Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye, 1970s.
Marvin Gaye
American singer and composer
Also known as: Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr.
Marvin Gaye (born April 2, 1939, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died April 1, 1984, Los Angeles, California) was an American soul singer-songwriter-producer who, to a large extent, ushered in the era of artist-controlled popular music of the 1970s. Gaye’s father was a storefront preacher; his mother was a domestic worker. Gaye sang in his father’s Evangelical church in Washington, D.C., and became a member of a nationally known doo-wop group, the Moonglows, under the direction of Harvey...