"'What's Going On'" is a song written by
Renaldo "Obie" Benson,
Al Cleveland, and
Marvin Gaye. It was the title track of Gaye's groundbreaking 1971
Motown album ''
What's Going On'', and it became a hit single that reached #2 on the
pop charts and #1 on the
R&B charts. A pondering of the troubles and problems of the world, the song proved a timely and relatable release, and it marked Gaye's departure from the pop stylings of
1960s-era Motown towards more personal material. In 2004,
Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the fourth greatest song of all time.
The song has been covered by multiple artists, notably
Cyndi Lauper whose version reached #12 on the pop singles charts in
1987.
About the song
Designed with a somber
jazz-inspired tone, "What's Going On" addressed the political and social troubles of the world and black on black crime in a soulful, introspective way, contrasting to the more dramatic socially conscious records made by
Sly & the Family Stone and
The Temptations over the previous three years. The song originated from an idea by
Four Tops member Renaldo "Obie" Benson, who, witnessing stressful conditions while on tour in
Europe, began writing a song to express his feelings. Once back in the United States, Benson and Motown songwriter Al Cleveland prepared an initial rough version of the song, and invited Marvin Gaye as a third collaborator on the song. Gaye, depressed from the death of singing partner
Tammi Terrell and strongly considering a retirement from performing, planned to produce "What's Going On" as a single for
The Originals, but Benson and Cleveland convinced Gaye to record it himself.
On the finished track, as Gaye musically ponders on the state of the world and the Vietnam war, a party can be heard going on in the background, from which Gaye's voice is purposely detached. The partygoers are portrayed by
Detroit Lions players
Mel Farr and
Lem Barney, whose acquaintances Gaye had made during his failed
1970 tryout with the team.
The song is notable for its heavy use of
major seventh and
minor seventh chords, a fairly uncommon occurrence in popular music of that era. Also, notably for this record, Marvin Gaye sings both lead and background vocals himself. The process had been used for many years to give parts of a recording extra strength (Motown themselves had used it on such tracks as
The Supremes' "
You Keep Me Hangin' On"), but Gaye took it a step further and sung each of his vocal passes in various harmony parts, creating an ethereal sound that became one of his trademarks.
This song was completed before the rest of the ''What's Going On'' album was finished. Motown chief
Berry Gordy deemed the record "uncommercial" and initially tried to block its release as a single. He later relented after Gaye threatened to cease recording permanently. "What's Going On" proved to be a substantial commercial hit paving the way for his forthcoming seminal album release of the same title. "What's Going On" was one of the major hits of 1971 as well as Motown's fast selling single at that point, reaching #2 for three weeks on the
Billboard Hot 100 and #1 for five weeks on the Billboard
R&B charts. The single would end up to sell over 2.5 million copies and becoming his biggest US Pop hit since "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" hit the charts in late 1968. The single version (available on the deluxe version of What's Going On, the album) differs noticeably from the album version; in particular, there is stronger percussion in the background as well as the other background vocals and noise sounding louder. Also, some of Gaye's vocals have been re-recorded to sound slightly punchier.
Credits
★ Lead and Background Vocals by
Marvin Gaye
★ Additional Vocals by Mel Farr and
Lem Barney
★ Written by
Renaldo "Obie" Benson,
Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye
★ Produced by Marvin Gaye
★ Instruments by The Funk Brothers
Cyndi Lauper cover
"'What's Going On'" was the third single released by
Cyndi Lauper from her second album ''
True Colors'' in 1987.
''"What's Going On"'' is a cover of Marvin Gaye's classic. On the album version, the song starts off with a series of gunshots in reference to
Vietnam; the single release is a remix with an alternate vocal used in the intro. It's the single version that most often appears on compilations. Lauper's "What's Going On" was a modest hit around the world. It even cracked a few dance charts, thanks to its club remixes by
Shep Pettibone.
The video for the song was also popular and aired heavily on
MTV. It was nominated for an award at the
MTV Video Music Awards in 1987. An extended club mix of the song is used in the
music video.
Chart performance
| Chart (1987) | Peak
position |
|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 12 |
| U.S. Hot Dance/Music Maxi Single Sales | 7 |
| U.S. Hot Dance/Music Club Play | 17 |
| U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 | 6 |
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart | 52 |
| Chilean Singles Chart | 19 |
| Colombian Singles Chart | 13 |
| Holland Singles Chart | 30 |
| German Airplay Charts | 46 |
| New Zealand Singles Charts | 30 |
| UK Singles Chart | 57 |
Official versions
#Club Version 6:30
#Instrumental 6:25
#Live Version
#Long Version 6:22
#Special Version 3:51
Artists Against AIDS Worldwide cover
In October 2001, a group of popular recording artists under the name "Artists Against AIDS Worldwide" released an album containing multiple versions of "What's Going On" to benefit AIDS programs in Africa and other impoverished regions.
[1] Jermaine Dupri produced the radio single version, whose performers included
Gwen Stefani,
Christina Aguilera,
★ NSYNC,
Britney Spears,
Destiny's Child,
Jennifer Lopez, Gaye's own daughter Nona, and many other popular artists. The album contained that single along with 8 additional remixes. The song was recorded shortly before the
September 11, 2001 attacks, and it was decided afterwards that a portion of the song's proceeds would benefit the
American Red Cross's September 11th fund, as well as Artists against AIDS Worldwide.
Artists Against AIDS Worldwide lineup
★
Britney Spears
★
Moby
★
Gwen Stefani
★
Christina Aguilera
★
Mary J. Blige
★
Bono
★
Backstreet Boys
★
Destiny's Child (
Beyoncé,
Kelly Rowland and
Michelle Williams)
★
P. Diddy
★
Jermaine Dupri (producer)
★
Fred Durst
★
Eve
★
Perry Farrell
★
Nelly Furtado
★
Nona Gaye
★
Darren Hayes
★
Ja Rule
★
Jagged Edge
★
Alicia Keys
★
Lil Kim
★
Aaron Lewis of
Staind
★
Jennifer Lopez
★
Chris Martin
★
Patrick Monahan of
Train
★
Monica
★
Mýa
★
Nas
★
Nelly
★
★ NSYNC
★
Michael Stipe
★
T Boz and
Chilli from
TLC
★
Shashi Tharoor
★
Usher
★
Scott Weiland
Other covers
★ When
U2 toured in the US in the fall of 2001, just one month after
9/11 and in the midst of the
2001 anthrax attacks on the 3rd leg of their
Elevation Tour, "What's Going On" was a frequently played number, often appearing towards the end of the setlist.
★ In 2003, a cover of "What's Going On" by
Chaka Khan with
The Funk Brothers won a
Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. The performance was taken from the soundtrack to the 2002
documentary film ''
Standing in the Shadows of Motown''.
★ In
2004, progressive rock band
A Perfect Circle covered "What's Going On" on their album ''
eMOTIVe''.
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