Dab solver - List of tributes to Marvin Gaye

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The alternative band [[Violent Femmes]]' song "See My Ships" from their [[3 (Violent Femmes album)|]] album, referenced Gaye's death in a [[double-entendres|double-entendre]] to express anxiety about God (the father)'s final judgment: "Mercy mercy me, Marvin Gaye, he was shot by his father, O my father have mercy on me". [[Prefab Sprout]]'s "When the Angels" from their album, [[Steve McQueen (album)|]], was dedicated to Gaye.^ref

In 2003 and 2004, Gaye was often mentioned in songs by rappers such as [[Jay-Z]] and [[T.I.]] on their respective songs, "[[Dirt Off Your Shoulder]]" and "[[Rubber Band Man]]", while in 2004, the [[R. Kelly]] song, "If I Could Make the World Dance" was dedicated to Gaye. That same year, [[George Michael]] referenced Marvin's name on his song, "John & Elvis are Dead" from his [[Patience (George Michael album)|]] album. Songs that paid tribute or mention reference to Marvin Gaye include:
*"" by [[T.I]]
*"[[True (Spandau Ballet song)|]]" by [[Spandau Ballet]]
*"Shackles" by [[R.J.'s Latest Arrival]]
*"[[Missing You (Diana Ross song)|]]" by [[Diana Ross]]

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==Albums==
Least two albums have been released to commemorate Gaye's influence on [[popular music]].

Among the two albums released include ''[[Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye]]'', released in 1994 in collaboration with [[Music Television|MTV]], who previewed the album's contents with the airing of the [[documentary]] about Gaye, also titled ''Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye'', that featured vintage Gaye performances, as well as performances of his songs by other artists, notably [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]], [[Bono]] and Gaye's daughter, [[Nona Gaye|Nona]].

The second tribute album, ''[[Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album]]'', was released in 1999 on [[Motown Records|Motown]] in celebration of Gaye's 60th birthday. Released that June, the album featured the likes of [[Erykah Badu]], [[D'Angelo]] and [[Will Downing]]. The respective artists released songs from the tribute album including covers of "[[Your Precious Love]]" and "[[You Sure Love to Ball]]" to R&B radio stations.

R&B band [[Maze (band)|Frankie Beverly & Maze]] based their 1989 album, ''[[Silky Soul]]'' on Gaye, who had served as the band's early mentor following their early years. The title track was recorded as a tribute to Gaye and [[interpolation|interpolated]] Gaye's melody from "[[What's Going On (song)|What's Going On]]". The song was released as a single and became a top-ten hit on the R&B chart. Marvin's daughter Nona was featured in the video.

Upon reviewing her albums, ''[[Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814]]'' and ''[[janet.]]'', [[David Ritz]] compared Jackson's switching of topics from social issues to sensual material to that of Gaye's.<ref name="Sex, sadness & the triumph of Janet Jackson">{{Citation| last= Ritz | first= David | title = Sex, sadness & the triumph of Janet Jackson |work=Rolling Stone | date = 1998-10-01 | url = http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938082/sex_sadness__the_triumph_of_janet_jackson | accessdate = 2008-04-23}}</ref>

Jazz composer [[Don Byron]]'s album, ''Don Byron's String Quartet No. 2: Four Thoughts on Marvin Gaye, I-IV, A Tribute to the Life of Marvin Gaye'' was released by the string quartet [[Ethel (string quartet)|Ethel]] on the album, ''Heavy'' (Innova, 2012).

==Songs==
Even before Gaye's death in 1984, Gaye was mentioned by name in a couple of songs. In [[Spandau Ballet]]'s breakthrough single, "[[True (Spandau Ballet song)|True]]", one verse cited "listening to Marvin (all night long)/this is the sound of my soul", which was seen as an example of the influence of Gaye's romantic song style. Gaye was also mentioned by name in [[electro funk]] outfit [[R.J.'s Latest Arrival]]'s "Shackles (On My Feet)".

Following Gaye's own death, [[Lionel Richie]] composed the song, "[[Missing You (Diana Ross song)|Missing You]]", which he immediately gave to [[Diana Ross]], who was reportedly struggling with her friend's death. The song was released in late 1984 and became Ross' final top-ten single. A day after Gaye's death, [[New Wave music|new wave]] band [[Duran Duran]] dedicated "[[Save a Prayer]]" to Gaye. In 1985, [[The Commodores]] issued the [[ballad]], "[[Nightshift (song)|Nightshift]]", which was dedicated to both Gaye and [[Jackie Wilson]].

The alternative band [[Violent Femmes]]' song "See My Ships" from their ''[[3 (Violent Femmes album)|3]]'' album, referenced Gaye's death in a [[double-entendres|double-entendre]] to express anxiety about God (the father)'s final judgment: "Mercy mercy me, Marvin Gaye, he was shot by his father, O my father have mercy on me". [[Prefab Sprout]]'s "When the Angels" from their album, ''[[Steve McQueen (album)|Steve McQueen]]'', was dedicated to Gaye.<ref>{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Peter|title=The rough guide to rock|year=2003|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-85828-457-6}}</ref>

