The year 1970 marks a dark period for Marvin Gaye.
While recording the songs for his masterpiece
What's Going On
, the death of his stage partner Tammi Terrell - with whom he notably sings
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
- puts him in mourning.
When the album came out the following year, the Motown figurehead was unable to take the stage to tour.
It will last almost a year.
Read also: Motown, sixty years of black love
From this deep distress, however, arises a desire to create.
In the summer of 1971, Marvin Gaye went to the studio to record 14 experimental and psychedelic tracks, where funk, blues and soul influences merged.
At his side were those who would become big names in music: disco pioneer and drummer Hamilton Bohannon, bassist Michael Henderson, and guitarist Ray Parker Jr. known for his title
Ghostbusters,
in 1984. Almost 50 years later , and on the occasion of the anniversary of
What's Going,
released on May 21, 1971, these songs have just been released in the form of an album called
Funky Nation: The Detroit Instrumentals
, released on January 22, on the legendary Motown label.
Eternal idol
If since his tragic death in 1984, Marvin Gaye continues to fascinate, many have failed when it comes to measuring his legend.
Film projects left in an embryonic state have multiplied, and too few documentaries retrace the life of the author and performer
.
In cinema, we remember in particular the biopic
Sexual Healing
, by director Julien Temple in 2008, in which the singer Lenny Kravitz was originally to appear, before being replaced by actor Jesse L. Martin.
After many fiascos around the realization, the shooting will be stopped in 2013. In the end, only his musical works remain, faithful, to remind us of the genius of Marvin Gaye.
