MARVIN GAYE - WHAT’S GOING ON

Publicació: 20 de gener de 1971

Llistes: EUA: #2

"What's Going On" és una cançó del cantautor nord-americà Marvin Gaye, publicada el 1971 a la filial de Motown, Tamla. Originalment inspirada en un incident de brutalitat policial presenciat per Renaldo "Obie" Benson, la cançó va ser composta per Benson, Al Cleveland i Gaye i produïda pel mateix Gaye. La lletra de Gaye en aquesta cançó es va inspirar en les històries que el seu germà Frankie li va explicar quan va tornar de la guerra del Vietnam. La cançó va marcar la sortida de Gaye del Motown Sound cap a un material més personal.

La cançó tracta sobre els disturbis civils i la injustícia social de principis dels anys setanta. Es tracta de protestar contra la brutalitat policial, la guerra i el racisme i l'opressió als afroamericans. Gaye canta sobre la necessitat de trobar solucions a aquests problemes i la necessitat de portar comprensió i pau. La cançó anima els oients a pensar per què estan passant aquests problemes i a preguntar-se: "Què està passant?"

Aquesta va ser una de les primeres cançons de Motown a fer una declaració política potent. Stevie Wonder and the Temptations també estaven gravant material més seriós i desafiant, cosa que va suposar una sortida radical dels èxits de Motown dels anys 60. La cançó va tenir un impacte enorme perquè els oients no estaven acostumats a escoltar comentaris socials de Gaye. Com va dir Jackson Browne en una entrevista de 2008 a Rolling Stone: "Ningú esperava una cançó contra la guerra d'ell. Però va ser un moment en el temps en què la gent estava disposada a escoltar-la de qualsevol, si fos sincer. I qui millor que la persona que t'ha parlat d'amor i desig?"

Segons el llibre "Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves & Demons of Marvin Gaye", el cap de Motown, Berry Gordy, es va negar inicialment a publicar aquesta cançó, qualificant-la de "el pitjor disc que he escoltat a la meva vida". La cançó la va treure l'home al capdavant de l’empresa mentre Gordy estava de vacances i, per descomptat, es va posar furiós fins que es va assabentar que el senzill va vendre 100.000 còpies als EUA quan es va llançar. No cal dir que aviat va canviar d'opinió sobre la cançó. Tot i que Berry Gordy admet que tenia reserves sobre "What's Going On", afirma que totes les històries que envolten la seva negativa a publicar la cançó són falses.

Gordy va explicar al Wall Street Journal: "Durant anys, la gent ha escrit que vaig impedir el llançament d'aquesta cançó i que Marvin m'havia amenaçat amb no tornar a gravar mai més si no la publicava, Això és una lectura fantàstica, però no és cert". Va continuar explicant les possibles ramificacions de la cançó: "El meu motiu per rebutjar-la no va ser aturar el senzill, només va ser per determinar si aquesta era o no una altra de les seves idees estrambòtiques. Motown parlava de música per a totes les persones: blancs i negres, blaus i verds, policies i lladres. Em vaig mostrar reticent a que la nostra música alienés ningú. Això era un gran risc per a la imatge de la discogràfica."

MARVIN GAYE - WHAT’S GOING ON

Released : January 20, 1971

Charted:  US: #2 

"What's Going On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye, released in 1971 on the Motown subsidiary Tamla. Originally inspired by a police brutality incident witnessed by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, the song was composed by Benson, Al Cleveland, and Gaye and produced by Gaye himself. Gaye's lyrics in this song were inspired by the stories his brother Frankie told him when he came back from the Vietnam war. The song marked Gaye's departure from the Motown Sound towards more personal material.

The song is about the civil unrest and social injustice of the early 1970s. It touches on protesting police brutality, war, and the racism and oppression of African Americans. Gaye sings about the need to find solutions to these issues and the need to bring understanding and peace. The song encourages listeners to think about why these issues are happening and to ask themselves, “What's going on?”

This was one of the first Motown songs to make a powerful political statement. Stevie Wonder and the Temptations were also recording more serious and challenging material, which was a radical departure from the Motown hits of the '60s. The song had a tremendous impact because listeners weren't used to hearing social commentary from Gaye. As Jackson Browne said in a 2008 interview with Rolling Stone: "No one was expecting an anti-war song from him. But it was a moment in time when people were willing to hear it from anybody, if it was heartfelt. And who better than the person who has talked to you about love and desire?"

According to the book “Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves & Demons of Marvin Gaye”, Motown head Berry Gordy initially refused to release this song, calling it the ‘worst record I ever heard in my life’. The song was slipped out by the man in charge while Gordy was on vacation and, of course, he was furious... until he found out the single sold 100,000 copies in the US upon its release. Needless to say, he soon changed his mind about this song. Although Berry Gordy admits he had reservations about "What's Going On", he claims all of the stories surrounding his refusal to release the song are false. 

He explained to the Wall Street Journal: "For years, people have written that I stood in the way of this song's release and that Marvin had threatened never to record for me again if I didn't put it out," he said. "That must make for great reading, but none of it is true." He went on to explain the potential ramifications of the song: "My reason for pushing back on Marvin wasn't to stop the single, just to determine whether or not this was another one of his wild ideas," Gordy said. "Motown was about music for all people - white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone. This was a big risk for his image."