"What's Going On" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

, released on January21, 1971, on the Motown subsidiary Tamla. It is the opening track of Gaye's studio album of the same name. Originally inspired by a

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

incident witnessed by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, the song was composed by Benson, Al Cleveland, and Gaye and produced by Gaye himself. The song marked Gaye's departure from the Motown Sound towards more personal material. Later topping the Hot Soul Singles chart for five weeks and crossing over to number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it would sell over two million copies, becoming Gaye's second-most successful Motown song to date. It was ranked at number 4 in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

in 2004 and 2010, number 6 on the updated list in 2021 and 2024, and at number 15 on its list of "The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time" in 2025.

Inspiration and writing

The song's inspiration came from Renaldo "Obie" Benson, a member of the Motown vocal group the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

, after he and the group's tour bus arrived at Berkeley on May 15, 1969. While there, Benson witnessed

and

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

in the city's People's Park during a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

held by

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

activists in what was hailed later as "Bloody Thursday". Upset by the situation, Benson said to author Ben Edmonds that as he saw this, he asked, "'What is happening here?' One question led to another. Why are they sending kids so far away from their families overseas? Why are they attacking their own children in the streets?" Upset, he discussed what he witnessed with friend and songwriter Al Cleveland, who in turn wrote and composed a song to reflect Benson's concerns. Benson wanted to give the song to his group but the other Four Tops turned down the request. "My partners told me it was a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. ...

", Benson said later, "I said 'no man, it's a love song, about love and understanding. I'm not protesting, I want to know what's going on.'" In 1970, Benson presented the untitled song to Marvin Gaye, who added a new melody and revised the song to his liking, adding in his own lyrics. Benson later said Gaye tweaked and enriched the song, "added some things that were more ghetto, more natural, which made it seem like a story than a song... we measured him for the suit and he tailored the hell out of it." Gaye titled it "What's Going On". When Gaye initially thought the song's moody feel would be appropriate to be recorded by The Originals, Benson convinced Gaye to record it as his own song. Gaye, himself, had been inspired by social ills committed in the United States, citing the 1965 Watts Riot as a turning point in his life in which he asked himself, "'With the world exploding around me, how am I supposed to keep singing love songs?'" Gaye was also influenced by emotional conversations shared between him and his brother Frankie, who had returned from three years of service at the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and his namesake cousin's death while serving troops. During phone conversations with

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

, who was vacationing in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

at the time, Gaye had told Gordy that he wanted to record a protest record, to which Gordy said in response, "Marvin, don't be ridiculous. That's taking things too far."

Recording

Gaye entered the recording studio, Hitsville USA, on June 1, 1970, to record "What's Going On". Instead of relying on other producers to help him with the song, Gaye, inspired by recent successes of his productions for the vocal act, the Originals, decided to produce the song himself, mixing up original Motown in-house studio musicians such as

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...

and Eddie Brown with musicians he recruited himself. The opening

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...

line, provided by musician Eli Fontaine, was not originally intended. Once Gaye heard Fontaine's riff, he told Fontaine to go home. When Fontaine protested that he was just "goofing around", Gaye replied "you goof off exquisitely, thank you." The laid-back atmosphere in the studio was brought on by constant smoking of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

by Gaye and other musicians. Jamerson was pulled into the session after Gaye located him playing with a band at a local bar. Respected Motown

arranger 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 orchestrat ...

and conductor David Van De Pitte said later to Ben Edmonds that Jamerson "always kept a bottle of he Greek spirit

Metaxa Metaxa () is a line of branded Greek alcoholic drinks, each a flavored amber blend of spirits and Muscat wine, aged in oak barrels, and packaged in amphora-shaped bottles. Several Metaxa products have numbered “star” designations indicating ...

in his bass case. He could really put that stuff away, and then sit down and still be able to play. His tolerance was incredible. It took a hell a lot to get him smashed." The night Jamerson entered the studio to record the bass lines to the song, Jamerson could not sit properly in his seat and, according to one of the members of the Funk Brothers, lay on the floor playing his bass riffs. De Pitte recalled that it was a track that Jamerson greatly respected: "On 'What's Going On' though, he just read the

ass Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (albu ...

part down like I wrote it. He loved it because I had written Jamerson licks for Jamerson." Annie Jamerson recalls that when he returned home that night, he declared that the song they had been working on was a "masterpiece", one of the few occasions where he had discussed his work so passionately with her. Gaye also added his own instrumentation, playing piano and keyboards while also playing a box drum to help accentuate Chet Forest's drumming. To add more to the song's laid-back approach, Gaye invited the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

players Mel Farr and Lem Barney to Motown Studio B and, along with Gaye and the Funk Brothers, added in vocal chatter, engaging in a mock conversation. Musician and songwriter Elgie Stover, who later served as a caterer for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and was then a Motown staffer and confidante of Gaye's, was the man who opened the song's track with the words, "hey, man, what's happening?" and "everything is everything". Later Gaye brought Lem Barney and Mel Farr as well as

