Dying. Marvin touched the souls of millions and millions of people. Whoa oh, mercy, Mercy Me no, no well this is revolutionary. 50 years later, its all happening today. No one listened to the words on this album. Whats going on whats going on is prophesy, Man Ie i hi. Im don lemon. This song right here, Song Track of my childhood. I remember when whats going on came on. Marvin Gays Record went platinum. And Rolling Stone called this is greatest album of all time. Still going strong. It still resonates as the nation struggles with racism and inequality. It made me wonder how this album could still be saying so much to so many people after 50 years. I recall seeing a lot as a child. My music, i think, reflects my ethnic upbringing, fortunately. I knew him before he was marvin, yeah. He was just my brother. And we hung out almost every day. Marvin originally, man, wanted to be the black frank sinatra. Thats how he wanted to sing. He didnt want to sing Rock Or R B Or Anything like that. His introduction to the Music World as a singer was in a vocal group, the moon glow. So he came out of the vocal Group Tradition of the 50s. He was schooled in the most kind of strenuous and exacting school of soul singing. We had incredible ears and had this kind of genius for harmony. He could sing all the parts. Marvin joined motown, which is kind of a challenging thing. Producers are in charge. And marvin didnt like anybody to be in charge of him. He had this acrimonious relationship with his own father who was this authoritarian figure. So Marvin And Motown was somewhAt Tumultuous from the beginning. Were in northwest detroit. Many of the Motown Artists and the Funk Brothers, they all lived pretty much in the same neighborhood. We all hung out with Each Other. We went to Each Others homes. Let me tell you something. There is a thing, and it is not mythical. A lot of people think it is, called the motown family. Thats exactly what it is. You guys signed in motown, the same year 1961. I was 11 going on 12. But like everyone over 13, they saw themselves as being my parents. Cant have no more candy. Forget about it. And marvin was more like, you know, he had a smooth, you know, kind voice. Hey, you know, do you play drums . You hold the drumsticks this way. Oh, thank you. We always say in detroit we build things. The Motown Concept For Making Records was borrowed by that Assembly Line Concept that Henry Ford borrowed in 1910. Barry Gordy Sort of emulated that concept. They would be recording at Hitsville Usa 24 hours of the day. Barry was looking for a studio in detroit At ThAt Time. And he saw this house that had a garage attached to the back of it, which became the studio. The studio was about 55 feet long and about 47 feet wide. Small place. And we were all in one room. And we could see Each Others face. It was something about that magic of looking in a persons eyes when hes doing a pick up. We had the Funk Brothers were some of the best musicians ever. It was a mecca. Everybody in detroit could sing. I never seen anything like it. The Competition Level was super high. He very easily could have not hit. He was a decent drummer, musician. He started to be my drummer with the miracles and me going On The Road playing drums. He started writing some kind of fella and he was saying it frank sinatra, one of those kind of ways. That was when he became Marvin Gaye. You have a Love And Connection to Marvin Gaye that goes back your entire life. Look, even before this album. Tammy terrell, Marvin Gaye. There is another one, aint no mountain higher. A lot of people feel because of the albums they made thAt They were lovers. They never were lovers. The fact thAt Tammy collapsed in his arms on stage, she passed away, and thAt Tore him up. For a while, he didnt want to record with any of the girls ever again. He felt guilty about it, that it was his fault. The death of tammy tragic. And i dont think marvin ever got over that. It leads up to marvin late 1960s, very intense out of his depression. He didnt want to be produced by other producers. I think it was around 1969 to 1970, about that period at motown records when i stop thinking so much about my erotic fantasies and i started to think about the War And Vote no, maama maam vietnam. Also, if you are living in detroit, you are seeing the turmoil on the streets. The country was full of turmoil. The country was full of fear. The country was full of anger. A black person was killed in l. A. That started the riot. He withdrew. We didnt hear from marvin. Didnt make any appearances. Didnt come up. Everything with the war, everything he was facing with the racism. I dont know that i can continue without talking about whats going on. It is more poignant today, right now, in 2021 than it was when it came out. Its prophesy. Mother, mother theres too many of you crying. 