Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.

In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin. Bronze does not necessarily contain tin, and a variety of alloys of copper, including alloys with arsenic, phosphorus, aluminum, manganese, and silicon, are commonly termed "bronze". The term is applied to a variety of brasses and the distinction is largely historical.

Brass is a substitutional alloy. It is used for decoration for its bright gold-like appearance; for applications where low friction is required such as locks, gears, bearings, doorknobs, ammunition, and valves; for plumbing and electrical applications; and extensively in musical instruments such as horns and bells for its acoustic properties. It is also used in zippers. Because it is softer than most other metals in general use, brass is often used in situations where it is important that sparks not be struck, as in fittings and tools around explosive gases.

Brass has a muted yellow color which is somewhat similar to gold. It is relatively resistant to tarnishing, and is often used as decoration and for coins. In antiquity, polished brass was often used as a mirror.

Properties

The malleability and acoustic properties of brass have made it the metal of choice for brass musical instruments such as the trombone, tuba, trumpet, cornet, euphonium, tenor horn, and the French horn. Even though the saxophone is classified as a woodwind instrument and the harmonica is a free reed aerophone, both are also often made from brass. In organ pipes of the reed family, brass strips (called tongues) are used as the reeds, which beat against the shallot (or beat "through" the shallot in the case of a "free" reed).

Brass has higher malleability than bronze or zinc. The relatively low melting point of brass (900 to 940°C, depending on composition) and its flow characteristics make it a relatively easy material to cast. By varying the proportions of copper and zinc, the properties of the brass can be changed, allowing hard and soft brasses. The density of brass is approximately .303 lb/cubic inch, 8400 to 8730 kilograms per cubic metre (equivalent to 8.4 to 8.73 grams per cubic centimetre).

Today almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled. Because brass is not ferromagnetic, it can be separated from ferrous scrap by passing the scrap near a powerful magnet. Brass scrap is collected and transported to the foundry where it is melted and recast into billets. Billets are heated and extruded into the desired form and size.

Aluminium makes brass stronger and more corrosion resistant. Aluminium also causes a highly beneficial hard layer of aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) to be formed on the surface that is thin, transparent and self healing. Tin has a similar effect and finds its use especially in sea water applications (naval brasses). Combinations of iron, aluminium, silicon and manganese make brass wear and tear resistant.

Lead content

To enhance the machinability of brass, lead is often added in concentrations of around 2%. Since lead has a lower melting point than the other constituents of the brass, it tends to migrate towards the grain boundaries in the form of globules as it cools from casting. The pattern the globules form on the surface of the brass increases the available lead surface area which in turn affects the degree of leaching. In addition, cutting operations can smear the lead globules over the surface. These effects can lead to significant lead leaching from brasses of comparatively low lead content.

Silicon is an alternative to lead; however, when silicon is used in a brass alloy, the scrap must never be mixed with leaded brass scrap because of contamination and safety problems.

In October 1999 the California State Attorney General sued 13 key manufacturers and distributors over lead content. In laboratory tests, state researchers found the average brass key, new or old, exceeded the California Proposition 65 limits by an average factor of 19, assuming handling twice a day. In April 2001 manufacturers agreed to reduce lead content to 1.5%, or face a requirement to warn consumers about lead content. Keys plated with other metals are not affected by the settlement, and may continue to use brass alloys with higher percentage of lead content.

Also in California, lead-free materials must be used for "each component that comes into contact with the wetted surface of pipes and pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures." On January 1, 2010, the maximum amount of lead in "lead-free brass" in California was reduced from 4% to 0.25% lead. The common practice of using pipes for electrical grounding is discouraged, as it accelerates lead corrosion.

Corrosion-resistant brass for harsh environments

thumb|200px|Brass sampling cock with stainless steel handle. The so called dezincification resistant (DZR or DR) brasses are used where there is a large corrosion risk and where normal brasses do not meet the standards. Applications with high water temperatures, chlorides present or deviating water qualities (soft water) play a role. DZR-brass is excellent in water boiler systems. This brass alloy must be produced with great care, with special attention placed on a balanced composition and proper production temperatures and parameters to avoid long-term failures.

Germicidal/antimicrobial applications

''Main article: Antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces.

''See also: Antimicrobial properties of copper, Copper alloys in aquaculture

The copper in brass makes brass germicidal. Depending upon the type and concentration of pathogens and the medium they are in, brass kills these microorganisms within a few minutes to eight hours of contact.

The bactericidal properties of brass have been observed for centuries and were confirmed in the laboratory in 1983. Subsequent experiments by research groups around the world reconfirmed the antimicrobial efficacy of brass, as well as copper and other copper alloys. Extensive structural membrane damage to bacteria was noted after being exposed to copper.

In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency regulates the registration of antimicrobial products. After extensive antimicrobial testing according to the Agency’s stringent test protocols, 355 copper alloys, including many brasses, were found to kill more than 99.9% of methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA), ''E. coli'' O157:H7, ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'', ''Staphylococcus aureus'', ''Enterobacter aerogenes'', and vancomycin-resistant ''Enterococci'' (VRE) within two hours of contact. Normal tarnishing was found to not impair antimicrobial effectiveness.

Antimicrobial tests have also revealed significant reductions of MRSA as well as two strains of epidemic MRSA (EMRSA-1 and EMRSA-16) on brass (C24000 with 80% Cu) at room temperature (22 degrees Celsius) within three hours. Complete kills of the pathogens were observed within 4 ½ hours. These tests were performed under wet exposure conditions. The kill timeframes, while impressive, are nevertheless longer than for pure copper, where kill timeframes ranged between 45 to 90 minutes.

A novel assay that mimics dry bacterial exposure to touch surfaces was developed because this test method is thought to more closely replicate real world touch surface exposure conditions. In these conditions, copper alloy surfaces were found to kill several million Colony Forming Units of ''Escherichia coli'' within minutes. This observation, and the fact that kill timeframes shorten as the percentage of copper in an alloy increases, is proof that copper is the ingredient in brass and other copper alloys that kills the microbes.

The mechanisms of antimicrobial action by copper and its alloys, including brass, is a subject of intense and ongoing investigation. It is believed that the mechanisms are multifaceted and include the following: 1) Potassium or glutamate leakage through the outer membrane of bacteria; 2) Osmotic balance disturbances; 3) Binding to proteins that do not require or utilize copper; 4) Oxidative stress by hydrogen peroxide generation.

Research is being conducted at this time to determine whether brass, copper, and other copper alloys can help to reduce cross contamination in public facilities and reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections (hospital acquired infections) in healthcare facilities.

Also, due to its antimicrobial/algaecidal properties that prevent biofouling, in conjunction with its strong structural and corrosion-resistant benefits for marine environments, brass alloy netting cages are currently being deployed in commercial-scale aquaculture operations in Asia, South America, and the USA.

Season cracking

Brass is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking, especially from ammonia or substances containing or releasing ammonia. The problem is sometimes known as season cracking after it was first discovered in brass cartridge cases used for rifle ammunition during the 1920s in the Indian Army. The problem was caused by high residual stresses from cold forming of the cases during manufacture, together with chemical attack from traces of ammonia in the atmosphere. The cartridges were stored in stables and the ammonia concentration rose during the hot summer months, so initiating brittle cracks. The problem was resolved by annealing the cases, and storing the cartridges elsewhere.

Brass types

Admiralty brass contains 30% zinc, and 1% tin which inhibits dezincification in many environments.

Aich's alloy typically contains 60.66% copper, 36.58% zinc, 1.02% tin, and 1.74% iron. Designed for use in marine service owing to its corrosion resistance, hardness and toughness. A characteristic application is to the protection of ships' bottoms, but more modern methods of cathodic protection have rendered its use less common. Its appearance resembles that of gold.

Alpha brasses with less than 35% zinc, are malleable, can be worked cold, and are used in pressing, forging, or similar applications. They contain only one phase, with face-centered cubic crystal structure.

Prince's metal or Prince Rupert's metal is a type of alpha brass containing 75% copper and 25% zinc. Due to its beautiful yellow color, it is used as an imitation of gold. The alloy was named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine.

Alpha-beta brass (Muntz metal), also called duplex brass, is 35–45% zinc and is suited for hot working. It contains both α and β' phase; the β'-phase is body-centered cubic and is harder and stronger than α. Alpha-beta brasses are usually worked hot.

Aluminium brass contains aluminium, which improves its corrosion resistance. It is used for seawater service and also in Euro coins (Nordic gold).

Arsenical brass contains an addition of arsenic and frequently aluminium and is used for boiler fireboxes.

Beta brasses, with 45–50% zinc content, can only be worked hot, and are harder, stronger, and suitable for casting.

Cartridge brass is a 30% zinc brass with good cold working properties. Used for ammunition cases.

Common brass, or rivet brass, is a 37% zinc brass, cheap and standard for cold working.

DZR brass is dezincification resistant brass with a small percentage of arsenic.

Gilding metal is the softest type of brass commonly available. An alloy of 95% copper and 5% zinc, gilding metal is typically used for ammunition "jackets", e.g. full metal jacket bullets.

High brass contains 65% copper and 35% zinc, has a high tensile strength and is used for springs, screws, and rivets.

Leaded brass is an alpha-beta brass with an addition of lead. It has excellent machinability.

Lead-free brass as defined by California Assembly Bill AB 1953 contains "not more than 0.25 percent lead content".

Low brass is a copper-zinc alloy containing 20% zinc with a light golden color and excellent ductility; it is used for flexible metal hoses and metal bellows.

Manganese brass is a brass most notably used in making golden dollar coins in the United States. It contains roughly 70% copper, 29% zinc, and 1.3% manganese.

Muntz metal is about 60% copper, 40% zinc and a trace of iron, used as a lining on boats.

Nickel brass is composed of 70% copper, 24.5% zinc and 5.5% nickel used to make pound coins in the pound sterling currency.

Naval brass, similar to admiralty brass, is 40% zinc and 1% tin.

Nordic gold, used in 10, 20 and 50 cts euro coins, contains 89% copper, 5% aluminium, 5% zinc, and 1% tin.

Red brass is both an American term for the copper-zinc-tin alloy known as gunmetal, and an alloy which is considered both a brass and a bronze. It typically contains 85% copper, 5% tin, 5% lead, and 5% zinc. Red brass is also an alternative name for ''copper alloy C23000'', which is composed of 14–16% zinc, 0.05% iron and lead, and the remainder copper. It may also refer to ounce metal, another copper-zinc-tin alloy.

Rich low brass (Tombac) is 15% zinc. It is often used in jewelry applications.

Tonval brass (also called CW617N or CZ122 or OT58) is a copper-lead-zinc alloy. It is not recommended for seawater use, being susceptible to dezincification.

White brass contains more than 50% zinc and is too brittle for general use. The term may also refer to certain types of nickel silver alloys as well as Cu-Zn-Sn alloys with high proportions (typically 40%+) of tin and/or zinc, as well as predominantly zinc casting alloys with copper additive.

Yellow brass is an American term for 33% zinc brass.

History

Although forms of brass have been in use since prehistory, its true nature as a copper-zinc alloy was not understood until the post medieval period because the zinc vapor which reacted with copper to make brass was not recognised as a metal. The King James Bible makes many references to "brass". The Shakespearean English form of the word 'brass' can mean any bronze alloy, or copper, rather than the strict modern definition of brass. The earliest brasses may have been natural alloys made by smelting zinc-rich copper ores. By the Roman period brass was being deliberately produced from metallic copper and zinc minerals using the cementation process and variations on this method continued until the mid 19th century. It was eventually replaced by speltering, the direct alloying of copper and zinc metal which was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.

Early copper zinc alloys

In West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean early copper zinc alloys are now known in small numbers from a number of third Millennium BC sites in the Aegean, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kalmikia, Turkmenistan and Georgia and from 2nd Millennium BC sites in West India, Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq and Palestine. However, isolated examples of copper-zinc alloys are known in China from as early as the 5th Millennium BC.

The compositions of these early "brass" objects are very variable and most have zinc contents of between 5% and 15% wt which is lower than in brass produced by cementation. These may be "natural alloys" manufactured by smelting zinc rich copper ores in reducing conditions. Many have similar tin contents to contemporary bronze artefacts and it is possible that some copper-zinc alloys were accidental and perhaps not even distinguished from copper. However the large number of copper-zinc alloys now known suggests that at least some were deliberately manufactured and many have zinc contents of more than 12% wt which would have resulted in a distinctive golden color.

By the 8th–7th century BC Assyrian cuneiform tablets mention the exploitation of the "copper of the mountains" and this may refer to "natural" brass. ''Oreichalkos'', the Ancient Greek translation of this term, was later adapted to the Latin ''aurichalcum'' meaning "golden copper" which became the standard term for brass. In the 4th century BC Plato knew ''oreichalkos'' as rare and nearly as valuable as gold and Pliny describes how ''aurichalcum'' had come from Cypriot ore deposits which had been exhausted by the 1st century AD.

Brass making in the Roman World

During the later part of first Millennium BC the use of brass spread across a wide geographical area from Britain and Spain in the west to Iran, and India in the east. This seems to have been encouraged by exports and influence from the Middle-East and eastern Mediterranean where deliberate production of brass from metallic copper and zinc ores had been introduced. The 4th century BC writer Theopompus, quoted by Strabo, describes how heating earth from Andeira in Turkey produced "droplets of false silver", probably metallic zinc, which could be used to turn copper into oreichalkos. In the 1st century BC the Greek Dioscorides seems to have recognised a link between zinc minerals and brass describing how Cadmia (zinc oxide) was found on the walls of furnaces used to heat either zinc ore or brass and explaining that it can then be used to make brass.

By the first century BC brass was available in sufficient supply to use as coinage in Phrygia and Bithynia, and after the Augustan currency reform of 23 BC it was also used to make Roman ''dupondii'' and ''sestertii''. The uniform use of brass for coinage and military equipment across the Roman world may indicate a degree of state involvement in the industry, and brass even seems to have been deliberately boycotted by Jewish communities in Palestine because of its association with Roman authority.

Brass was produced by the cementation process where copper and zinc ore are heated together until zinc vapor is produced which reacts with the copper. There is good archaeological evidence for this process and crucibles used to produce brass by cementation have been found on Roman period sites including Xanten and Nidda in Germany, Lyon in France and at a number of sites in Britain. They vary in size from tiny acorn sized to large amphorae like vessels but all have elevated levels of zinc on the interior and are lidded. They show no signs of slag or metal prills suggesting that zinc minerals were heated to produce zinc vapor which reacted with metallic copper in a solid state reaction. The fabric of these crucibles is porous, probably designed to prevent a build up of pressure, and many have small holes in the lids which may be designed to release pressure or to add additional zinc minerals near the end of the process. Dioscorides mentioned that zinc minerals were used for both the working and finishing of brass, perhaps suggesting secondary additions.

Brass made during the early Roman period seems to have varied between 20% to 28% wt zinc. The high content of zinc in coinage and brass objects declined after the first century AD and it has been suggested that this reflects zinc loss during recycling and thus an interruption in the production of new brass. However it is now thought this was probably a deliberate change in composition and overall the use of brass increases over this period making up around 40% of all copper alloys used in the Roman world by the 4th century AD.

Brass making in the medieval period

Little is known about the production of brass during the centuries immediately after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Disruption in the trade of tin for bronze from Western Europe may have contributed to the increasing popularity of brass in the east and by the 6th–7th centuries AD over 90% of copper alloy artefacts from Egypt were made of brass. However other alloys such as low tin bronze were also used and they vary depending on local cultural attitudes, the purpose of the metal and access to zinc, especially between the Islamic and Byzantine world. Conversely the use of true brass seems to have declined in Western Europe during this period in favour of gunmetals and other mixed alloys but by the end of the first Millennium AD brass artefacts are found in Scandinavian graves in Scotland, brass was being used in the manufacture of coins in Northumbria and there is archaeological and historical evidence for the production of brass in Germany and The Low Countries areas rich in calamine ore which would remain important centres of brass making throughout the medieval period, especially Dinant – brass objects are still collectively known as ''dinanterie'' in French. The Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège in modern Belgium (before 1117) is an outstanding masterpiece of Romanesque brass casting.

The cementation process continued to be used but literary sources from both Europe and the Islamic world seem to describe variants of a higher temperature liquid process which took places in open topped crucibles. Islamic cementation seems to have used zinc oxide known as ''tutiya'' or tutty rather than zinc ores for brass making resulting in a metal with lower iron impurities. A number of Islamic writers and the 13th century Italian Marco Polo describe how this was obtained by sublimation from zinc ores and condensed onto clay or iron bars, archaeological examples of which have been identified at Kush in Iran. It could then be used for brass making or medicinal purposes. In 10th century Yemen al-Hamdani described how spreading al-iglimiya, probably zinc oxide, onto the surface of molten copper produced tutiya vapor which then reacted with the metal. The 13th century Iranian writer al-Kashani describes a more complex process whereby ''tutiya'' was mixed with raisins and gently roasted before being added to the surface of the molten metal. A temporary lid was added at this point presumably to minimise the escape of zinc vapor.

In Europe a similar liquid process in open topped crucibles took place which was probably less efficient than the Roman process and the use of the term tutty by Albertus Magnus in the 13th century suggests influence from Islamic technology. The 12th century German monk Theophilus described how preheated crucibles were one sixth filled with powdered calamine and charcoal then topped up with copper and charcoal before being melted, stirred then filled again. The final product was cast, then again melted with calamine. It has been suggested that this second melting may have taken place at a lower temperature to allow more zinc to be absorbed. Albertus Magnus noted that the "power" of both calamine and tutty could evaporate and described how the addition of powdered glass could create a film to bind it to the metal. German brass making crucibles are known from Dortmund dating to the 10th century AD and from Soest and Schwerte in Westphalia dating to around the 13th century confirm Theophilus' account as they are open topped, although ceramic discs from Soest may have served as loose lids which may have been used to reduce zinc evaporation, and have slag on the interior resulting from a liquid process.

Brass making in Renaissance and post medieval Europe

The Renaissance saw important changes to both the theory and practice of brassmaking in Europe. By the 15th century there is evidence for the renewed use of lidded cementation crucibles at Zwickau in Germany. These large crucibles were capable of producing c.20 kg of brass. There are traces of slag and pieces of metal on the interior. Their irregular composition suggesting that this was a lower temperature not entirely liquid process. The crucible lids had small holes which were blocked with clay plugs near the end of the process presumably to maximise zinc absorption in the final stages. Triangular crucibles were then used to melt the brass for casting.

16th century technical writers such as Biringuccio, Ercker and Agricola described a variety of cementation brass making techniques and came closer to understanding the true nature of the process noting that copper became heavier as it changed to brass and that it became more golden as additional calamine was added. Zinc metal was also becoming more commonplace By 1513 metallic zinc ingots from India and China were arriving in London and pellets of zinc condensed in furnace flues at the Rammelsberg in Germany were exploited for cementation brass making from around 1550.

Eventually it was discovered that metallic zinc could be alloyed with copper to make brass; a process known as speltering and by 1657 the German chemist Johann Glauber had recognised that calamine was "nothing else but unmeltable zinc" and that zinc was a "half ripe metal." However some earlier high zinc, low iron brasses such as the 1530 Wightman brass memorial plaque from England may have been made by alloying copper with ''zinc'' and include traces of cadmium similar those found in some zinc ingots from China. The European brass industry continued to flourish into the post medieval period buoyed by innovations such as the 16th century introduction of water powered hammers for the production of battery wares. By 1559 the Germany city of Aachen alone was capable of producing 300,000 cwt of brass per year. In 1723 Bristol brass maker Nehemiah Champion patented the use of granulated copper, produced by pouring molten metal into cold water. This increased the surface area of the copper helping it react and zinc contents of up to 33% wt were reported using this new technique.

In 1738 Nehemiah's son William Champion patented a technique for the first industrial scale distillation of metallic zinc known as ''distillation per descencum'' or "the English process." This local zinc was used in speltering and allowed greater control over the zinc content of brass and the production of high zinc copper alloys which would have been difficult or impossible to produce using cementation, for use in expensive objects such as scientific instruments, clocks, brass buttons and costume jewellery. However Champion continued to use the cheaper calamine cementation method to produce lower zinc brass By the mid late 18th century developments in cheaper zinc distillation such as John-Jaques Dony's horizontal furnaces in Belgium and the reduction of tariffs on zinc as well as demand for corrosion resistant high zinc alloys increased the popularity of speltering and as a result cementation was largely abandoned by the mid 19th century.

See also

Brass bed

Brass rubbing

List of copper alloys

References

Bibliography

Bayley, J. (1990) "The Production of Brass in Antiquity with Particular Reference to Roman Britain" in Craddock, P.T. (ed.) 2000 Years of Zinc and Brass London: British Museum

Craddock, P.T. and Eckstein, K (2003) "Production of Brass in Antiquity by Direct Reduction" in Craddock, P.T. and Lang, J. (eds) ''Mining and Metal Production Through the Ages'' London: British Museum

Day, J. (1990) "Brass and Zinc in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 19th Century" in Craddock, P.T. (ed.) 2000 Years of Zinc and Brass London: British Museum

Day, J (1991) "Copper, Zinc and Brass Production" in Day, J and Tylecote, R.F (eds) ''The Industrial Revolution in Metals'' London: The Institute of Metals

Martinon Torres, M. and Rehren, T. (2002) Agricola and Zwickau: Theory and Practice of Renaissance Brass Production in SE Germany in ''Historical Metallurgy'' 36(2) pp. 95–111

Rehren, T. and Martinon Torres, M. (2008) "Naturam ars imitate: European brassmaking between craft and science" in Martinon-Torres, M and Rehren, T. (eds) Archaeology, History and Science Integrating Approaches to Ancient Material: Left Coast Press

External links

Brass.org

Category:Copper alloys Category:Zinc alloys Category:History of metallurgy

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Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
name	Pretenders
landscape	Yes
background	group_or_band
origin	Hereford, England
genre	Alternative rock, New Wave, punk rock
years active	1978–present
label	Sire/Warner Bros. Records
website	http://www.thepretenders.com/
current members	Chrissie HyndeMartin ChambersJames WalbourneNick WilkinsonEric Heywood
past members	James Honeyman-Scott (deceased)Pete Farndon (deceased)Robbie McIntoshMalcolm FosterT. M. StevensBlair CunninghamBernie WorrellAdam SeymourJohnny MarrAndy RourkeAndy Hobson Adam Martin}}

The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals, percussion). The band has experienced drug-related deaths of the members, and numerous subsequent personnel changes have taken place over the years, with Hynde as the sole continual member.

History

Early years

Hynde, originally from Akron, Ohio, attended Kent State University at the time of the Kent State shootings in 1970. She moved to London in 1973, working at the weekly music paper, ''NME'', and at Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's SEX store. She was involved with early versions of The Clash and The Damned, and in short-lived bands such as Masters of the Backside and The Moors Murderers. The Pretenders formed during 1978 after Dave Hill at Anchor Records heard some demos. He arranged a rehearsal studio in Denmark Street and the 3 piece consisting of Hynde, Mal Hart, on bass, who had played with Hynde and Steve Strange in The Moors Murderers and Phil Taylor from Motörhead filling in on drums played a selection of Hyndes` original songs. Dave Hill was impressed and arranged a day at Studio 51 to record another demo. Although it was rough, he felt he had seen and heard enough "star potential" to suggest she form a more permanent regular band to record for his new label, Real Records. Hynde formed a band composed of Pete Farndon (who was later associated romantically with Hynde) on bass, James Honeyman-Scott on guitar, and Gerry Mcilduff on drums. This band, without a name at this stage, recorded five tracks at Regents Park Studio in July 1978, including "Stop Your Sobbing". Gerry Mcilduff was replaced on drums by Martin Chambers, and Hynde named the band "Pretenders" after The Platters song "The Great Pretender".

Original band (1978–1982)

The band's first single, a cover of The Kinks song "Stop Your Sobbing", produced by Nick Lowe, was released in January 1979 and gained critical attention. It was followed in June with "Kid," and then in November the band got to #1 in the UK with "Brass in Pocket," which was also successful in the US, reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The debut album ''Pretenders'' was released during January 1980, and was a success in both the United Kingdom and the United States, both critically and commercially. (''Pretenders'' was subsequently named one of the best albums of all time by VH1 (#52) and ''Rolling Stone'' (#155). The band played at the Heatwave festival during August 1980 near Toronto.

During March 1981 the EP ''Extended Play'' was released, containing the UK and US success "Message of Love" and "Talk of the Town" and a live version of "Precious," recorded in Central Park.

The second full-length album, ''Pretenders II'', was released during August 1981. ''Pretenders II'' included the ''Extended Play'' singles, the MTV video success, "Day After Day," and popular album-radio tracks "The Adultress," "Birds of Paradise," "Bad Boys Get Spanked" and "The English Roses".

Farndon was fired 14 June 1982 by Hynde. Two days later, on 16 June 1982, James Honeyman-Scott died of heart failure as a result of cocaine intolerance. Farndon was in the midst of forming a new band with former Clash drummer Topper Headon (who coincidentally, was battling heroin addiction and left the band, unable to cope), when he was found dead on 14 April 1983 by his American wife, Conover. After taking heroin and passing out, Farndon drowned in his bathtub, leaving the Pretenders with two living members.

Re-grouping (1983–1987)

Hynde continued with the band. During July 1982, just weeks after Honeyman-Scott's death, a caretaker team of Hynde, Chambers, Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner and Big Country bassist Tony Butler was assembled to record the single "Back on the Chain Gang". The song was released in October, becoming their biggest success in the US, staying at #5 for three consecutive weeks. The single's B-side, "My City Was Gone" is now the theme music for ''The Rush Limbaugh Show''.