In 2003 and 2004, Gaye was often mentioned in songs by rappers such as [[Jay-Z]] and [[T.I.]] on their respective songs, "[[Dirt Off Your Shoulder]]" and "[[Rubber Band Man]]", while in 2004, the [[R. Kelly]] song, "If I Could Make the World Dance" was dedicated to Gaye. That same year, [[George Michael]] referenced Marvin's name on his song, "John & Elvis are Dead" from his ''[[Patience (George Michael album)|Patience]]'' album. Songs that paid tribute or mention reference to Marvin Gaye include:
*"<<link:0>>" by [[T.I]]
*"[[True (Spandau Ballet song)|True]]" by [[Spandau Ballet]]
*"Shackles" by [[R.J.'s Latest Arrival]]
*"[[Missing You (Diana Ross song)|Missing You]]" by [[Diana Ross]]
*"[[Nightshift (song)|Nightshift]]" by [[The Commodores]]
*"When the Angels" by [[Prefab Sprout]]
*"Silky Soul" by [[Maze (band)|Frankie Beverly & Maze]]
*"My Dear Mr. Gaye" by [[Teena Marie]], recorded for her album, ''[[Starchild (Teena Marie album)|Starchild]]''.
*"Hörst Du mich?" by German [[Hip hop music|Hip Hop]] band [[Fettes Brot]]: its first verse was dedicated to Gaye.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.magistrix.de/lyrics/Fettes%20Brot%201/Hoerst-Du-Mich-257532.html |title=Songtext: Fettes Brot 1 – Hörst Du Mich? |publisher=Magistrix.de |accessdate=July 8, 2011}}</ref>
*"The Day Marvin Gaye Died" by The Avett Brothers
*"[[Club at the End of the Street]]" by [[Elton John]] mentions Marvin.
*"Keep Your Head Up" by [[2Pac]]: the rapper mentions him with the lyric, "I remember Marvin Gaye used to sing to me/he had me feeling like [[Black people|Black]] was the thing to be."
*Stevie Wonder's "Lighting Up the Candles" was a tribute to Marvin and Stevie first performed it at Gaye's funeral; he later issued the song on his [[Jungle Fever (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] to ''[[Jungle Fever (film)|Jungle Fever]]''.
*[[Israel]]i artist [[Izhar Ashdot]] dedicated his song "Eesh Hashokolad" to Gaye.
*Rapper Kanye West referenced Gaye in his song "Slow Jamz" featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx.
*Rapper [[Big Sean]] recorded a song used on his ''[[Finally Famous (Big Sean album)|Finally Famous]]'' album titled "Marvin & Chardonnay" featuring [[Kanye West]] and [[Roscoe Dash]].
*Rapper [[Drake (entertainer)|Drake]] recorded "[[Marvin's Room (song)|Marvin's Room]]" in reference to producing the song in Marvin Gaye's studio.
*Rapper [[Charles Hamilton (rapper)|Charles Hamilton]] referenced Marvin in his song "Stay On Your Level".
*Rapper [[Mos Def]]'s song "Modern Marvel" from his 2004 album ''[[The New Danger]]'' was dedicated to Marvin.
*Rapper [[Tyler, The Creator]] referenced Marvin in his song "Yonkers".
*Rapper [[Immortal Technique]] referenced Marvin and "[[What's Going On (album)|What's Going On]]" in his song "Crossing the Boundary".
*Rapper [[B. Dolan]] referenced Marvin in his song "Marvin (Can't Remember)".
*Rapper [[Cormega]] referenced Marvin in his song "Journey".
*R&B singer [[R. Kelly]] mentions Gaye at the end of "If I Could Make The World Dance" on his 2004 ''Happy People/U Saved Me'' album. Kelly states: "Marvin Gaye inspired me to write that one, y'all."
*R&B trio [[H-Town (band)|H-Town]] sang the first part on the line "Listening to some Marvin Gaye" on the first single, "[[Knockin' Da Boots]]" from their 1993 debut album, ''[[Fever for Da Flavor]]''.

==Other tributes==
Marvin's death was referenced in ''[[The Sopranos]]'' on an episode titled "[[Members Only (The Sopranos)|Members Only]]", when [[Uncle Junior]] shoots [[Tony Soprano]] and [[Vito Spatafore]] later remarks: "He Marvin Gaye'd his own nephew”. Gaye is referenced as one of the [[supernatural]] acts to appear in the short story and later television version of ''Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes'' in "[[You Know They Got a Hell of a Band]]".

A play by [[Caryl Phillips]] called ''[[Ned Chaillet#A Long Way from Home|A Long Way from Home]]'', focusing on Gaye's relationship with his father and his last years in Ostend, was broadcast by [[BBC Radio 3]] in March 2008. It featured [[O. T. Fagbenle]] as Gaye and [[Kerry Shale]] as Marvin Gay Sr., with [[Rhea Bailey]], Rachel Atkins, Damian Lynch, Alibe Parsons, Ben Onwukwe and Major Wiley. It was directed by [[Ned Chaillet]] and produced by Chris Wallis.

In 2010, Marvin's sister Zeola Gaye started producing [[musical play]]s titled ''My Brother, Marvin'', in which has been played in several cities. In 2012, a similar titled musical play started playing also in tribute to Gaye.

Rapper [[Tupac Shakur]] refers to Marvin Gaye in his song ''[[Thugz Mansion]]'':
:Dear momma don't cry, your baby boy's doin good
:Tell the homies I'm in heaven and they ain't got hoods
:Seen a show with Marvin Gaye last night, it had me shook
:Drippin peppermint Schnapps, with Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke

==Music videos==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Video
! Director
|-
| 1986
| "[[Can I Get a Witness]]"
| -
|-
| 1991
| "[[Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)]]"
| -
|-
| 1994
| "[[Lucky, Lucky Me]]"
| -
|-
| 1995
| "[[Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)]]"
| -
|-
| 2001
| "[[Music (Erick Sermon and Marvin Gaye song)|Music]]"<small>(with [[Erick Sermon]])</small>
| [[Francis Lawrence]]
|}

==Sources==
{{reflist}}

{{Marvin Gaye (navbox)}}
[[Category:Lists of songs]]
[[Category:Marvin Gaye]]

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