Ten years after Marvin Gaye's death, fans still wonder 'What's Going On.'

Jet, April 4, 1994

Ten years after his death, the words and music of Marvin Gaye are still as relevant and popular as ever.

Gaye was known to mix social messages in his music, including some of his biggest hits like What's Going On and Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology). His fans are still singing his songs and wondering what's going on in the Black community. His music is just as hard-hitting and necessary today as it were years ago.

Gaye, who was shot and killed by his father on April 1, 1984 (JET, April 16, 1984), co-wrote What's Going On in 1971 and addressed the social ills of the day: war, poverty, violence in the Black community, police brutality and the breakdown of the Black family. All of these problems are still very much with us today, and in a very real sense, Gaye was a man who was way ahead of his time, fans say.

Gaye's widow, Janis Gaye, said the key to his enduring popularity is the message in his music. "I think a lot is due to the lyrical content. A lot of the things that Marvin spoke about in his music are just as relevant-if not more relevant-today."

On the What's Going On album he spoke about ecology and all of the other subject matter. "The state of the world is so much worse today than it was then," she said.

Marvin's music was also optimistic, she pointed out. People believe him when he pleads in What's Going On: |We've got to find a way to bring some loving here today...' Said Janis: "People want to cling to that. When they listen to What's Going On, Save The Children,and Mercy Mercy Me, it's a reminder that we all have so much to do spiritually, that it gives people something to hope for, something to hold on to."

In recognition of Gaye's musical legacy, Motown Records is kicking off a year-long celebration of Gaye and his music in April. The company is reissuing Marvin Gaye's biggest-selling albums on compact disc, which in addition to his trademark tunes will include Here My Dear and Troubleman.

Also in the works is a TV special, a tribute album and a movie. Janis said, "I've racked my brain trying to think of anyone else that I think could even come close to portraying the passion that Marvin had and the intensity and the mind." She offered, "I can only think of one person...Denzel Washington."

Motown founder Berry Gordy said of the late entertainer: "He was the purest artist that I've probably ever known, the purest. If he believed you shouldn,t pay taxes, he,d sing about it." Noting how the singer's music evolved over the years, Gordy said, "He had gone from singing about love and romantic stuff to a love of mankind and how we needed to reach out to improve things in the world."

Gordy said he believes if Gaye were alive today he,d see "a ray of hope" in our society. "Marvin might smile thinking, ,maybe what's going on can finally be changed., That was Marvin and when he sang he wanted to awaken the minds of man..." Gordy concluded.

Jheryl Busby, president/CEO of Motown Records noted, "I think what made Marvin unique is that his public knew that whenever he released an album, he was talking about something he was experiencing at that time. I think that's why Marvin Gaye is the most successful; artist inside the Motown catalog. You,re getting a personal, authentic feel of an artist, and what was going on in his mind and thoughts."

David Ritz, author of the Marvin Gaye biography Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, agreed. "Marvin's music has passed the test of time," he told JET. "It is just as applicable now as it has ever been." He added, "I believe Marvin had the very rare gift of being able to turn anger and hurt into beauty. And the result of all that is a very sensual music that almost everybody finds irresistible."

Ron Brewington, L.A. bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks, spearheaded the effort to have Marvin Gaye awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. He noted, "Marvin Gaye was a visionary. Through his music, he had a chance to see things long before they happened. More than 20 years ago, he talked about environmental issues and diseases like AIDS. He said that we Black people have had the same problems and that we should work on those problems....His music hit the bone, the nerve of all of us.

"Marvin Gaye gave us a guiding light that we still should use to solve our problems," Brewington said.