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Because platforms this innovative, arent just made for traders theyre made by them. Thinkorswim trading. From td ameritrade. The new samsung galaxy s21. This looks different. It is. Show me. Just hit record see that . Yourre filming in 8k. Thats cinema quality. So. You can pull photos straight from video. Impressive. But will it last the whole trip . Youll have battery all day. And then more. This is different. Told you. Hey, whats happening, brother . Do you remember where you were first you first heard the album . Yeah. I was probably at his house. Exactly. But, see, i heard it in the making. I heard it from the conception oh, whats going on whats going on whats going on whats going on. He was in exile when he made the album. Then all of a sudden, it came to him and he just said he just felt like writing. O. B. Benson of the Four Tops sees a riot of a Police Brutality Attack in the Bay Area when hes on tour with the Four Tops and he writes some lyrics on about whats going on in The World. He comes back to detroit. He said, man, im going to drop my stuff off and im going to go by marvins house. He said, i got this kind of song in my head and it sounds like marvin could sing it. So they start clinking around with it. So marvin said, well, let me change some of the lyrics. Marvin had a real, unique way of transferring his every day experiences into songs mother, mother theres too many of you crying brother, brother, brother theres far too many of you dying. There were riots happening all over the country. Every one of these things was sparked by instances of police over reaction. I thought the country was headed for a modern day Civil War in a sense. I was quite alarmed. And then he calls me to look at Society And Something happened with me during this period, and i felt this strong urge to write music and to write lyrics thAt Touch the souls of men. I loved that he was not just a great musician, but he was well read. I like that he loved history. It was so subtle how he got the message into your mind and into your psyche. I want to know whats going on, baby. It wasnt accusatory of anyone. It wasnt praeachy. He believed the listener was smart enough to come up with their own conclusions. How do i feel about this. If he was writing, he would say, god is writing this album. Father, father we dont need to escalate. Oh, for only love. War is not the only. For only love can conquer hate. Hes speaking to god on one level, but hes speaking to the fathers of our country, the leadership of our country to deal with the Vietnam War but also to deal with the every day brutality brother, brother, brother theres far too many of you dying you know we got to find a way. I know he was going through the pain and the agony of my youngest brother who was in vietnam At The time. He takes us from vietnam back to the united states to see whats going on. What was going on in the community, the ghetto, injustice, the war. He makes you hear the lyrics, which are very important and potent. But then he tricks you into listening them with his music, but making you move and feel and hypnotizing you. He found techniques of using his voice as an instrument. He had done two different Lead Vocals for the record because he was going to see which one he wanted to use. The engineer in mixing it, mixed the two voices together by accident. That accident becomes the Turning Point because, ah, he listened to the interplay of his own voice they judge us simply fall down. He was the first one that i knew of that sang background for himself. Take some understanding here today. He was stacking vocals in a way that we hadnt heard before. That was marvins debut as a producer. Can you play your part . Can i play it . Yeah. On whats going on brother, brother, brother theres far too many of you dying. All of that music has a Jazzy Improvisional Groove through it. They put it out and it sold. It was an immediate pop hit. It crossed over. He hit the Culture Zeitgeist Right on the head when will it end when will people start getting together again. It was easy for him to come up with his usual Marvin Gaye love songs. He had to do something different. He shook it up and thats what made him different dont punish me with brutality. Dont punish me with brutality. Thats black Lives Matter. Absolutely. Its become legendary. Its been really a Sound Track to our lives and to our fight and to our triumph and our struggle. When you think that were losing people we love for no reason at all. I just dont understand whats going on. When marvin is writing these records, this is the George Floyds of that era that were inspiring it. Now, now im back on the scene whats happening, brother. Why do you think its so relevant today, 50 years later . Because shit is still happening the same way. Just to be honest with you, just to be frank and not steve for a minute, things are still happening the same way whats happening whats happening whats happening . This is what he feels like, the ghetto of the churches. This is how i feel right now. And i also see how you feel. I want to talk about you. Well. We started buying Charmin Super Mega roll. Charmin super mega roll is 6 rolls in 1 and lasts so much longer. Enjoy the go with charmin. Guaranteed to fit or your money back. Fact moms rule. And we all want ours to be healthy. 