Gaye's first album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, released in June 1961, failed to chart, however.

Gaye's first single, " Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide ", found regional success but also failed to chart, as would two more of Gaye's recordings by 1962.

Gaye's first top 40 pop song, " Hitch Hike ", was soon followed by his first top-10 hit single, " Pride & Joy ".

In 1964, he scored his first hit duets with singer Mary Wells including " Once Upon a Time ", which was later featured on the duo's album, Together, which became Gaye's first charted album.

In October 1968, Gaye's recording of " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ", which became Gaye's first to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and also reached the top of the charts in other countries, selling well over a million copies.

The album became Gaye's first million-selling album and featured two more top-ten hits, " Mercy Mercy Me ( The Ecology )" and " Inner City Blues ".

When VH1 launched on January 1, 1985, Gaye's 1983 rendition of the national anthem was the very first video to be aired.

The first video played is Marvin Gaye's rendition of " The Star-Spangled Banner ".

That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown star Marvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, " Stubborn Kind of Fellow " After Mary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session feigning a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of " I'll Have to Let Him Go ".

Initially the band was essentially a joke band rather than a serious one ; their first " show " was in class singing Marvin Gaye's " Got to Give It Up ", using rolled-up maps as guitars because they could not actually play any instruments.

A deeply personal and controversial album, Here, My Dear is notable for chronicling Gaye's ill-fated first marriage to Anna Gordy.

Among its highlights were Michael Jackson's performance of " Billie Jean " ( which contained his first recorded moonwalk ), Linda Ronstadt duetting with Smokey Robinson, a Temptations / Four Tops " battle of the bands ", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of " What's Going On ", a Jackson 5 reunion, and an abbreviated reunion of Diana Ross & the Supremes, who performed their final # 1 hit, " Someday We'll Be Together " from 1969.

Motown struggled to get Gaye in the studio as Gaye focused on work on an album ( which would later be released as Here, My Dear, dedicated to Gaye's troubled first marriage ).

He is noted for later having been one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan: his group gave Marvin Gaye's musical career a start, and Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy, distributed the very first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong's " Money ( That's What I Want )", on their record label, Anna Records.

The song was also Gaye's first top ten pop single peaking at number ten on the chart and just missed the top spot of the R & B singles chart peaking at number two.

The single was the top selling R & B single of the year, and was the first release from Gaye's 1969 studio album M. P. G ..

" It Takes Two " was also Gaye's first major hit in the UK, where it peaked at # 16 on the British singles charts in the spring of that same year.

Released in September of that year, the song gave Gaye his first taste of fame that would make him Motown's leading hit maker peaking at number eight on the Billboard Black Singles chart and number forty-six on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and was the leading single from Gaye's second album, the aptly titled That Stubborn Kinda Fellow.

The two first met in 1978 shortly after the release of Gaye's tormented Here, My Dear album.

It's most notable as the album that caused the first known struggle of Gaye's turbulent tenure with the label.

Gaye's music has also been the result of samples in hip-hop recordings.

Gaye's vocal style changed in the late 1960s in which he was told to incorporate a sharper raspy voice especially in Norman Whitfield's recordings, which Gaye initially profoundly disliked, considered it out of his range, but said he was " into being produce-able ".

This resulted in the recordings of successful and critically acclaimed albums such as Marvin Gaye's What's Going On ( 1971 ) and Let's Get it On ( 1973 ), and Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind ( 1972 ), Talking Book ( 1972 ), and Innervisions ( 1973 ).

The performance documented on the resulting double LP, entitled Live at the London Palladium and released in 1977, is considered one of Gaye's finest live recordings.

Classic quiet storm recordings include Frankie Beverly and Maze's " Golden Time of Day ," Marvin Gaye's " Let's Get It On ", the orchestrations of Philadelphia soul, the recordings of Al Green, Barry White, and Bill Withers, much of jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery's work during his CTI ( Creed Taylor, Incorporated ) years, and the work of jazz-funk saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr.

It became one of Gaye's signature 1960s recordings, and was his best-known solo hit before 1968's " I Heard It Through the Grapevine ".

The group found modest success in the latter half of the 60s, often working as background singers for recordings by artists such as Jimmy Ruffin's " What Becomes of the Brokenhearted ", Stevie Wonder's " For Once In My Life " and " Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday ", David Ruffin " My Whole World Ended ( The Moment You Left Me )", Marvin Gaye's " Chained " and " Just to Keep You Satisfied ", Edwin Starr's " War " and " 25 Miles ", and many more.

Following Gaye's death, several of Gaye's social commentary songs that had been unreleased including " The World Is Rated X " and " Where Are We Going " started showing up in compilation albums.

Gaye's version was never released in the U. S. as a single but was featured on his 1970 album, That's the Way Love Is, and was one of his first experiments with social messages in his music which would culminate in his legendary 1971 album, What's Going On.

On March 31, 1984, Gaye and his parents were involved in an argument over misplaced business documents, which occurred in Gaye's bedroom.

" Gaye's sister Jeanne said Gaye was beaten often between age seven well into his teenage years.

Gaye's father never kept a job, working for a total of three years, working at the Western Union and the post office.

During his teen years, Gaye's relationship with his father further deteriorated and he often was kicked out of the house by his father for what he perceived was misbehavior.

Gaye's father later served six years probation for the crime after agreeing to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

He also was a featured soloist on many of Marvin Gaye's original albums on Motown during the 1970s, as well as on many other pop and r & b sessions during 25 years as a first-call musician in the studios in LA.

In 1985, two years following Gaye's death, the song was re-released in the UK reaching number eight thanks to a Levi's commercial ( starring Nick Kamen ).

The album was re-evaluated in the years following its original release, and is today seen as a landmark in Gaye's career.

Gaye's father stepped closer and shot Gaye again at point blank range at his shoulder before leaving the room.

A year later, Gaye's mother founded the Marvin P. Gaye Jr. Memorial Foundation in dedication to her son to help those suffering from drug abuse and alcoholism ; however she died a day before the memorial was set to open in 1987.

Also, on CBS Sports ' final NBA telecast to date ( before the contract moved to NBC ) at the conclusion of Game 5 of the 1990 Finals, they used Gaye's 1983 All-Star Game performance over the closing credits.

* At the end of the movie This Christmas the main cast danced down a " Soul Train " line to Marvin Gaye's song " Got to Give It Up " ( before the credit roll ).

He had a long and distinguished writing career, initially for New York artists on the Wand / Sceptre labels such as such as Dionne Warwick ( e ) and Tommy Hunt, as well as Gene Pitney before moving to Motown, where he provided songs for Smokey & The Miracles, the Marvelettes, David Ruffin, the Four Tops and Chuck Jackson before hitting the big time with a co-authorship of Marvin Gaye's " What's Goin ' On?