In August 1963, Billie Jean Brown knew that Martin Luther King Jr. had just delivered a powerful, momentous address.Her then-employer, Motown Records, recorded King’s "I Have a Dream" speech 57 years ago today at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., releasing it later that year on an album titled "The Great March on Washington."But even then, Brown says, she wouldn’t have predicted the enduring — and growing — import the speech would take on as years passed. The
Why January 20 has been declared ‘What’s Going On’ Day by Gov. Whitmer
Updated Jan 19, 2021;
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January 20 will now forever be known as “What’s Going On” Day in Michigan to celebrate one of the biggest and most influential Motown hits in music history, “What’s Going On,” which was released a half century ago. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has officially recognized the day to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of Marvin Gaye’s single.
The song was the first single released from Gaye’s 11th studio album of the same name in May 1971. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Soul Chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was also the first to credit Motown’s in-house studio band, The Funk Brothers.
Michigan designates Jan. 20 as What s Going On day honoring 50th anniversary of Marvin Gaye song
Motown Museum
and last updated 2021-01-19 09:57:25-05
(WXYZ) â The State of Michigan is officially recognizing Jan. 20 as What s Going On Day in honor of the 50th anniversary of the release of Marvin Gaye s iconic single
The song was originally inspired by a police brutality incident witnessed by Renaldo Obie Brown and was recorded at Motown Studios A and B in Detroit.
It eventually became Gaye s second-most successful Motown Song behind Let s Get It On.
âHaving this tribute on the calendar provides us with an important momentâone where we can come together as a unified state to pause, reflect and appreciate the need for ideas, perspective, love and understanding. These are values that mean more today than ever before,â Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a release. âThrough the recognition of âWhatâs Going Onâ Day, we hope to bring awarene
The state of Michigan is saluting an ageless homegrown classic.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in tandem with the Motown Museum, is officially recognizing Wednesday as “What’s Going On” Day on the 50th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s groundbreaking, still-timely single.
The museum said the designation is a kickoff to a year of commemorative activities tied to the album of the same name, which was released four months after the single as Gaye embraced ambitious new sounds and a socially conscious direction.
A “special tribute” document signed by Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist calls “What’s Going On” an influential piece of soul music that inspired other artists to convey “their own feelings, concerns and messages.”
UpdatedTue, Jan 19, 2021 at 5:50 pm ET
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Soul singer Marvin Gaye is mobbed by admirers on the way out to his car while visiting London in 1976. (Photo by John Minihan/Evening Standard/Getty Images)
LANSING, MI Jan. 20 is Inauguration Day in the United States as President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as the nation s 46th president, a time he has often referred to as one to unify the nation amid an era of racial tension and concurrent health and economic crises.
In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had a unifying message of her own designated for Wednesday, as What s Going On Day has been declared in honor of one of the state s many Motown music icons. The day marks the 50th anniversary of the single release of What s Going On, one of the late Marvin Gaye s most memorable songs.