In fact, he was often cited as the man who singlehandedly modernized Motown: a sensual-voiced man full of spiritual longings (and spiritual confusion) whose landmark 1971 album What’s Going On commented forcefully yet eloquently on matters like civil rights and Vietnam—subjects that many R & B artists, up until that time, had sidestepped.Though that eventful record was in some ways the apex of Gaye’s career (he would never again return to themes of social passion), Marvin remained a resourceful performer up through the time of the last work released in his lifetime, 1982’s Midnight Love (Columbia). Watching him command the stage at 1983’s Motown Anniversary TV special, or seeing him graciously accept his first Grammy Award a few weeks later, it felt as if we were witnessing the rejuvenation of a once-troubled man, who learned to transform his dread into artistic courage, even grace. Hearing the news of his violent and improbable end—shot to death on April 1, 1984, by his minister father—it seemed likely that rugged emotions and rampageous fears were never far from the singer’s closest thoughts, after all.
