What's Happening Brother

Annotation

Marvin Gaye, born in Washington D.C. (2 April 1939), helped shape the sound of the Detroit-based Motown Records in the 1960s, and thus he became one of the most influential soul singers of the era. In the early 1970s with the album What's Going On, he worked on his own production, breaking away from the Motown team. It introduced the concept album to R&B, while it contained innovative music, using gospel, jazz, soul, and classical orchestration, as the songs flowed seamlessly together. In 1962 Gaye had released the single Soldier's Plea, which contained a patriotic message, with the soldier saying that "I'm over here fighting to keep us free" and "we all must do our share". These lyrics contrasted significantly with What's Going On, about the hell of war and mistreatment of veterans, and thus an excellent representation of how views on the war changed over a period of ten years, from 1962 to 1971. Also note that in 1972 Gaye recorded the song "I Want to Come Home for Christmas" about a Vietnam P.O.W., which took an anti-war perspective. The song "What's Happening Brother" (Tamla Records # TS-310), the second on this album, portrayed a man returning to the US from Vietnam and…

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Civil Rights Songs

Marvin Gaye, born in Washington D.C. (2 April 1939), helped shape the sound of the Detroit-based Motown Records in the 1960s, and thus he became one of the most influential soul singers of the era. In the early 1970s with the album What's Going On, he worked on his own production, breaking away from the Motown team. It introduced the concept album to R&B, while it contained innovative music, using gospel, jazz, soul, and classical orchestration, as the songs flowed seamlessly together. In 1962 Gaye had released the single Soldier's Plea, which contained a patriotic message, with the soldier saying that "I'm over here fighting to keep us free" and "we all must do our share". These lyrics contrasted significantly with What's Going On, about the hell of war and mistreatment of veterans, and thus an excellent representation of how views on the war changed over a period of ten years, from 1962 to 1971. Also note that in 1972 Gaye recorded the song "I Want to Come Home for Christmas" about a Vietnam P.O.W., which took an anti-war perspective. The song "What's Happening Brother" (Tamla Records # TS-310), the second on this album, portrayed a man returning to the US from Vietnam and…

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

Born 2 April 1939, Washington, DC, USA. Died 1 April 1984, Los Angeles, California, USA

Themes

Soldier's Perspective

In collections

Civil Rights Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs