What's Going On (song)

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""What's Going On""

Single by Marvin Gaye
from the album What's Going On
Released	January 20, 1971
Format	Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Recorded	June 10, 1970, Hitsville USA (Studio A)
Genre	Soul
Length	3:40
Label	Tamla T 54201
Writer(s)	Al Clevland Renaldo Benson Marvin Gaye
Producer(s)	Marvin Gaye
Chart positions
#2 (US Pop Singles) #1 (US Black Singles)
Marvin Gaye singles chronology
"The End Of Our Road" (1970)	"What's Going On" (1971)	"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (1971)

"What's Going On" is a 1971 hit single by Marvin Gaye for the Motown label, and the title track from his groundbreaking 1971 LP What's Going On. A pondering of the troubles and problems of the world, the song proved a timely and relatable release, and marked Gaye's departure from the pop stylings of 1960s-era Motown towards more personal material. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the fourth greatest song of all time.

1 About the song
2 Covers
3 All Stars Tribute
- 3.1 Artists for AIDS Awareness lineup
4 Credits
5 Cyndi Lauper Cover
6 Chart Performance
7 Official Versions
8 External links

[edit] About the song

Designed with a somber jazz-inspired tone, "What's Going On" addressed the political and social troubles of the world in a soulful, introspective way, contrasting to the more dramatic socially conscious records made by Sly & the Family Stone and The Temptations over the previous three years. The song originated from an idea by Four Tops member Renaldo "Obie" Benson, who, witnessing stressful conditions while on tour in Europe, began writing a song to express his feelings. Once back in the United States, Benson and Motown songwriter Al Clevland prepared an initial rough version of the song, and invited Marvin Gaye as a third collaborator on the song. Gaye, depressed from the death of singing partner Tammi Terrell and strongly considering a retirement from performing, planned to produce "What's Going On" as a single for The Originals, but Benson and Clevland convinced Gaye to record it himself.

On the finished track, as Gaye musically ponders on the state of the world, a party can be heard going on in the background, from which Gaye's voice is purposely detached. The partygoers are portrayed by Mel Farr and Lem Barney, whose acquaintances Gaye had made during his failed 1970 tryout for the Detroit Lions.

Also, notably for this record, Marvin Gaye sings both lead and background vocals himself, essentially creating what is now recognized as modern-day multitracking. The process had been used for many years to give parts of a recording extra strength (Motown themselves had used it on The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On), but Gaye took it one step further and sung each of his vocal passes in various harmony parts, creating an ethereal sound that became his trademark.

This song was completed before the rest of the What's Going On album was finished. Motown chief Berry Gordy tried to block the release of the single, deeming it "uncommercial", but after Gaye threatened to cease recording permanently, Gordy reluctantly had the "What's Going On" single issued. "What's Going On" proved to be a substantial commercial hit paving the way for his forthcoming seminal album release of the same title. "What's Going On" was one of the major hits of 1971 as well as Motown's fast selling single at that point, reaching #2 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 for five weeks on the Billboard R&B charts. The single would end up to sell over 2,5 million copies and becoming his biggest US Pop hit since "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" hit the charts in late 1968.

[edit] Covers

"What's Going On" remains one of the most covered soul songs of all time; many artists have covered the song both for live performances and on record. Cyndi Lauper recorded a hit version of the song taking it to #12 on the pop charts in 1986. When U2 toured in the US in the fall of 2001, just one month after 9/11 and in the midst of the Anthrax attacks on the 3rd leg of their Elevation Tour, What's Going On was a frequently played number, often appearing towards the end of the setlist.

[edit] All Stars Tribute

The most notable cover was done in 2001, credited to "All Star Tribute", and proceeds going to AIDS victims Worldwide. Just days before the September 11th terrorist attack, the American "supergroup" lineup known as the "All Star Tribute" was recording a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", in order to raise international AIDS awareness as well as money to combat the disease. It was scheduled to be released in December. After 9/11, however, the song was rush-released to radio and to MTV;its video having been hastily thrown together "home-movie" clips from the very recent studio recording of the song. The song went on to become associated with the terrorist attacks and the subsequent war in Afghanistan more so than with AIDS. However, in December, the song was re-released as planned, with several new versions/remixes of both the song and the video, in order to benefit AIDS charities as originally planned. Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, and Gaye's own daughter, Nona, among others, sang the original lyrics to Gaye's song. With Jermaine Dupri serving as producer, the cover featured an all-star lineup of dozens of popular contemporary artists from all genres, and its video and donations were not only dedicated to the problem of AIDS, but it was also eventually expanded to dedicate to the then-recent September 11, 2001 tragedy.

[edit] Artists for AIDS Awareness lineup

Another cover, recorded by The Funk Brothers for the soundtrack to the film Standing in the Shadows of Motown with R&B legend Chaka Khan on vocals, won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. In 2004, alternative rock band A Perfect Circle did their own cover of "What's Going On" for their album eMOTIVe, which is a compilation of various political covers.

[edit] Credits

Lead and Background Vocals by Marvin Gaye
Additional Vocals by Mel Farr and Lem Barney
Written by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Clevland, and Marvin Gaye
Produced by Marvin Gaye

[edit] Cyndi Lauper Cover

"What's Going On "

Single by Cyndi Lauper
From the album True Colors
Released	1987
Single Format	Vinyl (7")Vinyl (12")Vinyl (10")
Recorded	1986
Genre	Pop
Record Label	Epic Records
Writer	Al Clevland Marvin Gaye Renaldo Benson
Producer	Cyndi Lauper, Lennie Petze
Cyndi Lauper singles chronology
"Change Of Heart" (1986)	"What's Going On" (1987)	"Boy Blue" (1987)

"What's Going On" is the third single released by Cyndi Lauper from her second album, True Colors in 1987.

"What's Going On" is a cover of Marvin Gaye's classic. On the album version, the song starts off with a series of gunshots in reference to Vietnam; the single release is a remix with an alternate vocal used in the intro. It's the single version that most often appears on compilations. Lauper's "What's Going On" was a modest hit around the world. It even cracked a few dance charts, thanks to its club remixes by Shep Pettibone.

The video for the song was also popular and aired heavily on MTV. It was nominated for an award at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1987. An extended mix of the song is used in the music video.

[edit] Chart Performance

Chart (1987)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	12
U.S. Hot Dance/Music Maxi Single Sales	7
U.S. Hot Dance/Music Club Play	17
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	6
Australia ARIA Singles Chart	52
Chilean Singles Chart	19
Holland Singles Chart	30
German Airplay Charts	46
New Zealand Singles Charts	30
UK Singles Chart	57