Gaye also provided piano and keyboards, and also played a box drum to help alongside Chet Forest's drumming. It also became Gaye's second number-one album on Billboard's Soul LPs chart, where it stayed for nine weeks as well as staying inside the Billboard Soul LPs chart for a record breaking 58 weeks throughout 1971 and 1972. [36], A remastered deluxe edition with 28 additional tracks was released on May 31, 2011, to similar acclaim. The third, and final, single, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", peaked at number-nine on the Hot 100, while also rising to number-one on the R&B chart, thus making Gaye the first male solo artist to place three top ten singles on the Hot 100 off one album, as well as the first artist to place three singles at number-one on any Billboard chart (in this case, R&B), off one single album. [34] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau was less impressed. [16][10] Gordy himself denied this claim, stating he loved the song's jazzy feel but cautioned Gaye that the sound was out of date of the sound of the times and also feared the loss of Gaye's crossover audience by releasing the political song. The work was considered groundbreaking for its honest treatment of children’s emotions, especially anger, and it won the 1964 Caldecott Medal. 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. The work was considered groundbreaking for its honest treatment of children’s emotions, especially anger, and it won the 1964 Caldecott Medal. Gordy later explained: "My reason for pushing back on Marvin wasn't to stop the single, just to determine whether or not this was another one of his wild ideas. [15] Fontaine's open alto saxophone riff on the song was not originally intended. 'Why are they sending kids so far away from their families overseas? What's going on? The song featured a memorable tenor saxophone riff from Detroit music legend Wild Bill Moore. By Averi Clements. Learn more about Where the Wild Things Are. He put himself in his brother's shoes and wrote a song that stands among the most tuneful works of consciousness-raising in American music. "Slant Magazine Music Review: Marvin Gaye: MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide, "The Classic: Marvin Gaye: What's Going On", "Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (album review 3)", "Marvin Gaye: What's Going On : Music Reviews", "BBC – Music – Review of Marvin Gaye – What's Going On – 40th Anniversary Edition Review", "What's Going On [40th Anniversary Edition] Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic", "The Guardian 100 Best Albums Ever List, 1997", "RPM Top 100 Singles - November 20, 1971", "British album certifications – Marvin Gaye – What's Going On", "American album certifications – Marvin Gaye – What's Going On", "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Marvin Gaye, 'What's Going On. The narrative established by the songs is told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to his home country to witness hatred, suffering, and injustice. I remember jumping up and down on the bed saying, 'I'm going to make it. 10pm - 1am, Baby, It's Cold Outside For other albums by this title, see. I'm going to be a songwriter. "[23] Richie Unterberger found the album somewhat overrated, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock (2003) that much of its "meandering introspection" paled in comparison to its three singles. Some folks don’t like to hear why it should be a “given” that a team like the 0-13 New York Jets will lose to the 9-4 Los Angeles Rams. 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. Motown conductor David Van De Pitte said that Jamerson "always kept a bottle of [the Greek spirit] Metaxa in his bass case. 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