MARVIN GAYE:

In the late 1970’s, a prominent black magazine did a cover story on “Is Someone Trying To Poison Marvin Gaye?” The story offered evidence that someone did try to poison Marvin Gaye.  Allegedly, someone put poison in a drink; thankfully, Gaye didn’t consume the drink.  Gaye had hinted to his inner circle prior to the incident, that someone was out to get him but nobody paid attention to his allegations.   Just as mysteriously as the story appeared, it disappeared and the mainstream media never picked it up.  There was never any conclusion to this story and Gaye went on with his career.

“Got To Give It Up,” put him back on the charts, during one verse, he says, “Hey Don, hey man, I didn’t know you were in the house.” Gaye is referring to Don Cornelius, former host of “Soul Train,” who stopped by the studio.  During this time, Gaye was in deep financial debt due to bad investments, the only sound investment he made, were shares in “Famous Amos,” cookies.  He would move to Europe to avoid an IRS debt, he planned to stay in Europe until the “statue of limitations” ran out on the debt but he was able to broker a deal and return to the states.  Gaye was often described as a tortured soul.  Some of his eccentric behavior can be attributed to Tammi Terrell’s death, which left him totally devastated.

Contrary to popular belief, Gaye and Terrell “were never” lovers, they were more like brother and sister and Gaye was very protective over her and he tried to shield her from abusive men but he could only do so much.

To watch a Marvin Gaye performance, click on the following link, Marvin Gaye Live in Amsterdam!