Hynde then changed the lineup, keeping Chambers and adding professional musicians Robbie McIntosh on guitar and Malcolm Foster on bass. The band's first album with this lineup, ''Learning to Crawl'', was released during January 1984.

"Middle of the Road" was this line-up's first single, released in the US in November 1983 and reached the Top 20 there. Hynde had a daughter with Ray Davies during January 1983. The US B-side, "2000 Miles", was released as a single in the UK. The album included a cover version of The Persuaders' "Thin Line Between Love and Hate", which featured Paul Carrack on keyboards. The 1985 Live Aid concert proved to be the last gig for this line-up.

Soon after recording sessions for the next album began and one track had been completed, Hynde declared that Chambers was no longer playing well and dismissed both him and Foster. The revised Pretenders team became Hynde, McIntosh, bassist T.M. Stevens, and ex-Haircut 100 drummer Blair Cunningham. ''Get Close'' was released in 1986; the disc included the Top 10 singles "Don't Get Me Wrong" (helped by a popular video homage to the television series ''The Avengers'') and "Hymn to Her" a #8 success in the UK.

Two new songs, "If There Was a Man" and "Where Has Everybody Gone?" were released on the soundtrack of the Bond film ''The Living Daylights'', and were used instrumentally by John Barry in several scenes.

The lineup for the ''Get Close'' tour was then expanded to include former P-Funk and Talking Heads keyboardist Bernie Worrell. Two players were dismissed, McIntosh eventually quit, and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr joined for a final brief period during 1987.

1990s

There was a hiatus in musical activity for Hynde until 1990, when Hynde hired session players (including one-time Pretenders Bremner and Cunningham) and released ''Packed!'' Hynde was the only person pictured anywhere on the album, and was the only official member of the band. In Canada, the lead single "Never Do That" was a Top 40 success, peaking at #26 but it fared less well elsewhere.

By 1993, Hynde had teamed with ex-Katydids guitarist Adam Seymour to form a new version of the Pretenders. The team of Hynde and Seymour then hired a number of session musicians to record ''Last of the Independents'' that year, including ex-Smiths bassist Andy Rourke, ex-Primitives bassist Andy Hobson, and drummer/writer/producer James "Fred" Hood, formerly with The Impossible Dreamers and Moodswings. But by the end of the album sessions (and for the subsequent tour) the official band line-up was Hynde, Seymour, Hobson, and returning drummer Martin Chambers.

This line-up would endure for well over a decade with no changes. Several recordings as The Pretenders occurred during 1993, including a cover version of the Jimi Hendrix's "Bold As Love" for the tribute album ''Stone Free'', and a cover of 10cc's "I'm Not In Love" for the film, ''Indecent Proposal''.

When ''Last of the Independents'' was released in 1994, it had reasonable overall commercial success, being rated gold in the US. Lead single "Night In My Veins" was a minor success in the US, a mid-chart success in the UK, and a top 10 success in Canada. The second single was the album's centrepiece ballad "I'll Stand by You"; this track received substantial airplay, and was a top 10 success in the US and UK, and top 20 in Canada. Hynde wrote a good portion of the album with the team of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Subsequently, the band toured in small venues around the US, sometimes including a string quartet. Some of these arrangements are preserved on the 1995 ''The Isle of View'' live album and DVD, made at London's Jacob Street Studios. Damon Albarn played piano on the recording, which also featured the Duke String Quartet.

During 1997 the Pretenders supplied two tracks for the soundtrack of the Ridley Scott film ''G. I. Jane'': "Goodbye" and "The Homecoming".

Over the course of the decade, Hynde became increasingly concerned with political activism, vocally supporting the environmental movement and vegetarianism. ''Viva el Amor'' was released during 1999, as was their collaboration with Tom Jones on the album ''Reload''.

2000s

The Pretenders joined with Emmylou Harris on ''Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons'', performing the song "She". A ''Greatest Hits'' compilation followed in 2000. During 2002 ''Loose Screw'' was released by Artemis Records with only modest commercial success. It was the first Pretenders record to be released by a company other than WEA. ''Rolling Stone'' noted its "refinement, stylish melodies and vocal fireworks," while ''Blender'' called it "slick, snarky pop with flashes of brilliance".

During March 2005, the Pretenders were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Only Hynde and Chambers attended the ceremony. During her acceptance speech, Hynde named and thanked all the replacement members of the group, then said:

"I know that the Pretenders have looked like a tribute band for the last 20 years. ... And we're paying tribute to James Honeyman Scott and Pete Farndon, without whom we wouldn't be here. And on the other hand, without us, they might have been here, but that's the way it works in rock 'n' roll."

After their Hall of Fame induction, the Pretenders continued touring as a four-part team (Hynde, Seymour, Hobson and Chambers). During 2005, bassist Hobson left and was replaced by Nick Wilkinson, marking the band's first line-up change in thirteen years. That same year, Rhino Records released the four disc and DVD box set ''Pirate Radio 1979-2005'' which spanned the group's entire career. Two disc remastered versions of the first two albums also came out that year with bonus tracks. During 2007, Rhino remastered both ''Learning To Crawl'' and ''Get Close'' once again with bonus tracks. Not long after, guitarist Seymour left and was replaced by James Walbourne.

The Pretenders' album ''Break up the Concrete'' was released through Shangri-La Music on 7 October 2008. It was the band's first Top 40 album in the US in twenty two years. Tracks include "Boots of Chinese Plastic", "Don't Cut Your Hair", "Love's a Mystery", "The Last Ride" and "Almost Perfect". With Hynde was the guitarist James Walbourne, pedal steel player Eric Heywood, bassist Nick Wilkinson and drummer Jim Keltner (on the album only). Chambers returned to the drums on tour with the band. Several one-off shows were performed during the closing months of 2008, including a couple of Christmas charity shows. The 'Break Up The Concrete Tour' began in mid-January and covered most of the United States, with shows until the end of March. It then continued in Europe, with gigs in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Belgium, and the UK during the months of June and July, before returning for a new tour in Canada and the US during August and September 2009. A show from the tour, filmed at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on 15 July 2009, was released on CD with bonus DVD / Blu-ray on 9 February 2010, titled ''Pretenders: Live in London''. Another tour was announced in May, a double headlining tour in New Zealand and Australia with Blondie for a few capital city and winery shows.

On February 5, 2011, Hynde and the Pretenders performed live on CMT's "Crossroads (VH1 TV series)" with Faith Hill and her band, including songs from both catalogs.

Discography

Studio albums

1980: ''Pretenders''

1981: ''Pretenders II''

1983: ''Learning to Crawl''

1986: ''Get Close''

1990: ''Packed!''

1994: ''Last of the Independents''

1999: ''Viva el Amor''

2002: ''Loose Screw''

2008: ''Break Up the Concrete''

Band members

References

External links

Official band website

Pretenders Archives

Pretenders 977 Radio

Listen to the Pretenders' Complete New Album, 'Break Up the Concrete'

The Pretenders studio sessions at NPR Music

Category:English rock music groups Category:Musical quartets Category:Musical groups from London Category:British New Wave musical groups Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:English punk rock groups Category:Sire Records artists Category:People from Muswell Hill

ca:The Pretenders cs:The Pretenders da:The Pretenders de:The Pretenders es:The Pretenders fr:The Pretenders io:The Pretenders it:The Pretenders he:הפריטנדרס nl:The Pretenders ja:プリテンダーズ no:The Pretenders pl:The Pretenders pt:The Pretenders ru:The Pretenders simple:The Pretenders fi:The Pretenders sv:The Pretenders

Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
name	Jools Holland
background	solo_singer
birth name	Julian Miles Holland
birth date	January 24, 1958
birth place	Blackheath, London, England
instrument	Piano, keyboard, guitar
genre	Boogie-woogie, jazz, blues, R&B;
occupation	Musician, composer, television presenter, bandleader
years active	1974–present
associated acts	Squeeze Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
website	Official site }}

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze (1974-1980 & 1985-1990) and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour, Magazine and Bono.

Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004, he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B; music. He currently hosts ''Later... with Jools Holland'', a music-based show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show the Hootenanny, is based.

Life and career

His great grandfather came from Ireland.

Holland played as a session musician before finding fame, and his first studio session was with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs in 1976 on their track "F*ck Off."

Holland was a founding member of the British pop band Squeeze, formed in March 1974, in which he played keyboards until 1981 and helped the band to achieve millions of record sales, before pursuing his solo career.

Holland began issuing solo records in 1978, his first EP being ''Boogie Woogie '78''. He continued his solo career through the early 1980s, releasing an album and several singles between 1981 and 1984. He branched out into TV, co-presenting the Newcastle-based TV music show ''The Tube'' with Paula Yates. Holland achieved notoriety by inadvertently using the phrase "groovy fuckers" in a live, early evening TV trailer for the show, causing it to be suspended for six weeks. He referred to this in his sitcom "The Groovy Fellers" with Rowland Rivron.

thumb|right|Holland at the Tsunami Relief concert in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, 22 January 2005In 1983 Holland played an extended piano solo on The The's re-recording of "Uncertain Smile" for the album ''Soul Mining''. In 1985, Squeeze (which had continued in Holland's absence through to 1982) unexpectedly regrouped including Jools Holland as their keyboard player. Holland remained in the band until 1990, at which point, he again departed Squeeze on amicable terms to resume his solo career as a musician and a TV host.

In 1987, Holland formed The ''Jools Holland Big Band'' which consisted of himself and Gilson Lavis from Squeeze. This gradually became his 18-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

Between 1988 and 1990 he performed and co-hosted along with David Sanborn during the two seasons of the music performance program Sunday Night on NBC late-night television. Since 1992 he has presented the eclectic music program ''Later... with Jools Holland'', plus an annual New Year's Eve "Hootenanny".

In 1996 Holland signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records and his records are now marketed through Rhino Records.

Holland has a touring band, The Rhythm And Blues Orchestra, which often includes singers Sam Brown and Ruby Turner. In January 2005 Holland and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami Relief Cardiff. He also headlined the Skegness SO Festival in July 2010.

Personal

Holland lives in the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath in southeast London, where he had his studio, Helicon Mountain, built to his design, heavily inspired by Portmeirion, the setting for the 1960s TV series ''The Prisoner''. Holland owns costumes and props from the series and occasionally appears wearing the trademark brown-with-white-pipe blazer featured in the series. In 1987, Holland demonstrated his love of the series and starred in a spoof documentary, ''The Laughing Prisoner'', with Stephen Fry, Terence Alexander and Hugh Laurie. Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, with archive footage of Patrick McGoohan, and featuring musical numbers from Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magnum and XTC. Holland performed a number towards the end of the program. Holland is also a Millwall FC fan. His younger brother Christopher also plays organ in the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra as well as being a successful singer/songwriter in his own right.

Holland was an interviewer for The Beatles Anthology TV project, and appeared in the 1997 film ''Spiceworld'' as a musical director.

He received an OBE in 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to the British music industry as a television presenter and musician. In September 2006 Holland was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent. He is also known for his charity work: in June 2006 he performed in Southend for HIV/AIDS charity Mildmay, and in early 2007 he performed at Wells and Rochester Cathedrals to raise money for maintaining cathedral buildings. He is also patron of the Drake Music Project and has raised many thousands of pounds for the charity.

Jools Holland was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University at a ceremony held at Canterbury Cathedral on 30 January 2009.

On 29 August 2005 Holland married Christabel McEwen, his girlfriend of 15 years (between 1983 and 1995 she had been married to Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham, but they divorced). The wedding, at St James's Church, Cooling near Rochester, was attended by many celebrities, including Ringo Starr, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry, Noel Gallagher, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

Holland is also a patron for The Milton Rooms, a new Arts centre in Malton, North Yorkshire, along with Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Kathy Burke.

Writing

His 2007 biography, ''Barefaced Lies and Boogie Woogie Boasts'' was BBC Radio 4 "Book of the Week" in the week beginning 8 October 2007 and was read by Holland. He is the author or joint author of four other books.

