That September, Gaye approached Gordy with the "What's Going On" song while in California where Gordy had relocated. According to one account, Gordy didn't like the song, allegedly calling it "the worst thing I ever heard in my life". [11] As a result, Gaye angrily responded to Gordy's alleged putdown by going on strike until Gordy changed his mind. [17] [11] Gordy himself denied this claim, stating he loved the song's jazzy feel but cautioned Gaye that the sound was out of date of the sound of the times and also feared the loss of Gaye's crossover audience by releasing the political song. [18] Gaye continued to record his own compositions during this time, some of which later made his 1973 album, Let's Get It On. Motown executive Harry Balk recalled trying to get Gordy to release the song at the end of the year, to which Gordy replied to him, "that Dizzy Gillespie stuff in the middle, that scatting, it's old." [19] Gordy mentioned later that he feared no one would buy songs with a jazz influence after his attempt to be a record store owner of a jazz shop folded after a year, years prior to starting Motown. Most of Motown's Quality Control Department team also turned the song down, with Balk later stating that "they were used to the 'baby baby' stuff, and this was a little hard for them to grasp." [20] a b c d e f "Slant Magazine Music Review: Marvin Gaye: What's Going On". SlantMagazine.com. November 10, 2003 . Retrieved September 8, 2012.

Year-long celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s seminal 1971 album What’s Going On continue with today’s announcement of Motown/UMe’s December 3 release of the premium vinyl 50th Anniversary 2LP Edition. Now the next two songs, "Right On" and "Wholy Holy", I admit are not in the same class as the other songs mentioned....But they are still very good, and do not diminish the album... Anyway, this record's a trip, and an important one, and not just musically. — and this reissue does it justice. I first heard this album a few years ago. I heard it because I wanted to expand my musical horizons away from hip hop. My first step in branching out was listening to Bob Marley. After that was very successful, I decided to move on to the genre of soul, figuring I would like it. Marvin Gaye was my artist of choice because I had heard him referenced in multiple hip hop songs and he's often claimed to be one of the best in the genre. This album was the first album that I heard from him. Right off the bat, I loved it. I thought that it was beautiful, incredible music and I couldn't believe how narrow minded I had been before I listened to it. It inspired me to discover new music, not only in soul, but in many other genres as well. I had been looking at music so close mindedly, but this album single-handedly opened my mind to a whole new world of music. This album will always hold a special place in my heart for that reason.

Release

Benson offered the song to Marvin Gaye when he participated in a golf game with the singer. Returning to Gaye's home outside Outer Drive, Benson played the song to Gaye on his guitar. Gaye felt the song's moody flow would be perfect for The Originals. Benson eventually convinced Gaye that it was his song. The singer responded by asking for partial writing credit, which Benson allowed. Gaye added new musical composition, a new melody and lyrics that reflected Gaye's own disgust. Benson said later that Gaye tweaked and enriched the song, "added some things that were more ghetto, more natural, which made it seem like a story and not a song... we measured him for the suit and he tailored the hell out of it." [11] [10] During this time, Gaye had been deeply affected by letters shared between him and his brother after he had returned from service in the Vietnam War over the treatment of Vietnam veterans. [12] Save The Children" is an emotional plea for Children, that once again could apply 50 years later, with all the tragic crimes against Children!!!!! Sixties Medley" (" That's the Way Love Is"/" You"/" I Heard It Through the Grapevine"/" Little Darling (I Need You)"/" You're All I Need to Get By"/" Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"/" Your Precious Love"/" Pride and Joy"/" Stubborn Kind of Fellow") I know that this album has been reviewed millions of times, and even though "Marvin Gaye" had tons, and tons, and tons of great songs before "What's Going On", none, and I do mean none of his albums ever came close to this one!!!!!! The fact that "Marvin" was so defiant of "Berry Gordy", to go ahead with this bombshell of just great music, stuns the mind!!!! Greatest Albums of All Time: Marvin Gaye, 'What's Going On' ". Rolling Stone. 2012. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012.

