Welcome to the Team DFH Freaky Friday Music party.
We're mixing it up a bit tonight. One of my favorite music buddies and DFH frandor55 graciously offers this diary for our Friday night slot. The usual "please join in" with music vid's and/or comments applies as always!
On January 20, 1971 Marvin Gaye's groundbreaking single "What's Going On" was released. The song became an instant classic and arguably could be called the greatest modern era pop song of all time, along with Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" and John Lennon's "Imagine".
Marvin Gaye wrote the song (with Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland) in 1970, not long after the killings at Jackson State and Kent State universities. He was deeply affected by his brother's experiences as a soldier in Viet Nam. "What's Going On" encapsulates so much of what was happening in America and the world at that time, seeing the folly and destruction of war, seeing police brutality, seeing the violence in our communities, and what is our response to all of this.
"What's Going On" is as relevant today as it was back then, in some ways perhaps more so.
The song starts with Marvin Gaye and some friends just talking, sayin' hey. The reason there is no question mark after "What's Going On" is that the phrase was a greeting he used and also that the song is a statement; this is our world.
Then that wonderful saxophone solo breaks in, and then Marvin sings.
.........That voice. It sounds so effortless, and at the same time evokes differing emotions-- in the same instant--cuts through the dross and ennui of day to day life like a laser from the heart. Like the saxophone playing of John Coltrane, we can only wonder where such depth, complexity and simple beauty comes from, seemingly beyond the realm of everyday human experience.
Click for YouTube:
Lyrics:
Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today - Ya
Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on
In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on
Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Tell me what's going on
I'll tell you what's going on - Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby
The effect the song had on the Black Community cannot be over emphasized, Alicia Keys, a musical genius in her own right, describes what it was like as teenager when she first heard "What's Going On", and how it was a pivotal moment in her development as an artist.
Please click on this video link, as it won't embed. Her words are so sincere and heartfelt.
"......her mom had this old, old Marvin Gaye "What's Going On" tape........that was the start of something that would never stop. We played it over and over, every day....on the trains, walking the streets, 42nd, 45th, Brooklyn, Queens, anywhere.....that was our soundtrack......you see how it still is relevant........it was our streets, it was what we lived."
PBS made a wonderful documentary on Marvin Gaye a couple of years ago, on their mssg board a woman shares what the song meant to her:
......."As a black woman growing up in the seventies, that song was the back drop of inner city life and reminds me of my favorite uncle who died due to the after effects of having served in Vietnam. My choice to attend college and to give something back was inspired by that song.
The turbulent times we are NOW living in- with wars, political wrangling, racism, global economic and environmental issues devouring our planet- those lyrics, “What’s Going On?” ring prophetic. Please air this special again so that young people and everyone can get this important message"
.
another viewer wrote:
"Loved him when My mom listened, now my children listen to his music, it will never end Marvin Gaye will always live on…cant stop the music, he lives in all of us on…"
So maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, or next year you'll find your self walking down an alley way, or stuck in a traffic jam or even in a big box department store; and you hear those unforgettable opening sax notes.......and maybe for a moment or two it all makes sense, you can take a breath......we're all in this together......
Thank you Marvin Gaye, for this beautiful jewel.
Please share your thoughts, memories and videos. The videos can be of any artist, not just Marvin Gaye, but any music that inspires and touches on the themes of this amazing song, "What's Going On".
Please join in comments with your own contributions. Here's HOW: To add vids in comments: Click on "share"; then the "embed" button; change the size of the video graphic too, so when it posts, it is smaller. Use 300pixels in the custom parameters (last one on the right) under the embed code. {h/t joanneleon}