What's Going On (song)
1971 single by Marvin Gaye / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"What's Going On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye, released in 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 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.[4] It was ranked at number 4 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of all Time in 2004 and 2010.[5][6]
"What's Going On" | ||||
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Single by Marvin Gaye | ||||
from the album What's Going On | ||||
B-side | "God Is Love" | |||
Released | January 20, 1971[1] | |||
Recorded | June 1, July 6, 7 and 10, September 21, 1970[2] | |||
Studio | Hitsville USA Studio A (main tracks), Studio B (supporting tracks), Motown Center (mixdown)[3] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:53 3:40 (7-inch version) | |||
Label | Tamla (T 54201) | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Marvin Gaye | |||
Marvin Gaye singles chronology | ||||
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