The Record Motown Thought Could Damage His Career

By 1970, Marvin Gaye was one of Motown's biggest stars.

He had built his career on love songs and enormous hits such as I Heard It Through the Grapevine.

But Marvin was changing.

His brother Frankie had returned from Vietnam with stories of what he had experienced. America was struggling with war, racial conflict, poverty and unrest. And Marvin no longer wanted simply to sing another romantic hit.

Then came What's Going On.

When Motown founder Berry Gordy heard what Marvin was doing, he was deeply concerned.

Why, he wondered, would one of Motown's most successful singers risk his career by making songs about war and social problems?

It was a huge departure from the Motown formula.

But Marvin believed he had something important to say.

The title track was eventually released in January 1971.

It became a huge hit.

That success gave Marvin the opportunity to complete the album, and What's Going On appeared a few months later.

Instead of destroying his career, the record transformed it.

Marvin Gaye was no longer simply one of Motown's great voices. He had demonstrated that popular music could address war, poverty, the environment and social injustice while still reaching a mass audience.

More than half a century later, What's Going On is regarded as one of the landmark albums in popular music.

Sometimes the greatest risk an artist can take is to stop giving people what they expect.

🎵 Question:

Can you think of an artist who completely changed musical direction — and became even better because of it?