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His number. Delete it. Im deleting it. So, break free from the big three. Xfinity internet customers, take the Savings Challenge at xfinitymobile. Com mysavings. Or Visit And Xfinity store to learn how our Switch Squad makes it easy to switch and save hundreds. Detroit is a tale of two cities. Go two or three blocks and find middle class neighborhoods and then find abject poverty. This was the inspiration for Marvin Gayes whats going on. Whats going on was made first. It was this kind of jewel. And then barry goes back to marvin and says, can you deliver a full album . It was whAt The industry began to call concept albums. Whats going on dealt with a central theme. And every track on the album added on to thAt Theme. We just went from one song to the other. He had all of those songs together, man. He wanted it to all Come Together And Melt together. He put together thAt Theme and created a universe. Makes you want to holla. Hold up your hands oh, makes you want to holla this aint living no, no, no, no. Groove on that record is crazy. I could put Inner City Blues On right now, get through the car and drive through any city in america and that record still sings, and it still describes what im seeing. Youre driving through kansas in the middle of nowhere. You put that song On And buildings start coming up out of nowhere. Some songs are cinematic. Intercity blues is a movie. These are experiences. This is what he feels like. The ghetto, the churches, poverty and the miscommunication of understanding racism. This is how i feel right now, and i want you to understand how i feel. And i also see how you feel. I want to talk about you. We all need to cry out. And marvin does cry out in this album. But his cries are reconstructed in ways that are irresistibly beautiful save The World save The World save the babies Save The Children. Save the children. Who really cares whos willing to die to save a world that is destined to die . That was an emotional plea for children. Thats one of the high points of the album. And how he says who really cares . It is almost an gellic in looking down trying to figure out what is a solution. Who really cares . Im crying out for you to listen to me. This is more important than writing about i love you, i love you, but in a different way. Hold holding. When i think about detroit, there is almost a church on every street corner. The album that begins at a forty winds up in church. So it is unapologetically spirit actual. Who goes into gospel on an album thats supposed to be soul and he starts singing holy, holy . Hes a church boy. Its about bringing people together and a sense of unity. Holy, holy. Its beautiful. It feels beautiful. But most importantly, it continues to heal. We should believe in one another. It was a message that god wanted him to relate to mankind. Whoa oh, mercy, Mercy Me. I have never heard anyone really speak about the environment in soul music. So for me, it was even beyond the people. It was about the planet. Oh, wasted on the oceans oh, mercy, mercy oh, things aint whAt They used to be used to be. Mercy, Mercy Me has one of the baddest grooves on the album. Im not sure in 1971 people wanted to hear that we were burning up the planet and we were polluting the oceans. But we got the message across by grooving it up so craftily until you wanted to hear it over and over again. Oh, mercy, Mercy Me oh, things aint whAt They used to be. Thats kind of low. Oh, mercy, Mercy Me. Thats it. This is one of the greatest bad cover photos. Look at it. He got the shaft. Got the shaft. Gloves. Bad mother shut your mouth coat. Its marvin in the backyard wearing a raincoat during a rainstorm. This is an album of a man who is crying. And the sky is crying. It wasnt what we are used to seeing from motown. You know, because you guys had the Charm School and the Etiquette School and everybody was clean cut and pretty. He was doing marvin. He was doing his thing, man. Was Marvin Gaye looking into The World . It just felt like an overcast day and looking into darkness in a way. It fit thAt Time. It fits today years later, you know . I felt like we were coming into our own. Man, we went Black Folks are getting down. vo conventional thinking doesnt disrupt the status quo. Which is why tmobile for business uses unconventional thinking to help your business realize new possibilities. Only one 5g Partner offers unmatched network, support, and valuewithout any trade offs. Hey, baby im just a backup. You could say that could be the Xenith Of Black Music. Why did you say the Xenith Of Black Music . The world we living in, you know, its black power. People of The World join hands. Soul train. Sexy. Were just beautiful. We were feeling ourselves. And the way we dressed, the way were dancing. Yeah. Man, we were we were dancing. Black folks are getting down. I felt like we were coming into our own after the civil rights movement. Yes, yes. Marvin was telling us what was going on. Like he had an antenna. This album came out in 1971. I was a soft more in high school. In the library, they had turntables, so if you bought an album and had headphones, you would put the album On And listen to the headphones. So i would cut class to listen to his album. This mojo right here, timeless, timeless. How much do you think he was influenced by his Brothers Involvement in vietnam. Marvin was getting a firsthand account of vietnam by his brother. But then marvin is detroit. He seen the bloods come back on he heroin, handicapped or Cough F coffins. They called the u. S. The world. Hey, baby. What you no good im just coming back. War is hell. When will people start getting together again things will get better the newspaper. This had to have had an influence on you because your movies are about this. Inner city blues, thats a spike lee joint. Crime is increasing this album right here, hes singing to you. So he was singing to you then by using bloods . Yes. This film was about bloods who were turning to vietnam 50 years later. He uses a cappella version mother, mother theres too many of you cry ing brother, brother, brother theres far too many of you dying you know weve got to find a way to bring some loving