Bobby Rogers Robert Edward Rogers (February 19, 1940 – March 3, 2013) was an American musician and tenor singer, best known as a founding member of Motown vocal group the Miracles from 1956 until his death. He was inducted, in 2012, as a member of the Mira ...

the Miracles The Miracles (later known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most ...

to record the song's background vocal track. The rhythm tracks and the song's overdubs were done at Hitsville, while strings, horns, lead and background vocals were recorded at Studio B. The song was mixed in stereo at Motown Center studio on Woodward Avenue. Upon hearing a playback of the song, Gaye asked his engineer Kenneth Sands to give him his two vocal leads to compare what he wanted to use for the song's release. Sands ended up mixing the leads together by accident. However, when he heard it, Gaye was so impressed with the double-lead feel that he kept it, influencing his later recordings in which he mastered vocal multi-layering, adding in three different vocal parts. Before presenting the song to Gordy, he produced a false fade to the song, bringing the song back for a few seconds after it was initially to have ended. The song was also notable for its use of

major seventh In music from Western culture, a seventh is a interval (music), musical interval encompassing seven staff positions (see Interval (music)#Number, Interval number for more details), and the major seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. ...

and

minor seventh In music theory, a minor seventh is one of two musical intervals that span seven staff positions. It is ''minor'' because it is the smaller of the two sevenths, spanning ten semitones. The major seventh spans eleven. For example, the interval ...

chords, which was uncommon at the time. Gaye recorded the song's B-side, " God Is Love", on the same day. After Gordy heard the song when Gaye presented it to him in California, he turned down Gaye's request to release it, telling Gaye that he felt it was "the worst thing I ever heard in my life." When

Harry Balk Harry Balk (October 1, 1925 – December 3, 2016) was an American A&R man, record producer and record label executive. He discovered Little Willie John, Johnny and the Hurricanes, and Rodriguez; co-produced Del Shannon's 1961 hit " Runaway"; ...

requested the song be released, Gordy told him the song featured "that

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

stuff in the middle, that scatting, it's old." Gaye responded to this rejection by refusing to record further unless the song was released, going on

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

until, he felt, Gordy saw sense in releasing it.

Commercial performance

Anxious for a new Marvin Gaye product, Balk got Motown's sales vice president Barney Ales to release the song on January 17,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, pressing 100,000 copies and promoting the single to radio stations across the country. The initial success of this led to a further 100,000 to answer demand, selling over 200,000 copies within a week. Though it was issued without Gordy's knowledge, he was satisfied with the high-volume sales. The song eventually became a huge success, reaching the top of the charts within a month in March of the year, staying at number one for five weeks on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B charts and one week at number one on the ''Cashbox'' pop chart. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it reached number two, behind both "

Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" is a song by American soul group the Temptations, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and produced by Norman Whitfield, it features on the group ...

" by

the Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

and " Joy to the World" by

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...

. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 21 song for 1971. The song eventually sold more than two million copies, becoming the fastest-selling Motown single at the time. The song's success forced Gordy to allow Gaye to produce his own music, giving him an ultimatum to complete an album by the end of March, later resulting in the '' What's Going On'' album itself.

Critical reception and legacy

The song was reviewed by

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

as a song that presented a contradictory sound, with the song's mournful tone contrasting the party atmosphere of the vocal chatter. In reviewing the ''What's Going On'' album, ''Rolling Stone'' critic Vince Aletti stated that while the song's lyrics were "hardly brilliant", the song itself helped to set the mood for the rest of the album, and that "without overreaching they capture a certain aching dissatisfaction that is part of the album's mood." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it "a tasteful message song that's sure to go across the board" and said that "mellow and rhythmic, aye'sperformance perfectly matches the brilliant production here." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "Marvin Gaye shows a new sound off in this fine release. Incorporating elements of jazz vocal and his old-fashioned smooth style, the artist is reborn." ''

