Publicity photo, photographer Jim Britt, Public Domain Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” is one of the most important songs of all time, so it should be no surprise that there have been many cover versions. Here is a sampling of six of them. The Undisputed Truth (1972) This close-to-9-and-a-half-minute version was off the Motown act’s sophomore album Face to Face […]
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Released on May 21, 1971, Marvin Gaye’s 11th studio album What’s Going On is one of the most important albums ever released. The landmark concept album is sung from the perspective of a Vietnam War veteran returning to the USA and observing injustice and suffering. The socially conscious tunes that he composed were deeply rooted in the personal. For example, […]
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Publicity photo, photographer Jim Britt, Public Domain One of the most important protest tunes of all time, the genesis of “What Going On” happened when Four Tops vocalist Renaldo “Obie” Benson, witnessed police brutality in San Francisco in May 1969, while on tour. While stuck in traffic, Benson observed young protestors being brutally attacked by cops wearing riot gear. “The […]
Learn more →Singer-songwriter Amos Lee just released a deluxe version of his recent album My New Moon. The deluxe edition features seven new tracks including a strip down acoustic reworking of Marvin Gaye’s 1971 socially conscious soul classic “What Going On”. Even though Lee takes some liberties with the music arrangement, he stays true to the spirit of the tune. Lee has […]
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