Archival Tape Edition No. 11 § Marvin Gaye / What's Going On

Supersense

Marvin Gaye's first album to present him as a producer and to credit Motown's in-house studio band, the iconic session musicians known as the Funk Brothers. "What's Going On" is a concept album with its narrative, established by the songs, being told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to his home country to witness hatred, suffering, and injustice. The album was an immediate commercial and critical success making Gaye the first male solo artist to place three top ten singles o