
added a new melody and lyrics.
Gaye approached Gordy in Sep 1970 with the song who is alleged to
have said that it the worst song he had ever heard in his life. In
disgust, Gaye went on strike until Gordy changed his mind and in the
intervening time recorded his own music, much of it featuring on
"Let's Get It On". Motown's Quality Control Team also turned the song
down.
Without Gordy's knowledge or approval, Motown executive Harry Balk,
with the assistance of Barney Ales, released copies to record stores
in Jan 1971. It became Motown's fastest selling single of all time
selling 200k copies in the first week alone topping Billboard's
R&B chart and reaching #2 on the Hot 100.
The success stunned Gordy who then asked Gaye to record an album and
told him that he could do his own thing as long as the album was
completed in 30 days. The songs on the album were influenced by the
single, along with letters he received from his brother serving in
Vietnam regarding the treatment of veterans and his experience of
social injustices. It took Gaye only ten days to record at Studio A
(Hitsville) and Studio B (Golden World). Gordy was concerned that
there were no more hits on the completed album and as a compromise
Gaye had it remixed. The Quality Control team were also concerned that
each song was segued into the next but Gordy allowed it.
The album was one of the first soul concept albums and its
free-flowing, nine segued tracks gave it a cohesive feel. The lead
track is the title track that segues into "What's Happening Brother", dedicated to his brother Frankie explaining the disillusionment of
war veterans who returned to civilian life. "Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky)", takes from a United Airlines tag, "fly the friendly skies", and
deals with heroin dependence. "Save the Children" speaks for itself as does the following track with a truncated version of
"God Is Love". "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" is an emotional plea for the environment and "Right On" focused on Gaye's own divided soul with "Wholy Holy" being a gospel plea advising people to come together. The final
track, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", focuses on urban poverty.
The album became Motown's biggest selling album also topping the
R&B chart and peaking at #6 on Billboard's Top 100 Albums staying
on the chart for 58 weeks.
Only two further singles were released from it, "Mercy Mercy Me ((The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". Both topped the R&B Chart and were Top 10 Hot 100 hits making
Gaye the first artist to achieve three #1 hits on any Billboard chart,
as well as the first male solo artist to have three Hot 100 Top 10
singles, from the same album.
Needless to say, the album has been reissued numerous times many with
additional bonus, instrumental and remixed tracks. Although it did
very well commercially on release, it's critical acclaim has grown
even further over time like a fine wine and no true soul
aficionado is, or shouldn't be, without it in their collection
in one format or another. Be honest, when did you last listen to it in
it's entirety?
Below are two music videos of the title track. The first is an extended mix and the second an 'official' one from 2019.
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