Discography

Albums that have charted and gained Certifications

Year	Album	Peak chart positions		!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"
1996	Jazz & Rock & Roll''
1998	''Best Of''				UK">Music recording sales certifications
!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"	!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"
1996	Jazz & Rock & Roll''
1998	''Best Of''				UK: Silver
2000	''Hop The Wag''				* UK: Silver
2001	''Small World Big Band''				* UK: 2× Platinum
2002	''SWBB Volume Two: More Friends''				* UK: Platinum
2003	''Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3)''				* UK: Silver
2005	''Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska''
2007	''Best of Friends''				* UK: Silver
2011	''Finding The Keys - The Best of''

Releases

1978 "Boogie Woogie '78" (EP)

1981 ''Jools Holland and His Millionaires''

1984 ''Jools Holland Meets Rock 'A' Boogie Billy'' (U.S. release only)

1990 ''World Of His Own''

1991 ''The Full Complement''

1992 "Together Again" (single with Sam Brown)

1992 ''The A-Z Geographer's Guide To The Piano''

1994 ''Solo Piano''

1994 ''Live Performance''

1996 " Jazz & Rock & Roll''

1997 ''Lift The Lid''

1998 ''Best Of''

1999 ''Sunset Over London''

2000 ''Hop The Wag''

2001 ''Small World Big Band''

2002 ''SWBB Volume Two: More Friends''

2003 ''Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3)''

2004 ''Tom Jones & Jools Holland''

2005 ''Beatroute''

2005 ''Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska''

2006 ''Moving Out To The Country''

2007 ''Best of Friends''

2008 ''The Collection''

2008 ''The Informer (With Ruby Turner)''

2008 ''"The Informer" (single with Ruby Turner)''

2009 ''"I Went By" (single with Louise Marshall)''

2010 ''Rockinghorse''

Film and television

1981 ''Urgh! A Music War''

1982 ''Police: Around the World''

1982 - 1987 ''The Tube'' (Host for 121 editions)

1983 ''Rebellious Jukebox'': Compere

1984 ''The Young Ones'': Punk (Episode entitled "Summer Holiday")

1985 ''Walking To New Orleans'' (Jools Holland in New Orleans)

1987 ''Eat the Rich'': Sun Reporter

1987 ''Filthy Rich & Catflap'': Strip Show Pianist (Episode #1.3)

1987 ''The Laughing Prisoner'': No. 7

1987 ''French and Saunders'' (Episode 1.5)

1988 ''Sunday Night'': Host (unknown episodes)

1989 ''Juke Box Jury'': Host (unknown episodes)

1989 ''The Groovy Fellers'' Himself, 6 episodes

1991 ''Mr Roadrunner'' (Jools Holland in Memphis)

1994 ''There's No Business'': Pianist

1994 - 1995 ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush''

1995 ''The Beatles Anthology''

1997 ''Spice World'': Musical Director

1997 ''Name That Tune'': Host and Pianist

2003 ''Jool's History of the Piano'' : Presenter

2006 ''Top Gear: Star in a reasonably priced car.

2007 ''Fairport@Forty'': Interview

2009 ''Chop Shop Rover Concept: The Jet 1 Car'' : Customer

Current television programmes

1992–present ''Later... with Jools Holland''

1993–present ''Jools' Annual Hootenanny''

Books

''"Rolling Stones": A Life on the Road'', (with Dora Loewenstein), Viking/Allen Lane (1998), (ISBN 0-670-88051-5)

''Beat Route: Journeys Through Six Counties'', Weidenfeld & Nicholson (1998), (ISBN 0-575-06700-4)

''Ray Charles: Man and Music'', (with Michael Lydon), Payback Press (1999), (ISBN 0-86241-929-8)

''Hand That Changed Its Mind '', International Music Publications (2007), (ISBN 1-84328-645-9)

''Barefaced Lies and Boogie-woogie Boasts '', Michael Joseph Ltd (2007), (ISBN 0-7181-4915-7)

References

External links

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Boogie-woogie pianists Category:English rock pianists Category:English television presenters Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Bandleaders Category:Squeeze (band) members Category:I.R.S. Records artists Category:People from Blackheath, London Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:Deputy Lieutenants of Kent Category:British people of Irish descent Category:English people of Irish descent

cy:Jools Holland de:Jools Holland es:Jools Holland fr:Jools Holland nl:Jools Holland pl:Jools Holland pt:Jools Holland fi:Jools Holland

Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
name	Michael Arnold Kamen
background	non_performing_personnel
born	April 15, 1948New York City, New York, United States
died	November 18, 2003London, England, United Kingdom
occupation	Composer
instrument	Oboe, Piano
genre	Film score
years active	1976–2003 }}

Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.

Background

Kamen was born in New York City, USA. He was the second of four sons. His father Saul Kamen was a dentist, and his mother was a teacher.

While attending the The High School of Music & Art in New York City, Michael Kamen met and became friends with Martin Fulterman (later known as Mark Snow, who composed the theme music for ''The X-Files'' among other projects). While studying the oboe, he formed a rock classical fusion band called New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, together with classmates Fulterman and Dorian Rudnytsky. The group performed their music while dressed in tuxedos. In the middle of the concert, Fulterman and Kamen would play an oboe duet. The group backed up friend and classmate Janis Ian in a concert at Alice Tully Hall in late 1967.

After graduating high school, Kamen attended The Juilliard School, also in New York City.

Early work

Kamen's early work centered on ballets, thirteen in all, then expanding into Hollywood by writing the score for ''The Next Man'' in 1976, then into pop and rock arranging, collaborating with Pink Floyd on their album, ''The Wall''.

Career in popular music

Kamen became a highly-sought arranger in the realms of pop and rock music. His contemporaries in this field included Academy Award winner Anne Dudley, Richard Niles, and Nick Ingman. His successes include his work with Pink Floyd, David Gilmour and Roger Waters (he is one of the few people to have been invited to work with both former Pink Floyd members, after their acrimonious split), as well as Queen (orchestration on ''Who Wants To Live Forever''), Eric Clapton (on ''Edge of Darkness''), Roger Daltrey, Aerosmith (live orchestral version of ''Dream On'' for MTV), Tom Petty, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Eurythmics, Queensrÿche, Rush, Metallica (on their live album, ''S&M;''), Def Leppard, Herbie Hancock, The Cranberries, Bryan Adams, Jim Croce, Sting, and Kate Bush. For Bush, Kamen delivered an orchestral backing for "Moments of Pleasure" from ''The Red Shoes'' album, substantially building upon a simple piano theme Bush had composed. In this instance, and many others, he conducted the orchestra personally for the recording. In 1984, Kamen had similarly heightened the impact of a pop recording for the Eurythmics "Here Comes the Rain Again", that score relying as much on his compositional skills as his arranging talents. Five years later, he did the music for ''For Queen and Country''.

In 1990, Kamen joined many other guests for Roger Waters' performance of ''The Wall'' in Berlin and headed the National Philharmonic Orchestra during the 24 Nights sessions with Eric Clapton the following year.

Lenny Kravitz recorded a cover of "Fields of Joy" on his 1991 CD ''Mama Said'' that Michael co-wrote with Hal Fredricks.

In 2002, he was part of the Concert for George as string conductor.

Kamen had a very successful partership with Bryan Adams and R.J. Lange composing scores and songs. The ballad "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" for the 1991 film ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' would be the number one song of that year, worldwide. Other songs would be "All For Love" for the movie "The Three Musketeers" in 1993, and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" the song from the film "Don Juan DeMarco" in 1995.

Career as film composer and other works

Kamen wrote eleven ballets, a saxophone concerto and a guitar concerto (with Japanese guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei as a soloist). Additionally, he wrote a commissioned work, "Quintet," for the Canadian Brass. He also provided scores for the films such as ''Back to Gaya'', ''The Dead Zone (film)'', ''For Queen and Country'', ''Polyester'', ''Brazil'', ''Someone To Watch Over Me'', ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'', ''The Three Musketeers'', ''Highlander'', ''X-Men'', ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', ''Licence to Kill,'' the ''Lethal Weapon'' series, the first three films of the ''Die Hard'' series, ''Mr. Holland's Opus'', ''The Iron Giant'', ''Splitting Heirs'', ''Frequency'', and many others. To this day the overture from ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' is used by Morgan Creek Productions for its logo, while New Line's corresponding theme is the opening segment of a track from ''Highlander''. He also scored both the ''From the Earth to the Moon'' and ''Band of Brothers'' series on HBO. The trailer for the 2008 Disney/Pixar release ''WALL-E'' featured Kamen's 'Central Services / The Office' from his ''Brazil'' 1985 OST.

In television, Kamen composed music for two series of The Manageress produced by Glenn Wilhide at Zed Productions for Channel 4, but perhaps his best known work was on the 1985 BBC Television serial ''Edge of Darkness'', on which he collaborated with Eric Clapton to write the score. The pair were awarded with a British Academy Television Award for Best Original Television Music for their work and performed the main movie theme with the National Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall of London in 1990 and 1991. In 1994, Kamen conducted an orchestration of The Who's music for Roger Daltrey's 50th birthday concert series entitled ''Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who'' which was subsequently released on CD and DVD. He also worked with heavy metal band Metallica, on a two day concert that was held in Berkeley, California, with the San Francisco Symphony. The S&M; album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, won a Grammy for the "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" in 2000 and went multi-platinum in 2001.

Kamen was nominated for two Academy Awards and won three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, two Ivor Novello Awards, an Annie Award and an Emmy.

Later years

His involvement with ''Mr. Holland's Opus'', a film about a frustrated composer who finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher, led Kamen to create The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation in 1996. The foundation supports music education through the donation of new and refurbished musical instruments to underserved school and community music programs and individual students in the United States. In 2005 the foundation created an emergency fund for schools and students affected by Hurricane Katrina.

In 1999, Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony constructed and performed a concert with thrash metal band Metallica. This concert was released as a live album on DVD, VHS and CD, under the title ''S&M;'' (an acronym for "Symphony and Metallica" but also wordplay on the abbreviation for sadomasochism). In 2001 and 2002, Kamen performed with David Gilmour at Gilmour's semi-unplugged shows at the Royal Festival Hall, playing piano and cor anglais. The 2001 concert and highlights from 2002 were released as a DVD as ''David Gilmour in Concert''.

In 2002, Kamen, along with Julian Lloyd Webber, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and Sir James Galway launched the Music Education Consortium in the UK. The consortium's efforts led to the injection of £332 million for music education in the UK. He was also commissioned to write piece for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Kamen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997. He died in London from a heart attack in 2003, at the age of 55. His last recorded work appeared on Bryan Adams's album ''Room Service'' where he played the oboe and wrote the orchestration to "I Was Only Dreamin'". Kamen had also completed the charts for accompaniment to two songs on Kate Bush's album ''Aerial'', which was released in November 2005. Some of Bush's fans, pleased by Kamen's scoring of "Moments of Pleasure" from Bush's 1993 album ''The Red Shoes'', expressed gratitude when it became known that the work had been finished.

In 2004, when Annie Lennox accepted the Academy Award for Best Original Song (her composition "Into the West" from ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''), she dedicated her achievement to the memory of Kamen.

The 2004 movies ''First Daughter'' and ''Back To Gaya'', which he was working on at the time of his passing, were dedicated to his memory.

David Gilmour's 2006 album ''On an Island'' was dedicated in his and longtime Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke's memories.

Personal life

Michael Kamen was survived by his wife, Sandra Keenan-Kamen, and by his daughters, Sasha and Zoe.

References

External links

Film Composer Tributes - Michael Kamen

Michael Kamen at Soundtrackguide.net

Michael Kamen interview (in french) at UnderScores : Musique & Cinéma

Category:American film score composers

Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:People from New York City Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:1948 births Category:2003 deaths Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Robin Hood music Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in England

ar:مايكل كامن ca:Michael Kamen cs:Michael Kamen da:Michael Kamen de:Michael Kamen es:Michael Kamen fr:Michael Kamen id:Michael Kamen it:Michael Kamen ka:მაიკლ კემენი nl:Michael Kamen ja:マイケル・ケイメン no:Michael Kamen nn:Michael Kamen nds:Michael Kamen pl:Michael Kamen pt:Michael Kamen ru:Кэймен, Майкл sk:Michael Kamen fi:Michael Kamen sv:Michael Kamen tr:Michael Kamen

Coordinates	44°43′″N37°46′″N
name	Marvin Gaye | image Marvin Gaye in 1973.jpg
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr.
birth date	April 02, 1939
birth place	Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
alias	Prince of Soul
death date	April 01, 1984
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
instrument	Vocals, keyboards, drums, percussion, clavinet, synthesizers, piano
genre	R&B;, soul, doo-wop, funk, quiet storm
occupation	Singer-songwriter, composer, musician, record producer
years active	1958–1984
label	Motown (Tamla-Motown), Columbia
associated acts	The Moonglows, Martha and the Vandellas, Tammi Terrell, The Originals, Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross, Harvey Fuqua, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy, Don Hussein }}

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (April 2, 1939 April 1, 1984), better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a four-octave vocal range. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fifties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960 signing with the Tamla Records subsidiary of Motown Records. After starting off as a session drummer, Gaye ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the sixties.

Because of solo hits such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", "Ain't That Peculiar", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and his duet singles with singers such as Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell, he was crowned "The Prince of Motown" and "The Prince of Soul".

