Motown initially resisted releasing “What’s Going On?”, but Gaye fought for it — and personally insisted the title include the “?” punctuation.Read more
The same bassist, James Jamerson, played bass on John Lee Hooker’s “Burnin” in 1962 and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On” in 1971, and nearly every Motown recording between 1963 & 1968.Read more
Backup vocalist group The Blackberries were part of Ray Charles’ Raeletts, Ike & Tina Turner’s Ikettes, the Motown house band, sang backup for Humble Pie’s “Eat It”, and performed backing vocals for Pink Floyd’s 1975 masterpiece “Wish You Were Here” & subsequent tour.Read more
Marvin Gaye’s first lead vocals were performed in 1959 at Chess Records, for his band Harvey and the New Moonglows. When the act failed to chart, Marvin disbanded & moved to Detroit, soon capturing the attention of Motown’s Barry Gordy.Read more
It was members of The Funk Brothers, Motown’s legendary house band, who backed John Lee Hooker’s famous 1962 song “Boom Boom”.Read more
Actor Bruce Willis covered The Staples Singers song “Respect Yourself” in 1987 on the Motown label — it shot to #5 on the Billboard chart.Read more
When Motown’s Barry Gordy refused to release Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin On” because of the album’s political nature, the artist went ‘on strike’ to achieve its release. Almost immediately, it became Motown’s biggest single, and one of the greatest albums of the 20th century.Read more
