Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was a popular soul, R&B singer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He gained international fame during the 1960s and 1970s as an artist on the Motown label. His best records are still highly regarded, and he is often cited as one of the finest singers of his era.

Gaye began his career in Motown in 1960, and soon became Motown's top solo male artist. He scored numerous hits during the 1960s, among them "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", and several hit duets with Tammi Terrell, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "You're All I Need to Get By", before moving on to his own form of musical self-expression.

Along with Stevie Wonder, Gaye is notable for fighting the hit-making—but creatively restrictive—Motown record-making process, in which performers and songwriters and record producers were generally kept in separate camps.Garofalo, pgs. 261-262 Gaye forced Motown to release his very successful 1971 album What's Going On. Subsequent releases proved that Gaye, who had been a part-time songwriter for Motown artists during his early years with the label, could write and produce his own singles without having to rely on the Motown system. This achievement would pave the way for the successes of later self-sufficient singer-songwriter-producers in African American music, such as Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, and Babyface.