'' said that "this easy beat rocker has it to put ayeright up the Hot 100 and Soul charts." "What's Going On" was nominated for two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), but failed to win in any of the categories. Although "What's Going On" does not appear in the 1983 film '' The Big Chill'' it is included in both the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and More Songs from the Big Chill. "What's Going On" was ranked number 4 on the ''Rolling Stone'' list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in the original 2004 ranking and the updated 2010 ranking, making it the highest-listed Marvin Gaye song. It was ranked number 6 in ''Rolling Stone's'' 2021 edition of the list and its 2024 revision. In 2025, the publication ranked the song at number 15 on its list of "The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time." In 2016, it was voted number 2 in "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs", a project based on voting by music experts and the public, conducted by the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

''. In 1999, music writers

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born 2 April 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author. He is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Great Gambo" and ...

and Kevin Howlett listed the song number 74 on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

's Songs of the Century. In 2003, '' Q'' magazine placed the song 64th out of its 1001 Best Songs Ever. In 2004, the Detroit publication ''

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly newspaper located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. The ''Metro Times'' was an official sponsor of the now-defunct De ...

'' named it the "Greatest Detroit Song of All Time" out of 100 songs on the list. It also reached number 14 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. In March 2012, ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' named it the number 33 Greatest 1970s song on their list. The song topped

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

's ''

'' list of the 100 Greatest Detroit Songs of All Time, and in 2004, ''

'' magazine ranked it the fourth-greatest song of all time; in its updated 2011 list, the song remained at that position. It is included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list, along with two other songs by the singer. It was also listed at number fourteen on VH-1's 100 Greatest Rock Songs.

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals, piano and box drum * Backing vocals by Marvin Gaye, Mel Farr, Lem Barney, Elgie Stover, Kenneth Stover,

, and

the Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

* Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers and the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...

including: **Eli Fountain – alto saxophone ** Robert White – acoustic guitar ** Joe Messina – electric guitar **

– bass **Chet Forest – drums ** Eddie "Bongo" Brown –

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

conga 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 ...

s ** Jack Ashford – tambourine, percussion Production * Marvin Gaye – producer, composer * Renaldo "Obie" Benson – composer * Al Cleveland – composer * David Van De Pitte – arranger * Steve Smith – recording engineer * Mike McLean – recording engineer * Ken Sands – recording and mix engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

Cyndi Lauper version

American singer-songwriter

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

covered "What's Going On" for her second studio album ''True Colors'' (1986). Lauper's version is a

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

song. It was released on March 2, 1987, as the third single from the album. The album version of the song begins with a series of gunshots in reference to the

while the single version is a remix with an alternate vocal used in the intro.

Critical reception

The pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' named Cyndi's cover of "What's Going On" one of its "records of the week" in its issue dated March 14, 1987, and noted that Cyndi was in "better vocal form" than on her previous single "Change of Heart".

Chart performance

"What's Going On" entered the UK Singles Chart the week of March 14, 1987, at number 88. It peaked at number 57 which although was a low peak, was ten positions higher than the peak position of Lauper's previous single, " Change of Heart". In the United States, the track entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 63. The track would reach a peak position of number 12 on May 9, 1987, in its ninth week. The track lasted 13 weeks in total and became her second single to fail to reach the US top ten following " Money Changes Everything". "What's Going On" also broke the record for the biggest single-week decline on the ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...

'' radio countdown, falling to number 38 from number 16. The track did, however, become a dance hit thanks to club remixes by Shep Pettibone, cracking the top twenty of the

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. Lauper later stated in her autobiography that she had wished the song performed better.

Music video

Andy Morahan directed the video for "What's Going On" in New York City. The video was released on February 25, 1987 to music channel

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Lauper's version was nominated at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Cinematography, where she lost to

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

's " Sledgehammer".

Charts

Charity versions

Live Aid Armenia cover

The remake of "What's Going On" was the first of the Rock Aid Armenia releases in aid of those suffering from the 1988 Armenian earthquake. The version credited to Live Aid Armenia featured Aswad, Errol Brown, Richard Darbyshire, Gail Ann Dorsey,

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

Nick Heyward Nicholas Heyward (born 20 May 1961) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He came to international attention in the early 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter for Haircut One Hundred. He and the band parted ways after their first al ...

, Mykaell S. Riley, Labi Siffre, Helen Terry, Ruby Turner, Elizabeth Westwood and the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra. The B-side was "A Cool Wind Is Blowing", Armenian

duduk The duduk ( ; ) or tsiranapogh (, meaning "apricot-made wind instrument"), is a double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood originating from Armenia. Variations of the Armenian duduk appear throughout the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the ...

music played by Djivan Gasparyan. The record was produced by Steve Levine and the executive producers were Fraser Kennedy and Jon Dee. This was released as a single on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

Music Relief '94

In 1994, the song was covered in the Music Relief '94. This cover was released as a benefit single released in memory of the Rwandan genocide. The singers who participated in the project were C. J. Lewis, Roachford,

Yazz Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960) is a British pop singer, who remains perhaps best known for her 1988 UK number one single " The Only Way Is Up". Some of her records are credited to Yazz and the Plastic Population. Career Yazz was born i ...

