''What's Going On'' Live is a live album recorded in 1972 by American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

and released posthumously in 2019 by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

. The album documents a live performance of his album '' What's Going On'' and has received mixed feedback from critics.

Recording and release

The songs on this album were recorded at Washington D.C.’s

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

on May 1, 1972 as part of a Marvin Gaye Day celebration; it was the first live performance he had done in four years, since the death of his singing partner Tammi Terrell. Gaye was very hesitant about the performance and had to be talked into it by his mother: he was still grieving Terrell and disliked performing live anyway. The recording was previously released on the 2001 Deluxe Edition of '' What's Going On'' but this is the first edition of the concert as a standalone album and has a new

mix Mix, mixes or mixing may refer to: Persons & places * Mix (surname) ** Tom Mix (1880-1940), American film star * nickname of Mix Diskerud (born Mikkel, 1990), Norwegian-American soccer player * Mix camp, an informal settlement in Namibia * Mix ...

; it comes shortly after Motown's release of ''

You're the Man "You're the Man" is a song composed by singer Marvin Gaye and songwriter Kenneth Stover and released on the Motown subsidiary, Tamla, in the summer of 1972. Composed primarily on the basis of the 1972 presidential election, the song was suppose ...

'', a studio album intended to follow ''What's Going On'' but shelved for decades. Gaye resumed touring in 1974 but this was the only time that he performed the entire album live in one show. However the recording misses his performance of “

Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" is the second single from Marvin Gaye's 1971 album, '' What's Going On''. Following the breakthrough of the title track's success, the song, written solely by Gaye, became regarded as one of popular music's most poi ...

”, which was missed due to a technical error.

Reception

The editorial staff of AllMusic Guide gave What's Going On ''Live'' three out of five stars, with reviewer Andy Kellman noting that the performance is generally tentative and that it is "basically a rehearsal in front of a rapt and vocal audience" but praising Gaye by writing that his "voice sounds unaffected by years away from the stage".

Track listing

#Sixties

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

: " That's the Way Love Is"/"

You In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

"/" I Heard It Through the Grapevine"/" Little Darling (I Need You)"/" You're All I Need to Get By"/" Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"/" Your Precious Love"/" Pride and Joy"/" Stubborn Kind of Fellow" ( Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield /

Jeffrey Bowen Jeffrey Bowen is an American songwriter and record producer, notable for his work at both Motown Records and Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus and Hot Wax labels. He is best known for his work with the Detroit male vocal groups Chairmen of the ...

, Jack Goga, and

Ivy Jo Hunter George Ivy Hunter (August 28, 1940 – October 6, 2022), known as Ivy Jo Hunter, was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and singer, most associated with his work for Motown in the 1960s. Life and career Raised in Detroit, Michigan ...

/ Strong and Whitfield / Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland /

Nickolas Ashford Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

and Valerie Simpson / Ashford and Simpson / Ashford and Simpson /

, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Whitfield / M. Gaye, George Gordy, and Stevenson)– 13:24 #"Right On" (Earl DeRouen and M. Gaye)– 7:34 #"Wholy Holy" (

Renaldo Benson Renaldo "Obie" Benson (June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perf ...

, Al Cleveland, and M. Gaye)– 3:31 #"

Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", often shortened to "Inner City Blues", is a song by Marvin Gaye, released as the third and final single, and the climactic song from his 1971 landmark album, '' What's Going On''. Written by Gaye and Ja ...

" (M. Gaye and James Nyx)– 9:06 #" What's Going On" (Benson, Cleveland, and M. Gaye)– 5:41 #"What's Happening Brother" (Gaye and Nyx)– 2:54 #"Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)" ( Anna Gordy Gaye, M. Gaye, and Elgie Stover)– 3:49 #"Save the Children" (Benson, Cleveland, and M. Gaye)– 4:21 #"God Is Love" (A. Gaye, M. Gaye, Nyx, and Stover)– 1:44 #Stage dialogue– 2:33 #"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (Reprise) (M. Gaye and Nyx)– 5:10 #"What's Going On" (Reprise) (Benson, Cleveland, and M. Gaye)– 4:11

Personnel

– vocals, piano Additional musicians *

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Mar ...

– backing vocals **Louvain Demps–

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

**Marlene Barrow–

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

**Jackie Hicks–

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

* Robert White– guitar *George Baker– guitar *

Eddie "Bongo" Brown Eddie "Bongo" Brown (September 13, 1932 – December 28, 1984) was an American musician born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. Brown played congas, Bongo drum, bongos, the gourd and claves for Motown Records' in-house ...

– bongos,

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

* James Jamerson– bass guitar *

Uriel Jones Uriel Jones (June 13, 1934 – March 24, 2009) was an American musician. Jones was a recording session drummer for Motown's in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s. Biography Jones was first hired by Motown as a ...

– drums * Jack Ashford–

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

, kazoo, percussion *Maurice King– conductor * David Van De Pitte–

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

Gaye was also supplemented by a 20-piece brass and string band, led by King Technical personnel *Alex Abrash– mastering at AA Mastering *Jo Almeida– photo coordination *Bob Gratts–

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Matthew Lewis– cover photo * John Morales– mixing at M+M Mix Studios *Meire Murakami– design * David Ritz– liner notes *Beth Stempel–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Vartan–

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

*Harry Weinger– re-release production

References

External links

* *
What's Going On ''Live''
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...

{{Authority Control 1972 in Washington, D.C. 2019 live albums Live albums published posthumously Marvin Gaye live albums Motown live albums