His work in the early and mid-1970s, including the albums ''What's Going On'', ''Let's Get It On'', and ''I Want You'', helped influence the quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, and slow jam genres. After a self-imposed European exile in the early eighties, Gaye returned on the 1982 Grammy-Award winning hit, "Sexual Healing" and the ''Midnight Love'' album before his death. Gaye was shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984. He was posthumously inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

In 2008, the American music magazine ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Gaye at number 6 on its list of the Greatest Singers of All Time, and ranked at number 18 on 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also ranked at number 20 on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Biography

Early life (1939–1957)

Marvin Pentz Gaye, Jr. was born on April 2, 1939 at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C.. His father, Marvin Gay, Sr., was a minister at the House of God (the House of God headquarters is located in Lexington, Kentucky), which advocated strict conduct and taught and believed in both the old and new Testament. His mother, Alberta Gay (née Alberta Cooper), was a domestic and schoolteacher. Gaye was the second eldest of four children. His younger brother, Frankie (1941–2001), would be one of the main sources of Gaye's musical development and later served as a soldier in the Vietnam War and embarked on a singing career upon his return to civilian life to follow in his elder brother's footsteps. His youngest sister, Zeola "Sweetsie" Gay (b. 1945), would later become the main choreographer of her brother's live shows. As a child, Gaye was raised in the Benning Terrace projects in southeast D.C.

Gaye's father was minister of a local Seventh-day Adventist Church for a time. By the time his eldest son was five, Marvin Sr. was bringing Gaye with him to church revivals to sing for church congregations. Gaye's father was assured all four of his children would follow him into the ministry and would later use his strict domineering to get his children to avoid secular activities including sports and secular music. Gaye's early home life consisted of violence as his father would often strike him for any shortcoming. Gaye and his three siblings were bed-wetters as children. Gaye would later call his father a "tyrannical and powerful king" and said he was depressed as a child, convinced that he would eventually "become one of those child statistics that you read in the papers" had he not been encouraged to pursue his dreams by his mother. By age fourteen, Gaye's parents moved to the Deanwood neighborhood of northeast D.C. The following year, Gaye's father quit the ministry after a disappointment over not being promoted as the Chief Apostle (head overseer) of the House of God Inc. Gaye said his father later developed alcoholism, which furthered tension between father and son.

Developing a love for music at an early age, Gaye was already playing instruments including piano and drums. Upon arriving to Cardozo High School, Gaye discovered doo-wop and harder-edged rhythm and blues and began running away from home to attend R&B; concerts and dance halls defying his father's rules. Gaye joined several groups in the D.C. area including the Dippers with his best friend, Johnny Stewart, brother of R&B; singer Billy Stewart. He then joined the D.C. Tones, whose members included another close friend, Reese Palmer, and Sondra Lattisaw, mother of R&B; singer Stacy Lattisaw. Gaye's relationship with his father led him to run away from home and join the United States Air Force in hopes of becoming an aviator. However, discovering his growing hatred for authority, he began defying orders and skipped practices. Faking mental illness, he was discharged. His sergeant stated that Gaye refused to follow orders. Upon returning to his hometown, Gaye worked as a dishwasher to make ends meet. Gaye still dreamed of a show-business career, and rejoining Reese Palmer, the duo formed a four-member group calling themselves the Marquees.

Early career (1958–1962)

In 1958, the Marquees were discovered singing at a D.C. club by Bo Diddley, who signed them to Okeh Records, where they recorded "Wyatt Earp", with "Hey Little Schoolgirl" as its B-side. It received moderate success, but not the success Gaye and his band mates had hoped for. Later that year Harvey Fuqua, founder and co-lead singer of the landmark doo-wop group The Moonglows, recruited them, after the breakup of the original members, to be "The New Moonglows" which moved the formerly-named Marquees from Okeh to Chess Records. While there, the "new Moonglows" recorded background vocals for Chess recording stars Chuck Berry and Etta James. After "The Twelve Months of the Year", which featured a spoken monologue by Gaye, became a regional hit, the group issued "Mama Loochie", which was the first time Gaye sang lead on a record. The record was issued in late 1959 and became a hit in Detroit. Following a concert performance there, Gaye and other band members were arrested for small possession of marijuana. Afterwards, Fuqua decided to disband the group, keeping Gaye with him, as he favored him over the other members. In 1960, Harvey Fuqua had met Gwen Gordy and the couple embarked on both a personal and professional relationship. That year, the couple formed two record labels, the self-named Harvey Records, and Tri-Phi Records. Gaye was signed to the former label, whose other members including a young David Ruffin and Junior Walker. Gaye provided drums for The Spinners' first hit, "That's What Girls Are Made For", which was released on Tri-Phi. Stories on how Gaye eventually met Berry Gordy and how he signed to Motown Records vary. One early story stated Gordy discovered Gaye singing at a local bar in Detroit and that he had offered to sign him on the spot. Gaye's recollection, and also a story Gordy later reiterated, was that Gaye invited himself to Motown's annual Christmas party inside the label's Hitsville USA studios and played on the piano singing "Mr. Sandman". Gordy saw Gaye from afar and upon noting that Gaye was connected with Fuqua began to make arrangements to absorb Fuqua's labels to Motown bringing all of the labels' acts to Motown. Gordy said he immediately wanted to bring Gaye to Motown after seeing him perform, impressed by his vocals and piano playing. While working out negotiations, Fuqua would sell fifty percentage interest in Gaye to Gordy, which Gaye would find out later. After Gordy absorbed Anna and Harvey in March 1961, Gaye was assigned to Motown's Tamla division.

Gaye and Motown immediately clashed over material. While Motown was yet a musical force, Gaye set on singing standards and jazz rather than the usual rhythm and blues that fellow label mates were recording. Struggling to come to terms with what to do with his career, Gaye worked mainly behind the scenes, becoming a janitor, and also settled for session work playing drums on several recordings, which continued for several years. One of Gaye's first professional gigs for Motown was as a road drummer for The Miracles. Gaye developed a close friendship with the label's lead singer Smokey Robinson and they'd later work together. Though already a seasoned veteran of the road and almost exempt from Gordy's Artist Development, which began operating in 1961, Gaye was still required to attend schooling, which he refused. He eventually took advice from grooming director Maxine Powell to keep his eyes open while performing because "it looks like you're sleeping when you're performing". Gaye would later regret skipping the school saying he could've benefited more from it. Before releasing his first single in May 1961, he altered his last name to "Gaye", later stating that he added the 'e' because "it sounded more professional" and to emulate what Sam Cooke had done before releasing his first secular record following his split from the Soul Stirrers. A famous story about the name change came from author David Ritz, Gaye's confidant in later years, who said Gaye had said that he wanted to "quiet the gossip" of his last name and to distance himself from his father.

In May 1961, Tamla released Gaye's first single, "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide". The single flopped as a national release but was a regional hit in the Midwest, as was a follow-up single, the cover of "Mr. Sandman" (titled as just "Sandman" in Gaye's release in early 1962). In June 1961, Motown issued Gaye's first album, ''The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye'' compromising Gaye's jazz interests with a couple of R&B; songs. The album tanked and no hit single came of it. A third regional hit, "Soldier's Plea", an answer to The Supremes' "Your Heart Belongs to Me", was the next release in the spring of 1962. Gaye had more success behind the scenes than in front. Gaye applied drumming on several Motown records for artists such as the Miracles, Mary Wells, The Contours and The Marvelettes. Gaye was also a drummer for early recordings by The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and Little Stevie Wonder. Gaye drummed on the Marvelettes hits, "Please Mr. Postman", "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789" (a song he co-wrote). Later on, Gaye would be noted as the drummer in both the studio and live recordings of Wonder's "Fingertips" and as one of two drummers behind Martha and the Vandellas' landmark hit, "Dancing in the Street", which was another composition by Gaye, originally intended for Kim Weston. Gaye said he continued to play drums for Motown acts even after gaining fame on his own merit. For Gaye's fourth single, the singer was inspired to write lyrics to a song after an argument with his wife, Anna Gordy Gaye (née Anna Gordy). While working out the song, Gaye mentioned he had his first "major" power struggle with Motown head Berry Gordy over its composition. Gordy insisted on a chord change though Gaye was comfortable with how he wrote it, eventually Gaye changed the chord and the song was issued as "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" in September 1962. The song became a hit on the Hot Rhythm and Blues Sides chart reaching number eight and eventually peaked at number 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1963. A parent album, ''That Stubborn Kinda Fellow'', was released in December 1962, the same month that Gaye's fifth single, "Hitch Hike", was released. That song reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, bringing Gaye his first top forty single. Gaye's early success confirmed his arrival as a hit maker, and he landed on his first major tour as a performer on Motown's Motortown Revue.

Early success (1963–1966)

Gaye's career following his performances with the Motortown Revue assured him success. Gaye's next single, "Pride & Joy", became a major hit in the spring of 1963, reaching number-ten on the Billboard Hot 100, selling nearly one million copies. Later that year, Gaye repeated the success with the top thirty hit, "Can I Get a Witness", which found some leverage in the United Kingdom upon its release on Motown's UK label Stateside Records. Many of Gaye's early hits would later be heavily covered by acts such as The Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield and The Who, performers who admired Gaye and American R&B; music in general. Gaye's hits also was a big influence on the UK's mod scene with several mod groups including the future Elton John's Bluesology and Rod Stewart's Steampacket covering Gaye's hits there. Gaye's early hits were also a big influence on American producers, including Phil Spector, who nearly had a car accident while pulling over upon hearing "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" for the first time.

Gaye's hits continued throughout 1964. Several top twenty pop hits from this period included "You Are a Wonderful One", "Try It Baby" and "Baby Don't You Do It" kept Gaye's momentum building. Gaye made his first public TV performance on ''American Bandstand'' in 1964 and later became a fixture on the show and on other programs such as ''Shindig!'' and ''Hullaballoo''. Gaye's popularity further increased after Motown released his first duet project, an album with Mary Wells titled ''Together''. The duo had two hit singles, "Once Upon a Time" and "What's the Matter with You Baby". In late 1964, Gaye also appeared in the concert film, ''The T.A.M.I. Show'' where he performed his hits to an enthusiastic audience (with backing vocals by The Blossoms). Gaye reached the top ten in early 1965 with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", which sold close to a million copies. Gaye eventually scored his first immediate million-sellers in 1965 with the Smokey Robinson compositions, "Ain't That Peculiar" and "I'll Be Doggone". These songs and other singles released during the 1965–1966 period would be the result of Gaye's next release, ''Moods of Marvin Gaye''.

Gaye struggled with his success. While deemed a "smooth song-and-dance ladies' man", he still aspired to perform more jazz work in his catalog. Because of his success, Motown allowed him to work on such recordings including ''When I'm Alone I Cry'', ''Hello Broadway'' and a Nat King Cole tribute album, ''A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole''. All three albums flopped. Gaye tried performing the songs onstage but soon stopped once he discovered that the crowds weren't too appreciative of the material. One proposed standards project, which took over two years to record, was shelved due to session problems. Gaye's performances at the Copacabana in 1966 also led to conflict between Gaye and Gordy as Motown had recorded the album for purposes of releasing it in early 1967. However due to a struggle, Motown eventually shelved it until it was later released three decades later. In early 1967, Gaye scored his first international hit with the duet, "It Takes Two", with Kim Weston, who ironically had already left the label when it became a hit. Only one televised performance of the song showed Gaye singing the song to a puppet. That year, Motown hooked Gaye up with veteran Philadelphia-based singer Tammi Terrell, who had an early stint with James Brown. Gaye would later say of Terrell that she was his "perfect partner" musically.

Tammi Terrell and ''I Heard It Through the Grapevine'' (1967–1969)

Terrell and Gaye's first major hit was the Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson composition, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The duo quickly followed up with the top five hit ballad, "Your Precious Love". Despite rumors of a romantic relationship – Gaye was married to Anna Gordy and Terrell was dating Temptations lead vocalist David Ruffin – both singers denied such a relationship with Gaye saying later that they had a brother-and-sister relationship, a statement reiterated by Ashford & Simpson. Other hit singles the duo scored within an eighteen-month period included "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By". Other hits such as "You Ain't Livin' till You're Lovin'" and "The Onion Song" found success in Europe. The duo's recording of "If This World Were Mine", the b-side of "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", found modest success on the charts, the first sole Gaye composition to do so. The song later found major R&B; success when Luther Vandross covered it with Cheryl Lynn over a decade later.

The duo was also a success together onstage with Terrell's easy-going nature with the audience contrasting from Gaye's laid-back approach. However, that success was short-lived. On October 14, 1967, while performing at Virginia's Hampden-Sydney College, Terrell collapsed in Marvin's arms. Terrell had been complaining of headaches in the weeks leading up to the concert, but had insisted she was okay. However, after being rushed to Southside Community Hospital, doctors found that Terrell had a malignant brain tumor.

The diagnosis ended her performing career, though she still occasionally recorded, often with guidance and assistance. Terrell ceased recordings in 1969 and Motown struggled with recording of a planned third Gaye and Terrell album. Gaye initially had refused to go along with it saying that he felt Motown was taking unnecessary advantage of Terrell's illness. Gaye only reluctantly agreed because Motown assured him recordings would go to insure Terrell's health as she continued to have operations to remove the tumor, all of which were unsuccessful. In September 1969, the third Gaye and Terrell duet album, ''Easy'' was released, with many of the songs subbed by Valerie Simpson, while solo songs recorded years earlier by Terrell, had overdubbed vocals by Gaye.