David Hepworth described the album as "like a jazz record not merely because it had jazz manners and was slathered in strings and employed congas and triangle as its most prominent form of percussion...But it's also jazz in the sense that...[i]t plays like one long single." [21] God Is Love" is a nice Segway, and the first time (I believe) he expressed himself in a Spiritual way.... BTW, a word for the younger generations. This record is not just pretty music and lovely singing that you can listen to when you are stoned or making love — although admittedly, a lot of that happened at the time. It's about war, social inequality and the destruction of our planet, and the loneliness, the pressure and depression that one can feel in this environment — war, inequality, depression, ecology (it was a new word then), all the themes of 1970s' America, which probably have never been as relevant than today. In 1969 or 1970, I began to re-evaluate my whole concept of what I wanted my music to say... I was very much affected by letters my brother was sending me from Vietnam, as well as the social situation here at home. I realized that I had to put my own fantasies behind me if I wanted to write songs that would reach the souls of people. I wanted them to take a look at what was happening in the world. [15] Recording [ edit ] Gaye recorded the album at Motown's in-house studio Hitsville U.S.A. (since converted into a museum) Posner, Gerald (2002). Motown: Music, Money, Sex, and Power. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50062-6.This is without a doubt the greatest Soul and R&B album in music history, a must-have masterpiece that should be in every record collection. Yes "Sgt. Pepper" was influential, but "What's Going On" was a different kind of influence. Not to open your mind to drugs, and new experiences, but to open your mind to love and peace. Sly & The Family Stone might have psychedelicized soul music, but Marvin Gaye personalized it, and he literally poured out every emotion onto this record. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Marvin Gaye discussed what had shaped his view on more socially conscious themes in music and the conception of his eleventh studio album:

The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 9, 2004. Archived from the original on August 15, 2006 . Retrieved April 10, 2008. Breihan, Tom (May 19, 2011). "Marvin Gaye's What's Going On Gets Box Set". Pitchfork . Retrieved January 30, 2021. In fact, this record should not sound like pretty music and lovely words, it should move you and make you feel deeply sad, depressed, happy and hopeful, all at the same time —. It says STOP THE WAR, stop the madness, wake up to reality, take care of the world and of each other. Lewis, Miles Marshall (2006). There's a Riot Goin' On. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp.70–72. ISBN 0-8264-1744-2.Charles and Dee's house seemed like a different world. Everything moved. Dee couldn't put the kettle on without a few shimmies and pirouettes. When Charlie mowed the lawn, even the grass danced. Music was everywhere, but they never listened to the radio. It was always vinyl, and Charlie treasured his records like no one I'd known before. "You'll like this, Stevie" he used to say, pulling some curiously-named beast from a totally freaky sleeve. It was probably The Temps, or maybe Funkadelic. I don't remember. But I _do_ remember that Charlie seemed to actually _care_ about what I thought of his music. Bowman, Kirk (May 21, 2021). "Marvin Gaye – What's Going On (album review)". Sputnikmusic . Retrieved July 29, 2022. But the main reason for playing _What's Going On_ - something I do maybe three or four times a week, _every_ week. At least - is that it still sounds _sooooooooooooooo damn good_. The melodies are sublime, the execution of said melodies is an exercise in vocal perfection. The arrangements are little droplets of joy. The whole damn groove is aural sex. If you have a heart, it will feel. If you have hips, they will move. And if your ears have lips, they will smile. Acclaimed Music – What's Going On". Archived from the original on April 20, 2012 . Retrieved September 10, 2012. Gaye started to experience more international success around this time as both a solo artist with hits such as " I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and " Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and as a dual artist with Tammi Terrell, but Gaye said during this time that he felt he "didn't deserve" his success and he felt like "a puppet - Berry's puppet, Anna's puppet. I had a mind of my own and I wasn't using it." [4] [5] [3] In March 1970, Gaye's singing partner Terrell died of a brain tumor. The singer responded to Terrell's death by refusing to perform onstage for several years. In January 1970, Motown released Gaye's next studio album, That's the Way Love Is, but Gaye refused to promote the recording, choosing to stay at home. During this secluded period, Gaye ditched his previous clean-cut image to grow a beard, and preferred to wear sweatsuits instead of dress suits and sweaters. [6]