~☮ Whats Going On is a song by American recording artist 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. The song, which focused on major seventh and minor seventh chords, and was oriented in sounds by jazz, gospel and classical music orchestration, was mainly viewed as a meditation on the troubles and problems of the world, proving to be a timely and relatable release, and marked Gayes departure from the Motown Sound towards more personal material. Later topping the Hot Soul Singles chart for five weeks and crossing over to number-two on the Billboard Hot 100, it would sell over two million copies, becoming Gayes second most successful Motown song to date. The song topped Detroits Metro Times list of the 100 Greatest Detroit Songs of All Time, and in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the fourth greatest song of all time, in its updated 2011 list, the song remained at that position. It is also included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list, along with two other songs by the singer. It was also listed at number fourteen on VH-1s 100 Greatest Rock Songs. Inspiration and Writing The songs inspiration came from Renaldo Obie Benson, a member of the Motown vocal group the Four Tops, after he and the groups tour bus arrived at Berkeley on May 15, 1969. While there, Benson witnessed police brutality and violence in the citys Peoples Park during a protest held by anti-war activists in what was hailed later as Bloody Thursday. Upset by the situation, Benson said to author Ben Edmonds, I saw this and started wondering what the heck was going on, what is happening here? One question led to another. Why are they sending kids so far away from their families overseas? Why are they attacking their own children in the streets? Upset, he discussed what he witnessed to friend and songwriter Al Cleveland, who in turn wrote and composed a song to reflect Bensons concerns. Benson wanted to give the song to his group but the other Four Tops turned down the request. My partners told me it was a protest song, Benson said later, I said no man, its a love song, about love and understanding. Im not protesting, I want to know whats going on. In 1970, Benson presented the untitled song to Marvin Gaye, who added a new melody and revised the song to his liking, adding in his own lyrics. Benson later said Gaye tweaked and enriched the song, added some things that were more ghetto, more natural, which made it seem like a story than a song... we measured him for the suit and he tailored the hell out of it. Gaye titled it Whats Going On. When Gaye initially thought the songs moody feel would be appropriate to be recorded by The Originals, Benson convinced Gaye to record it as his own song. Gaye, himself, had been inspired by social ills committed in the United States, citing the 1965 Watts riots as a turning point in his life in which he asked himself, With the world exploding around me, how am I supposed to keep singing love songs? Gaye was also influenced by emotional conversations shared between him and his brother Frankie, who had returned from three years of service at the Vietnam War and his namesake cousins death while serving troops. During phone conversations with Berry Gordy, who was vacationing in the Bahamas at the time, Gaye had told Gordy that he wanted to record a protest record, to which Gordy said in response, Marvin, dont be ridiculous. Thats taking things too far. ☮~
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 20:13:42 +0000
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