Hard to believe that on April 1, 1984, the beloved soul man Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his own father, Marvin Gay, Sr.(the "e" was added by the younger Marvin for his stage name).

In 1983, at a low point in his life due to struggles with cocaine use and depression, Marvin moved into his parents home. Sadly, Marvin had recently experienced a "comeback" due to his return to the charts with "Sexual Healing". He'd also recently won a Grammy award. This triumph didn't last long however. Within the span of a year, Marvin was in horrible shape, both physically and mentally, and he was also in tremendous debt.

On the morning of April 1, 1984, after a heated argument between father and son escalated into a physical altercation, Marvin Sr. took a revolver given to him by his son and shot him three times in the chest. The beautiful voice behind such hits as, "Mercy, Mercy Me(The Ecology)", "How Sweet It Is(To Be Loved By You)", "What's Going On", "It Takes Two", "Ain't That Peculiar", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Got To Give It Up", "Let's Get It On", and countless others was lost to us forever.

By the way, even more tragically, April 2, 1984, would have been Marvin Gaye's 45th birthday. We'll forever miss you, Marvin.

 

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