Terrell's illness put Gaye in a depression; at one point he attempted suicide but was stopped by Berry Gordy's father. He refused to acknowledge the success of his song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", released in 1967 by Gladys Knight & The Pips (his was recorded before, but released after theirs), his first number-one hit and the biggest selling single in Motown history to that point, with four million copies sold. His work with producer Norman Whitfield, who produced "Grapevine", resulted in similar success with the singles "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is". Meanwhile, Gaye's marriage was crumbling and he was bored with his music. Wanting creative control, he sought to produce singles for Motown session band The Originals, whose Gaye-produced hits, "Baby I'm For Real" and "The Bells", brought success.

''What's Going On'' (1970–1972)

Tammi Terrell died of a brain tumor on March 16, 1970. Gaye was so emotional at her funeral that he talked to her lying in state as if she was going to respond. Gaye insisted, following Terrell's death, that he would no longer record duets with any other female performer nor was he ever going to perform on stage again since Terrell's collapse and subsequent death had spooked him. He already had apprehensions of performing, suffering bouts of stage fright throughout his performing career. Prior to Terrell's death, he had withdrawn from a scheduled performance citing an illness and was later sued for failure to appear. After Terrell's death he stopped doing any more live gigs and never really recovered completely from her passing. He had an inspiration, going back to 1968, to try out for the Detroit Lions football team. After a tryout in early 1970, he wasn't allowed to join the team though he gained friendships with two of its teammates, Mel Farr and Lem Barney. After helping to collaborate what became "What's Going On", he returned to Hitsville on June 1, 1970 to record the song, which was inspired by Gaye's brother's accounts of his experience at the Vietnam War and co-writer Renaldo "Obie" Benson of the Four Tops' disgust of police brutality after seeing anti-war protesters attacked in San Francisco.

Despite releases of several anti-war songs by The Temptations and Edwin Starr, Motown CEO Berry Gordy prevented Gaye from releasing the song, fearing a backlash against the singer's image as a sex symbol and openly telling him and others that the song "was the worst record I ever heard". Gaye, however, refused to record anything that was Motown's or Gordy's version of him. He later said that recording the song and its parent album "led to semi-violent disagreements between Berry and myself, politically speaking." Eventually the song was released with little promotion on January 17, 1971. The song soon shot up the charts topping the R&B; chart for five weeks. Eventually selling more than two million copies, an album was requested, and Gaye again defied Gordy by producing an album featuring lengthy singles that talked of other issues such as poverty, taxes, drug abuse and pollution. Released on May 21, 1971, the ''What's Going On'' album instantly became a million-seller crossing him over to young white rock audiences while also maintaining his strong R&B; fan base. Because of its lyrical content and its mixture of funk, jazz, classical and Latin soul arrangements which departed from the then renowned "Motown Sound", it became one of Motown's first autonomous works, without help of Motown's staff producers. Based upon its themes and a segue flow into each of the songs sans the title track, the concept album became the new template for soul music.

Other hit singles that came out of the album included "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", making Gaye the first male solo artist to have three top ten singles off one album on the ''Billboard Hot 100''. All three singles sold over a million copies and were all number-one on the R&B; chart. International recognition of the album was slow to come at first though eventually the album would be revered overseas as a "landmark pop record". It has been called "the most important and passionate record to come out of soul music, delivered by one of its finest voices". The success of the title track influenced Stevie Wonder to release an album with similar themes, ''Where I'm Coming From'', in April of that year. Following the release of the album and its subsequent success, Wonder rejected a renewing offer with Motown unless he was allowed creative control on his recordings, which was granted a year later. Gaye's independent success not only related to Motown recording artists, other R&B; artists of the era also began to rebel against labels to produce their own conceptual albums. The Jackson 5, one of Motown's final acts to benefit from the label's "glory years" (1959–1972), tried unsuccessfully to get creative control for their own recordings and as a result left in 1975 for CBS Records.

Gaye's success was nationally recognized: Billboard magazine awarded him the ''Trendsetter of the Year'' award, while he won several NAACP Image Awards including Favorite Male Singer. ''Rolling Stone'' named it Album of the Year, and was nominated for a couple of Grammy Awards though inexplicably wasn't nominated for Album of the Year. In 1972, Gaye reluctantly stepped out of his stage retirement to perform selected concerts, including one at his hometown of Washington, D.C. performing at the famed Kennedy Center, a recording of the performance was issued on a deluxe edition re-release of the ''What's Going On'' album. Also in 1972, Gaye performed for Jesse Jackson's PUSH organization and also for a Chicago-based benefit concert titled Save the Children aimed at removing the plight of urban violence in Chicago's inner city. The latter performance was issued as part of a concert film released in early 1973, also titled ''Save the Children''. Following its success, Gaye signed a new contract with Motown Records for a then record-setting $1 million, then the most lucrative deal by a black recording artist. With creative control, Gaye attempted to produce several albums throughout 1972 and early 1973 including an instrumental album, a jazz album, another conceptually-produced album of social affairs (the canceled ''You're the Man'' project) and an album with Willie Hutch co-producing. In late 1972, Gaye produced the score for the ''Trouble Man'' film and later produced the soundtrack of the same name. The title track was the only full vocal work of the album and was released as a single in the fall of 1972 eventually reaching number seven on the pop chart in the spring of 1973.

''Let's Get It On'' and continued success in music (1973–1977)

In late 1972, Gaye left Detroit and moved to Los Angeles but relocated to an area where he was far away from Motown, purchasing a house at the so-called "bohemian hippie" Topanga Canyon Boulevard district, which was a hotbed for musicians looking to get away from the trappings of the music industry and Hollywood itself. He continued to record music at Los Angeles' Motown studios (Hitsville West) and on March 18, 1973, recorded "Let's Get It On", reputedly inspired by Gaye's new-found independence, after separating from Anna Gordy the previous year. The single was released as a single in June of the year and became Gaye's second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. It also was a modest success internationally reaching number thirty-one in the United Kingdom. With the success of its recording, Gaye decided to switch completely from the social topics that were on ''What's Going On'' to songs with sensual appeal.

Released in August 1973, ''Let's Get It On'' consisted of material Gaye had initially recorded during the sessions of ''What's Going On''. It was hailed as "a record unparalleled in its sheer sensuality and carnal energy." Other singles from the album included "Come Get to This", which recalled Gaye's early Motown soul sound of the previous decade, while the then-controversial "You Sure Love to Ball" reached modest success but was kept from being promoted by Motown due to its sexually explicit nature. With the success of ''What's Going On'' and ''Let's Get It On'', Motown demanded a tour. Gaye only reluctantly agreed when demand from fans reached a fever pitch. After a delay, Gaye made his official return to touring on January 4, 1974 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The recording of the performance, held by several music executives as "an event", was later issued as the live album, ''Marvin Gaye Live!''. Due to Gaye's growing popularity with his increasing crossover audience and the reaction of the performance of "Distant Lover", which Motown later released as a single in late 1974, the album sold over a million copies. Gaye's subsequent 10-city tour, which took off that August, was sold-out and demand for more dates continued into 1975 while Gaye had struggled with subsequent recordings. A renewed contract with Motown in 1975 gave Gaye his own custom-made recording studio.

To keep up with demand and hype, Motown released Gaye's final duet project, ''Diana & Marvin'', an album with Diana Ross, which helped to increase Gaye's audience overseas with the duo's recording of "You Are Everything" reaching number-five in the UK, number-thirteen on the Dutch chart, and number-twenty in Ireland, while the album itself sold over a million copies overseas with major success in the UK. The recording of ''Diana & Marvin'' had started in late 1971 and overdubbed sessions took place in 1972 but was shelved from a release until late 1973 following the release of ''Let's Get It On''. Gaye toured throughout 1975 without new releases and collaborated in the studio producing songs for the likes of The Miracles (now without Smokey Robinson) and Yvonne Fair, helping to produce her version of Norman Whitfield's "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On", featured on Fair's ''The Bitch is Black'', while also assisting her in the background with his vocals. Later in 1975, Gaye shaved his head bald in protest to Rubin Carter's prison sentence. Gaye initially insisted to keep it bald until Carter's release though Gaye's hair and beard returned within a few months.

In 1976, Gaye released his first solo album in three years with ''I Want You''. The title track became a number-one R&B; hit while also reaching the top twenty of the national pop chart. The first of his albums to embrace the then popular disco sound of the time, Motown released a double-A 12' of "I Want You" alongside another smooth dancer, "After the Dance". The songs found success as a unit on the Billboard Hot Disco chart, reaching number-ten. By itself "After the Dance", which wasn't intended as a second single, eventually reached number fourteen on the R&B; chart with minor pop traction, eventually reaching number seventy-four. That year, Gaye faced several lawsuits with former musicians and also faced prison time for falling behind on alimony payments ordered by law following his first wife Anna Gordy filing legal separation after a 15-year marriage. Gaye avoided imprisonment after agreeing to do a tour of Europe, his first tour of such in little over a decade. His first stop was at London's Royal Albert Hall and then at the city's London Palladium, where a recording was later released in early 1977 as ''Live at the London Palladium''. Gaye performed in France, Holland, Switzerland and Italy to packed audiences and then returned for several U.S. tour dates though he often suffered from exhaustion from some of the U.S. dates. Between 1975 and 1976, Gaye was recognized by major corporations including the United Nations for charitable work dedicated to children and to affairs related to black culture.

In the spring of 1977, Gaye released "Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1", which gave him his third number-one US pop hit, the final one Gaye released in his lifetime. The song also topped the R&B; and dance singles chart and also found some international success reaching the top ten in England. Released as the only studio track from the ''Palladium'' album, its success kept ''Palladium'' on the charts for a year eventually selling over two million copies. It was recognized by Billboard as one of the top-ten selling albums of all time that year.

''Here, My Dear'' and his final days at Motown (1978–1981)

In March 1977, his long, drawn-out court battle with former wife Anna Gordy ended. As a compromise to settle matters between the ex-couple over issues of alimony payments for their adopted son, Gaye's attorney until his death, Curtis Shaw, advised Gaye to remit a portion of the revenue that he was to get for his next studio album. Gaye entered the recording studio intending to produce a "lazy" album, but ended up with the sprawling double-album set, ''Here, My Dear'', which was held up from release for over a year. Finally released after Motown's demand for new product in late 1978, the album was initially a flop, tanking after only a couple months on the charts. Its only single, "A Funky Space Reincarnation", peaked at number twenty-three on the R&B; chart, in early 1979, becoming Gaye's first single since "Soldier's Plea" 17 years earlier to not hit the Billboard Hot 100.

Gaye became a figure on talk show circuits for most of 1979, mostly appearing on Dinah Shore's ''Dinah & Friends''. He also toured in 1979, first in the United States, then in England and in Japan, the latter being the first time (and, as it turned out, the only time) he ever toured that country. As the year continued, Gaye found himself in trouble financially, and at home with second wife, Janis Hunter. The couple split up in 1979, nearly eighteen months after marrying, and by that fall, following a performance in Hawaii, Gaye decided to remain in the state, fearing he might be imprisoned for failing to pay the IRS millions in back taxes; in court, his attorney claimed that several items within the singer's luggage, including tax returns, were stolen from him while at an airport. Meanwhile, Gaye, now heavily in the throes of drug addiction, struggled to record. Reports stated that while in Hawaii, Gaye lived inside a bread truck. He initially had planned to release a standards album titled ''The Ballads'' but discarded it, fearing fans would be disappointed by no recognizable hits on it. The singer then intended to release an album of love songs aimed for the disco audience titled ''Love Man'', but within a year, however, Gaye thought of expressing his feelings about a possible Armageddon, as well as his battles of the heart. Gaye changed the titles of all the songs, rewrote lyrics, and retitled the album, ''In Our Lifetime?'', recording the album tracks while living in London in the middle of his exile.

A 1980 European tour followed, after Gaye made a deal with British promoter Jeffrey Kruger, who had looked after Gaye's 1976–1977 European tour and his Japanese engagement in 1979. Almost immediately, controversy arose, after Gaye failed to make the stage for Princess Margaret at the Royal Gala Charity Show. While Kruger recalls that Gaye showed up just as audiences were leaving, Gaye's musicians recalled that Gaye performed to the few that stayed for the performance though Princess Margaret had already left. Though Princess Margaret denied it, the international press printed the news as an "embarrassing snub", claiming that Gaye had deliberately arrived late. This led to a lawsuit between Gaye and Kruger that eventually settled out of court. While still in London, Gaye ran into problems when recordings of ''In Our Lifetime?'' were sent to Motown's offices back in Los Angeles, initially as rough mixes, to get Motown's response rather than intending to release it. However, desperate to release Marvin Gaye product, the label rushed the album out on January 15, 1981. Gaye was upset at the news, and accused the label of editing and remixing the album without his consent, putting out an unfinished song ("Far Cry"), altering the album art he requested, and removing the question mark from the title, muting its irony. Gaye vowed to never record another record for Motown. That summer, negotiations began to be made to release Gaye from the label. After several offers landed, Gaye accepted a deal for CBS Records, a deal that was finalized in March 1982.

