#2 Marvin Gaye

MARVIN GAYE 'SEXUAL HEALING' (1982): A Piece by Steve Ferguson

The twilight introspection that characterized much of Marvin Gaye's later recordings tells of an artist struggling with addiction, paranoia and a world-weary view inflated by finance, divorce and the shadow of his abusive wife-beating father. Retreating to Belgium to recover from the fallout from leaving Motown Records and spiralling cocaine use, he eventually moved to England where he discovered a love of reggae and began to lay down some demos directly influenced by artists such as Bob Marley and Third World.

When 'Sexual Healing' was released as a single, Marvin's career was immediately revived and sales of the single as well as critical acclaim cast him back under the spotlight. In addition, his album 'Midnight Love' became a worldwide best seller, no doubt propelled by the huge success of it's lead single 'Sexual Healing', and music industry Awards came fast. Sadly with the success Marvin's inner turmoil once again surfaced, leading to shambolic live appearances, cancelled tours and a move back to his parental home where on April 1st 1984 the day before his 45th birthday, he was shot dead by his father.

Despite the languid nature of the recording lyrically, 'Sexual Healing' continues to resonate worldwide with music lovers with Marvin's touching vocal performance underpinned by a gentle but vibrant backing track, the epitome of 'Quiet Storm' soul. 'Sexual Healing' was also the first commercial hit single to feature the TR-808 drum machine, later famously utilized by countless artists in genres such as Pop, Hip-Hop and House. This truly makes the recording one of those pioneering 'firsts' that went onto influence so much of what we can still hear today in the contemporary music world.

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#2 Marvin Gaye

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