here today yeah father, father. My ears like blew up. And i knew exactly the scene where it would go oh, but who are they to judge us simply cuz our hair is wrong. Africanamericans At The height of the Vietnam War, as soon as you graduated, they snatch your black ass up, send you to Boot Camp and before you snap your fingers youre in the jungle halfway around The World. And we were sent to the front. I remember seeing the Vietnam War of my cousins and uncles. They come home on Heroin And Angel dust. And then they were someohunned. Out cast. I mean, these soldiers hear a song and they say in their mind, marvin wrote this for me. Marvin is singing the gospel to me. We hear it in even the young folks now. Thats when it happens. Mother, mother, mother. Whats going on is it is a protest song. There is a great history of singing the blues protest song. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Shes talking about black people being lynched in the streets around america. It was unheard of for her to have that kind of song out and for people to embrace that kind of song, especially white people. Is there some lesson . Is there some connection . Marvin was doing the same thing, except it was how many years later . He was living in his truth. And truth is hard to tell Strange Fruit Hanging from the poplar trees. What do you think, the similarities you see between Marvin Gaye . I think it was revelatory then. It was revelatory when i was young listening to it. So you listened to this album growing up. Yeah, of course. But i wasnt super aware of the lyrics. It wasnt until i got older and i heard one of my favorite songs on the album, which is Save The Children oh, who really cares whos willing to try. Its a journey. When you realize what hes saying, its like we cannot continue down this path. This is a path of destruction save The World save The World save the babies Save The Children. The album covered so much ground, it was representative of not just what was happening with the very soldiers that have gone for the Vietnam War but the people that were dealing with things in life. You know, the song was flying high. Flying high in the friendly skies. That was about drugs being heroin flying high in the deadly sky flying high. The whole Drug Thing happened. The depression that happened. And its just a deep thing. Ironically enough, Marvins Addiction is ultimately what sort of did him in and ravished his mind. So that song alone is pertinent to his personal life. George floyd whats his name . George floyd what do you think marvin would think about whats going on . This looks different. It is. Show me. Just hit record see that . Youre filming in 8k. Thats cinema quality. So. You can pull photos straight from video. Impressive. But will it last a whole trip . Youll have battery all day. And then more. This is different. Told you. I was totally stranded. Told you. No tp . So what happened . Well. We started buying Charmin Super Mega roll. Charmin super mega roll is 6 rolls in 1 and lasts so much longer. Enjoy the go with charmin. Guaranteed to fit or your money back. Among my patients i often see them have Teeth Sensitivity as well as gum issues. Does it worry me . Absolutely. Sensodyne Sensitivity And Gum gives us a dual Action Effect that really takes care of both our Teeth Sensitivity as well as our gum issues. Theres no question its something that i would recommend. When i was young nonononono please please no. I never needed anyone. Front desk. Yes, hello. Im so. Please hold. Those days are done. I got you. All by yourself. Go with us and find millions of flexible options. All in our app. Expedia. It matters who you travel with. Ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. GreAt Tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. Is mealtime a struggle . Introducing oreida Potato Pay. Where oreida golden crinkles are your crispy currency to pay for bites of this. With this. When kids wont eat dinner, Potato Pay them to. Oreida. Win at mealtime. Someday im going to marry you. Yes someday im going to marry you. Someday well buy that little place on ellsworth. Some days, will be rougher than others. Someday, 50 years will have gone by, and ill ask you to marry me, all over again. Someday. Get zero down special financing with the kay jewelers credit card. I want to know whats going on, baby. I asked him, do you think about doing another whats going on . And he said he didnt feel like he was in the right mental state to do that. I had gone through three years of pretty rough times, and its been difficult to hold up. Any time i felt like doing some crazy things. And the only ways you can get these feelings off is to put it in your music. As a black man, he represented a full spectrum of what we have in terms of interest, that were not just the sexualized version that you want us to be. But you know i have seen you on stage where youre singing and women are throwing their panties up on the stage. How do you feel when people say, you know, max well, modern day Marvin Gaye. Im very complimented by it. A lot of what i was trying to do in my early days and even most of my life now around him. He gave you something to look up to, something to want to become and to embody. I loved his direction. I was inspired by what he wrote. Its emotional to talk about because i have seen him earlier that year, and he called me on stage and he hugged. I said, how do you feel . He said, oh, im just tired. Im just tired. And that was the last time, unfortunately, that i saw him. He was in turmoil before he died. He struggled privately. His dad was always in conflict with him. You never talked about it . No. I wish we had. I wish we had. Rest of the folks are tired and weary. He started doing drugs a little heavier and he started Hearing Voices and he kept talking about he didnt want to live anymore. He wanted to go go to the place where danger awaits me. I remember being In The Park and they announced on the radio his death. Marvin gaye was shot to death yesterday. Marvin Gaye Sr. Booked on suspicion of murder on his son. What an epitat, to be killed by the man you made you. I know hes at peace and hes at rest. Join the spirit. I think his name will live On And On And On And on. This is now a learning ground. Im always going to remember the time i learned what not to play and when not to play. Hopefully every five years or ten years, there will be another version of whats going on by another artist. There is far too many of you dying you know youve got to find a way to bring some Love Michael Mcdonalds Version of it, John Legend did the whole album live. Whats going on, hey, whats going on tell me whats going on, ooh all the Neo Soul guys, deangelo, maxwell, people like adele. Ingmar vin is the most influential male vocalist of the last 50 years in terms of anybody who is doing anything that involves soul music. And you look at like all of the records that are coming out that have a very social justice feel to them. You can always point to marvin first. Broken down and tired of living life on the merrygoround Rise Up, thats from a prayer. It was the first time i was really questioning in my life if this was supposed to be what i was supposed to do. And i Rise Up high like the waves, i Rise Up coy not think of a better way for this song to be supported, for it to be celebrated than to be adopted by the black Lives Matter movement. Father, father, we dont need to escalate this song had never had a music video, which is insane, because its probably one of the most profound songs in history. I really wanted to use my voice. I really wanted to say something. I wanted to speak. I just want to ask the question, who really cares. When this musician you look up to is all of the sudden confronting you with these intense questions, you have to respond to that. Brother, brother, brother. We really needed to show the racial discrimination going on today. You know weve got to find our way. You want us to talk about our children, the kids that are being killed by these mass shootings. The voices of the young people, especially that year in 2019 and 2018, there is a lot of young people angry. Whats going on the Health Care Crisis is probably one of my biggest issues with the u. S. And then the flint, michigan Water Crisis that is so close to detroit, so close to the home of motown, it only felt right. Black Lives Matter mother, mother theres too many the question of what is going on, it unfortunately hasnt gone away. Your dad was a wedding singer. Did he sing like Marvin Gay around the house . 100 . Father, father when he pulled out the whats going on album, i was oh, who is this . It want until this past year where i truly listened to the entire record, the entire album from front to back. What was the inspiration for you to record whats going on . Say his name. George floyd it happened when i went out to a protest here in nashville after George Floyd was killed. I went home, picked the guitar up, and started strumming through it, and immediately i just started crying. Marvin gay, he already wrote this song 50 years ago, and nobody listened . No one heard it . It was At That moment, it hurt. It hurt to sing those words. So you can see i think the next generation has the power to absolutely change this world. Because they dont give a damn. They see something thats wrong and they point it out. And that is our purpose. Black people have woken in a way we aint ever seen before, not in my lifetime. It is up to us to get it right, to fix it. People, we all got to come together getting really sick of being tired, and you get very sad about being sick, and you get very upset about being angry. And at some Point Something has to give, and i think creatively, he gave us that opportunity to sort of like let loose. We have to sing about it. We have to pray about it. We have to figure it out. The question doesnt go away. The music doesnt go away. I wish he could have known the way that we love him right now with this record. Imagine that, from wconceptin to your favorite album of all time. All time. There is a lot of hits that came out of motown, but only one whats going on. Only one of those. And only one Marvin Gay. Brother, brother, brother, theres far too many of you dying. Again and again and again, we keep asking ourselves whats going on. To bring some loving here today father, father, we dont need to escalate war is not the answer for only Love Calm the hate you know weve got to find our way to bring some loving here today you got your new customers they get our best deals. You got your existing customers they also get our best deals. Everyone. Gets. The deals. Questions . Got it. But, why did you use a permanent marker . Because i want to make sure you remember. I am going to get a new whiteboard. Its not complicated. Only At T gives new existing customers the same great deals on all smartphones. 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