Comeback and sudden death (1982–1984)

On the advice of Belgian concert promoter Freddy Cousaert, Gaye moved to Ostend, Belgium, in February 1981 where for a time he cut down on drugs and began to get back in shape both physically and emotionally. While in Belgium, Gaye began to make plans to renew his declining fortunes in his professional career, starting with a tour he titled "The Heavy Love Affair Tour" in England where he was greeted more warmly by the same London press that had criticized him of the Princess Margaret snub the previous year. The tour ended with two concert dates in Ostend. A documentary leading up to his Belgian concert performances titled ''Transit Ostend'' was initially released to just Belgian fans, and was later issued on VHS in bootleg copies following Gaye's death.

After signing with CBS' Columbia Records division in 1982, Gaye worked on what became the ''Midnight Love'' album. Gaye reconnected with Harvey Fuqua while recording the album and Fuqua served as a production adviser on the album, which was released in October 1982. The parent single, "Sexual Healing", was released to receptive audiences globally, reaching number-one in Canada, New Zealand and the US R&B; singles chart, while becoming a top ten U.S. pop hit and hitting the top ten in three other selected countries including the UK. The single became the fastest-selling and fastest-rising single in five years on the R&B; chart staying at number-one for a record-setting ten weeks. Gaye wrote "Sexual Healing" while at the village Moere, near Ostend. Curtis Shaw later said that Gaye's Moere period was "the best thing that ever happened to Marvin." The now-famous video of "Sexual Healing" was shot at the Casino-Kursaal in Ostend. "Sexual Healing" won Gaye his first two Grammy Awards including Best Male Vocal Performance, in February 1983, and also won Gaye an American Music Award for Favorite Soul Single. It was called by ''People'' magazine "America's hottest musical turn-on since Olivia Newton John demanded we get "Physical".

''NME'' – December 1982

The following year, he was nominated for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance again, this time for the ''Midnight Love'' album. In February 1983, Gaye performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the NBA All-Star Game, held at The Forum in Inglewood, California, accompanied by Gordon Banks who played the studio tape from stands. In March 1983, he gave his final performance in front of his old mentor Berry Gordy and the Motown label for ''Motown 25'', performing "What's Going On". He then embarked on a U.S. tour to support his album. The tour, ending in August 1983, was plagued by Gaye's returning drug addictions and bouts with depression.

When the tour ended, he attempted to isolate himself by moving into his parents' house in Los Angeles. As documented in the PBS "American Masters" 2008 exposé, several witnesses claimed Marvin's mental and physical condition spiraled out of control. Groupies and drug dealers hounded Marvin night and day. He threatened to commit suicide several times after bitter arguments with his father. On April 1, 1984, Gaye's father fatally shot him when Gaye intervened in an argument between his parents over misplaced business documents. The gun had been given to his father by Marvin Jr. four months previously. Marvin Gaye would have celebrated his 45th birthday the next day. Doctors discovered Marvin Sr. had a brain tumor but he was deemed fit for trial and was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Charges of first-degree murder were dropped when it was revealed that Gaye had beaten Marvin Sr. before the killing. Spending his final years in a retirement home, he died of pneumonia in 1998.

In 1987, Marvin Gaye Jr. was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was also honored by Hollywood's Rock Walk in 1989 and was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990. In 2005, Marvin Gaye Jr. was admitted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. In 2007, two of Gaye's most important recordings, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "What's Going On", were voted Legendary Michigan Songs.

Personal life

Gaye married twice. His first marriage was to Berry Gordy Jr.'s sister, Anna Gordy, who was 18 years his senior. Marvin and Anna were married on January 8, 1964 when Gaye was 24 and Gordy was 42. The marriage imploded after Marvin began courting Janis Hunter, the daughter of Slim Gaillard, in 1973. Anna filed for divorce in 1975; the divorce was finalized in March 1977. Gaye's erotic and disco-tinged studio album ''I Want You'' was based on his relationship with Hunter. In his book ''Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, and Demons of Marvin Gaye'', author and music writer Michael Eric Dyson elaborated on the relationship between ''I Want You'' and the relationship Gaye had with Hunter, which influenced his music:

"I Want You" is unmistakably a work of romantic and erotic tribute to the woman he deeply loved and would marry shortly, Janis Hunter (Janis Gaye). Gaye's obsession with the woman in her late teens is nearly palpable in the sensual textures that are the album's aural and lyrical signature. Their relationship was relentlessly passionate and emotionally rough-hewn; they played up each other's strengths, and played off each other's weaknesses.

In October 1976, he married Janis, who was 17 years old when they met. However, the marriage dissolved within a year. After attempts at reconciliation, Janis filed for divorce in 1979. The divorce was finalized in February 1981. During this time, Marvin began dating a model from the Netherlands named Eugenie Vis. In 1982 Gaye became involved with Lady Edith Foxwell, former wife of the British movie director Ivan Foxwell, and spent time with her at Sherston, her Wiltshire estate. Foxwell ran the fashionable Embassy Club and was referred to in the media as "the queen of London cafe society." The story of their affair was told by Stan Hey in the April 2004 issue of ''GQ''. The report quoted writer/composer Bernard J. Taylor as saying he was told by Foxwell that she and Gaye had discussed marriage.

Gaye had three children. Marvin Pentz Gaye, III (b. 1965), by Denise Gordy, the niece of his first wife Anna Gordy. Marvin III was also adopted by his first wife Anna. The singer disclosed this in David Ritz's biography on Gaye, ''Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye'', saying he was afraid of being criticized for not producing a child. Later, Gaye had two children with Janis Hunter, Nona Marvisa, nicknamed "Pie" by her dad (born September 4, 1974) and Frankie "Bubby" Christian Gaye (born November 16, 1975). Gaye introduced his daughter to a national audience during a show in 1975. Nona would do the same eight years later when her father was given a tribute by ''Soul Train''. Nona has gone on to find success as a singer and actress. Gaye's eldest son was a music producer. Frankie is said to have taken work as an artist. Gaye also has two grandchildren: Marvin Pentz Gaye IV (b. 1995), born on the anniversary of his grandfather's death; and Nolan Pentz Gaye (b. 1997).

Musicianship

Marvin Gaye's musical style changed in various ways throughout his 26-year career. Upon his early recordings as member of The Marquees and Harvey & the New Moonglows in the late 1950s, Marvin recorded in a doo-wop vocal style. After signing his first solo recording contract with Motown, Marvin persuaded Motown executives to allow him to record an adult album of standards and jazz covers. His first album, ''The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye'', conveyed those genres including several doo-wop and blues songs.

The Motown Sound and psychedelic soul

Starting with his first charted hit, 1962's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" through 1967's "Your Unchanging Love", Marvin's music featured a blend of black rhythm and blues and white pop music that came to be later identified as the "Motown Sound". Marvin's 1962–1964 hits reflected a dance-pop/rock 'n' roll approach while his 1965–1969 recordings reflected a pop-soul style. Backed by Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers, pre-1970 Marvin Gaye recordings were built around songs with simple, direct lyrics supported by an R&B; rhythm section with orchestral strings and horns added for pop appeal. Marvin's early hits were conceived by Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Mickey Stevenson and Holland-Dozier-Holland.

Marvin's sound started to change slightly in 1967 after he began working with producers Norman Whitfield, Ashford & Simpson and Frank Wilson. Whereas Marvin's early sound reflected a youthful exterior, later songs during that period including "You", "Chained", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is" were all recorded under the psychedelic soul sound of the late sixties and early seventies. "Psychedelic soul" mixed guitar-driven rock with soul-based grooves. Marvin's vocal style also changed during that period where he began singing in a gospel texture that had been only hinted at in previous recordings.

Social commentary and conceptual albums

In 1971, Marvin issued his landmark album, ''What's Going On''. The album and its tracks were responsible in the changing landscape of rhythm and blues music as the album presented a full view of social ills in America, including war, police brutality, racism, drug addiction, environmentalism, and urban decay. Beforehand, recordings of social unrest had been recorded by the likes of (Curtis Mayfield &) The Impressions, The Temptations, Sam Cooke, Sly & the Family Stone and James Brown, but this was the first album fully devoted to those issues. The album was produced under what is called a song cycle and because of its theme of "what's going on" was considered one of the first concept albums to be released in soul music. Marvin's 1972 soundtrack ''Trouble Man'', based on the blaxploitation film of the same name, mainly featured instrumentals with a few vocal runs, including songs with social commentary. Marvin's 1972 recordings outside that album – including "Where Are We Going", "Piece of Clay", "You're the Man" and "The World Is Rated X" – also raised social issues and was personal in nature. The songs were to be included in the unreleased 1972 album, ''You're the Man'', which was canceled after the modest reception of the title single. Marvin issued his next "concept album" with 1973's ''Let's Get It On'', based on the spiritual and erotic side of love and sex. Marvin released a similarly themed funk album in 1976, ''I Want You'', before switching to personal issues with the albums ''Here, My Dear'' (1978) and ''In Our Lifetime'' (1981). The former album focused on Marvin's problems in his first marriage, while the latter focused on his own life struggles. Marvin's albums between 1971 and 1981 reflected a period where, as an Allmusic writer said, his music "not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change".

From funk to disco to contemporary R&B;

Starting in the early-seventies, Marvin's sound began to reflect the emerging sounds of funk and the later disco movement of the late 1970s. Marvin's double-sided 1976 single, "I Want You/After the Dance" and his 1977 hit, "Got to Give It Up" were his only successful attempts at recording disco-styled dance music whereas the 1978 single "A Funky Space Reincarnation", 1979's "Ego Tripping Out" and the 1981 singles "Praise" and "Heavy Love Affair" aimed at the funk-based urban audience. By itself, "I Want You", mixed funk with disco, soul and lite rock elements. With the release of 1982's triple-platinum ''Midnight Love'' and the massive platinum selling smash hit, "Sexual Healing", Marvin mixed the styles of funk and post disco with Caribbean and European-flavored pop music creating a mix that influenced the modern R&B; sound. "Sexual Healing" was the biggest R&B; hit of the 1980s – No.1 for 10 consecutive weeks. Some of Marvin's posthumous releases have been varied in nature: 1985's ''Dream of a Lifetime'' was produced mostly in an electro funk sound mostly in the first half of the album, while his posthumous "featuring" on rapper Erick Sermon's 2001 hit, "Music" brought him to a younger hip-hop audience.

Legacy and influence

According to several historians, Marvin Gaye's career "spanned the entire history of rhythm and blues from fifties doo-wop to eighties contemporary soul." Critics stated that Gaye's music "signified the development of black music from raw rhythm and blues, through sophisticated soul to the political awareness of the 1970s and increased concentration on personal and sexual politics thereafter." Marvin's usage of multi-tracked vocalizing, recording songs of social, political and sexual issues, and producing albums of autobiographical nature have influenced a generation of recording artists of various genres. As an artist who broke away from the controlled atmosphere of Motown Records in the 1970s, he influenced the careers of label mates such as Stevie Wonder, The Isley Brothers and, later in Epic Records, Michael Jackson to gain creative control and produce/co-produce their own albums. The careers of later R&B; stars such as Rick James, Prince, R. Kelly, D'Angelo, Raheem DeVaughn, Maxwell, Janet Jackson, George Michael, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Bobby V and J. Holiday also were influenced by the music of Marvin Gaye. Marvin's erotically concept albums such as ''Let's Get It On'' and ''I Want You'' inspired similar albums released by Smokey Robinson, Barry White and his co-producer on ''I Want You'', Leon Ware. Modern-day artists such as Teena Marie and Mary J. Blige have also referenced Marvin in their own songs. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him No.18 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

Tributes and covers

In 1983, Spandau Ballet recorded the single "True" as a tribute to Marvin and the Motown sound he helped established. That same year, electro-funk group R. J.'s Latest Arrival mentioned him with their dance hit, "Shackles on My Feet". DeBarge's 1983 hit, "All This Love" was musically influenced by Marvin's sound and was rumored that they had wanted Marvin to record the song himself. However, Marvin had left the label before they could approach him.

On April 2, 1984, the day after Marvin's death, Duran Duran dedicated their live performance of "Save a Prayer" while on their Sing Blue Silver tour and appearing on their ''Arena'' album to him. Tribute songs to the singer included Diana Ross' "Missing You" and The Commodores' "Nightshift" became hits with each song reaching number-one on the Billboard Hot R&B; Singles chart. Other artists who have either paid tribute to Marvin in a song or referenced him have included close friend and former Motown label-mate Edwin Starr, who released "Marvin" the month after his death, Teena Marie's "My Dear Mr. Gaye", Todd Rundgren's "Lost Horizon", the Violent Femmes' 1988 single "See My Ships", Maze featuring Frankie Beverly's 1989 R&B; hit, "Silky Soul", ABC's 1987 single "When Smokey Sings" (Gaye's "What's Going On (song)" is sampled for the Miami Mix) and George Michael's "John and Elvis Are Dead" where Marvin is mentioned in one the final lines from the repeated chorus. Stevie Wonder wrote the song "Lighting Up the Candles" as a tribute to Gaye following his death and performed the song originally at Gaye's funeral service. Wonder later recorded the song for the ''Jungle Fever'' soundtrack.