, Aswad,

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the num ...

, Peter Cunnah of D Ream, Kim Appleby, Mick Jones of BAD, Rozalla, Tony Di Bart, Paul Young,

Paul Carrack Paul Melvyn Carrack (born 22 April 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and composer who has recorded as both a solo artist and as a member of several popular bands. The BBC dubbed Carrack "The Man with the Golden Voice", while '' ...

, Angie Brown of Ramona 55,

Jimmy Ruffin Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...

, Omar, Apache Indian, Worlds Apart, Kaos, the Pasadenas, Gus Isidore,

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...

, Mark King of Level 42,

Nik Kershaw Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the decade, i ...

, Larry Adler, and

Dannii Minogue Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...

Charts

Artists Against AIDS Worldwide cover

On October 30, 2001, a group of popular recording artists under the name "Artists Against AIDS Worldwide" released a single containing multiple versions of "What's Going On" to benefit AIDS programs in Africa and other impoverished regions. The single contains "What's Going On" along with eight additional remixes. The song was recorded shortly before the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, and it was decided afterwards that a portion of the song's proceeds would benefit the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

' September 11 fund as well.

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

and

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

produced the radio single version, whose performers included

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

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, Mary J Blige,

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, Fred Durst of

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and Gaye's own daughter Nona, among other artists. The collaboration was a success worldwide, peaking within the top 10 on the charts of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom and the top 20 on the charts of

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, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland. In New Zealand, it went

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for selling over 5,000 units. On the US ''

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, the cover peaked at number 27, and it additionally reached number 24 on both the ''Billboard''

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and Rhythmic charts. A music video was directed by Jake Scott.

Track listings

US maxi-CD single # "What's Going On" (Dupri original mix) # "What's Going On" (The London version) # "What's Going On" (

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

's version) # "What's Going On" (Fred Durst's Reality Check mix) # "What's Going On" ( Mangini/Pop Rox mix) # "What's Going On" ( Mick Guzauski's Pop mix) # "What's Going On" (Dupri R&B mix) # "What's Going On" (The Neptunes This One's for You mix) # "What's Going On" ( Junior Vasquez's club mix) UK CD single # "What's Going On" (Dupri original mix) – 4:19 # "What's Going On" (Fred Durst's Reality Check mix) – 5:14 # "What's Going On" (The London version) – 3:55 UK cassette single # "What's Going On" (Dupri original mix) – 4:19 # "What's Going On" (Moby's version) – 4:36 European CD single # "What's Going On" (Dupri original mix) # "What's Going On" (Fred Durst's Reality Check mix) # "What's Going On" (The London version) – 3:55 # "What's Going On" (Moby's version) – 4:36

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other notable cover versions

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

performed a version of the song with

on the documentary, '' Standing in the Shadows of Motown'', in 2002. The performance resulted in a win at the 45th annual Grammy awards for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. * U2 performed a version of the song on their release ''Spotify Singles'', in 2017, as a promotion for their just released album, '' Songs of Experience''.

References

External links

Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On": Songs We Love
at NPR {{Authority control 1970 songs 1971 singles 1987 singles 1989 singles 1994 singles 2001 singles Anti-war songs A Perfect Circle songs Cashbox number-one singles Charity singles Charity singles following the September 11 attacks Christina Aguilera songs Civil rights movement in popular culture Columbia Records singles Cyndi Lauper songs Darren Hayes songs Destiny's Child songs Epic Records singles Eve (rapper) songs Funk ballads Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance Gwen Stefani songs Jive Records singles Lil' Kim songs Marvin Gaye songs Motown singles Music videos directed by Andy Morahan Music videos directed by Jake Scott (director) Nas songs Nelly Furtado songs Protest songs Sean Combs songs Songs about racism and xenophobia Songs of the Vietnam War Songs written by Al Cleveland Songs written by Marvin Gaye Songs written by Renaldo Benson Soul ballads Song recordings produced by Marvin Gaye Song recordings produced by Steve Levine Tamla Records singles

Inspiration and writing

Recording

Commercial performance

Critical reception and legacy

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

Cyndi Lauper version

Critical reception

Chart performance

Music video

Charts

Charity versions

Live Aid Armenia cover

Music Relief '94

Charts

Artists Against AIDS Worldwide cover

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other notable cover versions

See also

References

External links