Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of successes, which earned him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul". During the s, Gaye became one of the first Motown artists to break away from the reins of a production company and recorded the landmark albums What's Going On and Let's Get It On On April 1, , the day before his 45th birthday, Gaye was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr.
Gay Sr. Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. His first home was in a public housing project, [ 9 ] the Fairfax Apartments [ 10 ] now demolished at 1st Street SW in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood.
The alleys were full of one- and two-story shacks, and nearly every dwelling was overcrowded. Gaye was the second oldest of the couple's four children. He had two sisters, Jeanne and Zeola, and one brother, Frankie Gaye. He also had two half-brothers: Michael Cooper, his mother's son from a previous relationship, and Antwaun Carey Gay, [ 18 ] born as a result of one of his father's extramarital affairs. Gaye started singing in church when he was four years old; his father often accompanied him on piano.
In [ 9 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] or , [ 8 ] [ 33 ] [ b ] the Gays moved into the East Capitol Dwellings public housing project in D. Gaye later said he lost his virginity to a local prostitute while in the Air Force. He feigned mental illness and was given a "General Discharge", with an outgoing performance review from his sergeant remarking "Airman Gay cannot adjust to regimentation nor authority". Failing that, he sent them to Columbia subsidiary OKeh Records. Moonglows co-founder Harvey Fuqua later hired The Marquees as employees.
In , the group disbanded. Gaye moved to Detroit with Fuqua, where he signed with Tri-Phi Records as a session musician, playing drums on several Tri-Phi releases.