In 1992, Israeli artist Izhar Ashdot dedicated his song "Eesh Hashokolad" to Gaye. Two tribute albums, 1995's ''Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye'' (which featured Nona's version of "Inner City Blues") and 1999's ''Marvin Is 60'' featured covers of Marvin's most famous material. Since the 1960s, Marvin's songs have been covered by a variety of artists. The Rolling Stones recorded "Baby Don't You Do It" early in their career. The Band also recorded "Baby Don't You Do It" numerous times under the Order of the Black title "Don't Do It"; the different versions, both studio and live, appear on several of their albums and box sets (the only one to be released as a single came from Rock of Ages), as well as in their 1976 concert film The Last Waltz. Rod Stewart during his early tenure with Steampacket covered "Can I Get a Witness". His 1965 hit, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" was covered three times by Junior Walker in 1966, again in 1975 by James Taylor, and again in 2002 by gospel singer Helen Baylor. In Baylor's version she substituted the word "baby" for Jesus.

Gaye's 1968 hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" has been frequently covered with versions recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Roger Troutman, Edwin Starr and The California Raisins. Donny Hathaway performed a live version of "What's Going On" for his 1972 ''Live'' album while Cyndi Lauper recorded a top forty version of "What's Going On" in 1987, the song was re-recorded by a variety of contemporary pop, R&B; and rap artists in 2001(again, including Nona) for AIDS benefit and was later dedicated to the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks. A few years after that, rock band A Perfect Circle covered the song in their own hard rock version. The singer's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" was covered by rock band The Strokes which featured Eddie Vedder on lead vocals. R&B; singer Angela Winbush covered "Inner City Blues" in 1994 and was recorded in a slightly different version by Gil-Scott Heron in the 1970s. Aaliyah covered "Got to Give It Up" on her album ''One in a Million''.

Gospel–soul legends Mavis Staples and Aretha Franklin have each covered "Wholy Holy" from the ''What's Going On'' album while "Let's Get It On" was famously sampled by Shaggy on his breakthrough single, 1994's "Boombastic". Versions of "Sexual Healing" have been recorded by Soul Asylum, Ben Harper, Max-A-Million, Kate Bush, Neil Finn, Sarah Connor and Ne-Yo. Michael McDonald, Diana Ross and Amy Winehouse have all covered or redone their own versions of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Marvin's 1967 hit with Tammi Terrell while Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn reinterpreted the Marvin/Tammi single, "If This World Were Mine" in 1982. Mary J. Blige and Method Man, with permission, sampled an interpolation of "You're All I Need to Get By" for their 1995 hit, "You're All I Need/I'll Be There for You". In June 2008, D'Angelo alongside Erykah Badu recorded Gaye's hit duo with Terrell, "Your Precious Love" for his "The Best So Far"...compilation album.

On April 2, 2006, on what would have been the singer's 67th birthday, a park near the neighborhood where Marvin grew up at in Washington, D.C. was renamed after him after a discussion with the City Council. "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" was covered by John Mayer in his Album ''As/Is'', released in 2004. The cover also featured DJ Logic. Elton John's song "Club at the End of the Street" also mentions Marvin Gaye. On the 25th anniversary of Marvin Gaye's death, the singer's hometown of Washington, D.C. again honored the singer by renaming a street he grew up on called "Marvin Gaye Way".

Musical achievements and posthumous releases

Gaye scored 41 Top 40 hit singles on ''Billboard'''s Pop Singles chart between 1963 and 2001, 60 Top 40 R&B; singles chart hits from 1962 to 2001, 18 Top Ten pop singles on the pop chart, 38 Top 10 singles on the R&B; chart, three number-one pop hits and thirteen number-one R&B; hits and tied with Michael Jackson in total as well as the fourth biggest artist of all-time to spend the most weeks at the number-one spot on the R&B; singles chart (52 weeks). In all, Gaye produced a total of 67 singles on the Billboard charts in total, spanning five decades, including five posthumous releases.

The year a remix of "Let's Get It On" was released to urban adult contemporary radio, "Let's Get It On" was certified gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000, making it the best-selling single on Motown in the United States. Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is the best-selling international Motown single, explained by a re-release in Europe following a Levi 501 Jeans commercial in 1986.

On June 19, 2007, Hip-O Records reissued Gaye's final Motown album, ''In Our Lifetime'' as an expanded two-disc edition titled ''In Our Lifetime?: The Love Man Sessions'', bringing back the original title with the question mark and included a different mix of the album, which was recorded in London and also including the original songs from the ''Love Man'' album, which were songs later edited lyrically for the songs that made the ''In Our Lifetime'' album. The same label released a deluxe edition of Gaye's ''Here, My Dear'' album, which included a re-sequencing of tracks from the album from producers such as Salaam Remi and Bootsy Collins.

His 1983 NBA All-Star performance of the national anthem was used in a Nike commercial featuring the 2008 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Also, on CBS Sports' final NBA telecast to date (before the contract moved to NBC) at the conclusion of Game 5 of the 1990 Finals, they used Gaye's 1983 All-Star Game performance over the closing credits. Most recently, it was used in the intro to Ken Burn's "Tenth Inning" documentary on the game of baseball.

In 2008, Gaye earned $3.5 million, and took 13th place in 'Top-Earning Dead Celebrities' in ''Forbes Magazine''.

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" one of his most famous songs, voted No.1 and greatest Motown song and his "What's Going On" is on the top five.

Documentaries and movies

A documentary about Gaye – ''What's Going On: The Marvin Gaye Story'' – was a UK/PBS USA co-production, directed by Jeremy Marre and was first broadcast in 2006; two years later, the special re-aired with a different production and newer interviews after it was re-broadcast as an ''American Masters'' special. Gaye is referenced as one of the supernatural acts to appear in the short story and later television version of ''Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes'' in "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band".

A play by Caryl Phillips called ''A Long Way from Home'', focusing on Gaye's relationship with his father and his last years in Ostend, was broadcast by BBC Radio 3 in March 2008. It featured O. T. Fagbenle as Gaye and Kerry Shale as Marvin Gay Sr., with Rhea Bailey, Rachel Atkins, Damian Lynch, Alibe Parsons, Ben Onwukwe and Major Wiley. It was directed by Ned Chaillet and produced by Chris Wallis.

So far, three movies are currently being planned on Marvin's life. One movie, ''Sexual Healing'', is based on the post-Motown career of Marvin Gaye's later years with Jesse L. Martin playing Marvin and James Gandolfini playing Marvin's Belgium-based mentor, concert promoter Freddy Cousaert. Another film, simply titled, ''Marvin'', is also in plans for production with F. Gary Gray in helm to direct the film. This film, unlike ''Sexual Healing'', will focus on Marvin's entire life story because unlike ''Sexual Healing'', the second film was allowed rights to Marvin's Motown catalog. Musicians Common and Usher and actor Will Smith have either been rumored to or have aspired to play the singer possibly in the second film. A third film on Gaye is reportedly being produced by Motown with director Cameron Crowe.

Discography

Studio albums

1961: ''The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye''

1962: ''That Stubborn Kinda Fellow''

1964: ''When I'm Alone I Cry''

1964: ''Hello Broadway''

1965: ''How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You''

1965: ''A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole''

1966: ''Moods of Marvin Gaye''

1968: ''I Heard It Through the Grapevine''

1969: ''M.P.G.''

1970: ''That's the Way Love Is''

1971: ''What's Going On'' (#6 U.S.)

1972: ''Trouble Man''

1973: ''Let's Get It On'' (#2 U.S.)

1976: ''I Want You'' (#4 U.S.)

1978: ''Here, My Dear

1981: ''In Our Lifetime''

1982: ''Midnight Love'' (#7 U.S.; No.10 UK)

1985: ''Dream of a Lifetime'' (posthumous)

1985: ''Romantically Yours'' (posthumous)

Duet albums

1964: ''Together'' (with Mary Wells)

1966: ''Take Two'' (with Kim Weston)

1967: ''United'' (with Tammi Terrell)

1968: ''You're All I Need'' (with Tammi Terrell)

1969: ''Easy'' (with Tammi Terrell)

1973: ''Diana & Marvin'' (with Diana Ross)

U.S. and UK Top Ten singles

1963: "Pride and Joy" (US #10)

1964: "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (US #6)

1965: "I'll Be Doggone" (US #8)

1965: "Ain't That Peculiar" (US #8)

1967: "Your Precious Love" (US #5)

1967: "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You" (US #10)

1968: "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (US #8)

1968: "You're All I Need to Get By" (US #7)

1968: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (US #1; UK #1)

1969: "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" (US #4; UK #5)

1969: "The Onion Song" (UK #9)

1969: "That's The Way Love Is" (US #7)

1970: "Abraham, Martin & John" (UK #9)

1971: "What's Going On" (US #2)

1971: "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (US #4)

1971: "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (US #9)

1972: "Trouble Man" (US #7)

1973: "Let's Get It On" (US #1)

1974: "You Are Everything" (UK #5)

1977: "Got to Give It Up" (US #1; UK #7)

1982: "Sexual Healing" (US #3; UK #4)

1985: "Sanctified Lady" (US #2; US R&B;)

1986: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine (UK re-release)" (UK #8)

Filmography

1965: ''The T.A.M.I. Show'' (documentary)

1969: ''The Ballad of Andy Crocker'' (television movie)

1971: ''Chrome & Hot Leather'' (television movie)

1972: ''Trouble Man'' (cameo; soundtrack)

1973: ''Save the Children'' (documentary)

Videos and DVDs

''The Real Thing: In Performance (1964-1981)'' Motown/Universal 2006

"Marvin Gaye Live in Montreux 1980"

Marvin Gaye in popular culture

In advertising

During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Nike ran ads focused on the United States' Men's Basketball Team featuring Marvin Gaye's 1983 performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the NBA All-Star Game. The message is: the team found inspiration in the way Marvin Gaye performed the song.

In music

Singer Teena Marie pays tribute to Marvin Gaye with her song titled "My Dear Mr. Gaye."

In 1997, R&B; singer Aaliyah did a cover to Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up" which featured Slick Rick.

In the song "Hörst Du mich?" by German Hip Hop band Fettes Brot, the first verse is dedicated to Marvin Gaye.

The Commodores paid tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson on their hit "Nightshift" in 1985.

The Prefab Sprout song "When the angels", from their 1985 album ''Steve McQueen'', is a tribute to Marvin Gaye.

Rapper Big Sean recorded a song used on his ''Finally Famous'' album titled "Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay" featuring Kanye West.

Rapper Drake recorded "Marvin's Room" in reference to producing the song in Marvin Gaye's studio.

Onscreen

;Film

He played "Jim" in the 1971 biker film ''Chrome and Hot Leather'', which also featured Larry Bishop.

;Television

In ''The Sopranos'' season 6, episode 1 ("Members Only"), Uncle Junior shoots Tony Soprano and Vito Spatafore later remarks: "He Marvin Gaye'd his own nephew”.

On ''The Tavis Smiley Show'' episode that aired November 15, 2004, Rapper Nas says, "So it's like Marvin Gaye".

In poetry

On multi-genre performer B. Dolan's 2010 album, ''Fallen House Sunken City'' (Strange Famous Records), "Marvin" is a poem about the last days of Marvin Gaye.

References

Further reading

Davis, Sharon (1991). ''Marvin Gaye: I Heard It Through The Grapevine''. Great Britain: Bookmarque Ltd, Croydon, Surrey. ISBN 1-84018-320-9

Dyson, Michael Eric (2004). ''Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, and Demons of Marvin Gaye''. New York/Philadelphia: Basic Civitas. ISBN 0-465-01769-X.

Gambaccini, Paul (1987). ''The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time''. New York: Harmony Books.

Gaye, Frankie with Basten, Fred E. (2003). ''Marvin Gaye: My Brother''. Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-742-0

Heron, W. Kim (April 8, 1984). ''Marvin Gaye: A Life Marked by Complexity''. Detroit Free Press.

Posner, Gerald (2002). ''Motown : Music, Money, Sex, and Power''. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50062-6.

Ritz, David (1986). ''Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye''. Cambridge, Mass: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81191-X

Turner, Steve (1998). ''Trouble Man: The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye''. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 0-7181-4112-1

White, Adam (1985). ''The Motown Story''. London: Orbis. ISBN 0-85613-626-3

External links

Marvin Gaye Biography

Marvin Gaye Life & Legacy

Additional archives

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