Died On This Date (April 1, 1984) Marvin Gaye / Soul Music Icon
themusicsover Marvin Gaye
April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984
Beginning in the early 1960s, Marvin Gaye was one of Motown’s most celebrated songwriters and later one of their premier recording artists. In the early years, he was responsible for such classic Motown hits as “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be In Love By You).” He also had several duet hits with Tammi Terrell including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” But unlike the other artists on the label, he fought for and maintained his own vision and called the shots when creating his own albums. The results? What’s Going On?, Trouble Man, and Let’s Get It On. His astounding body of work continued through the mid ’80s with the release of Midnight Love and its hit single, “Sexual Healing” for which he won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1983. After the untimely death of Tammi Terrell (1970) along with other personal troubles, not the least of which was his own crumbling marriage, Gaye took some time to reevaluate his position in life. After spending most of the year in seclusion, he resurfaced with What’s Going On?, one of pop music’s landmark albums and one that would change what we think of as “black” music forever. Allmusic.com calls it “A highly percussive album that incorporated jazz and classical elements to forge a remarkably sophisticated and fluid soul sound, [it] was a conceptual masterpiece that brought Gaye’s deeply held spiritual beliefs to the fore to explore issues ranging from poverty and discrimination to the environment, drug abuse, and political corruption; chief among the record’s concerns was the conflict in Vietnam.” Gaye continued to write and record great music throughout the ‘7os and early ’80s, but instead of being afforded the chance to enjoy his success, he spent much of his later years battling legal issues from his divorce, substance abuse, and tax troubles that caused him to flee to Europe in 1981. Within the next couple of years, Gaye patched up his differences with Motown head Barry Gordy and decided to move back to the US and into his parents home to get his life and career back on track. In 1983, a little over a year before his death, the troubled singer made a rare public appearance by singing the National Anthem before the NBA All-Star game at the Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles. It was the greatest (and in some circles the worst) rendition ever performed. At the time, the world was used to very straight ahead versions of the song, but Gaye took it into the stratosphere by injecting his own soul into it. Instead of capitalizing on that moment, Gaye’s downward spiral into depression only got worse as did his rocky relationship with his father. They fought on numerous occasions until the afternoon of April 1, 1984 when Marvin Sr. shot and killed Marvin Jr. after one of their many arguments. Gaye left behind a daughter; singer and actress, Nona Gaye.
What You Should Own
Nigel Preston was an English drummer who had worked with the Gun Club, Sex Gang Children among others. He is perhaps best known as a the original drummer for the Cult, with whom he played on their breakout album, Love. He and the band parted ways in June of 1985 after wage disagreements and his alleged erratic behavior. Preston died of an apparent overdose on April 1, 1992 at the age of 32.
Duane Jarvis was one of those great talents that should have been more famous than they were. Although Jarvis was born in Oregon, both Los Angeles and Nashville like to claim him as their own as well. Much more than a superb singer and songwriter, Jarvis was also a master of the guitar, mandolin and bass. Over the years he has worked with the Divinyls, Rosie Flores, Dave Alvin, John Prine, Victoria Williams, Dwight Yoakam, M. Ward, and Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits. Duane Jarvis died of cancer on April 1, 2009.
Zombies founding member and guitarist Paul Atkinson passed away from liver and kidney disease on April 1, 2004. He was 58. While the Zombies failed to take off like so many other British Invasion bands of the early 1960s, their songs like “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No,” and “Time Of The Season” will forever be remembered as key moments in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. And no worthy collection of psychedelic rock song is complete without “Time Of The Season,” which didn’t even become popular until long after the band had broken up in 1967. Atkinson went on to work for RCA Records as an A&R Rep where he was credited for signing Abba, Mr. Mister, Judas Priest and Bruce Hornsby.
Known as the “King of Ragtime,” Scott Joplin took banjo and piano music out of the brothels and raised it to a true art form. Born in Texas to a former slave father, Joplin tought himself how to play on a piano of a local white family. He was soon studying under a German instructor. All of these experiences helped him develop a sound that was truly unique. In 1899, his “Maple Leaf Rag” was published and went on to become one of the most popular instrumentals of all time, a true American standard. Another of his tunes, “The Entertainer” turned a new generation on to his music and helped spark the ragtime revival of the mid ’70s. Featured in the Paul Newman/Robert Redford film, The Sting, the song started receiving heavy airplay which helped its opening to become on of the most recognizable in pop music history. Joplin was just 48 when he died of what has been reported as the result of syphilis.
