My Sudden Interest In Motown

I have been listening to a lot of R&B lately. I don’t like rap (strongly dislike it at most times) and I consider myself a rock and roll guy. I fancy blues and jazz and I have been digging some Rhythm & blues lately. I have been listening to a lot of newcomers to the R&B scene lately. Such as John Legend, Common and my favorite of the bunch, Anthony Hamilton. And then I started to dig deeper into the roots of this great music that became its own culture. And I found the very origin of my new genre was in my own Great Lakes State of Michigan. The Supremes, The Temptations and my very, very, most favorite, Marvin Gaye. Marvin is simply one of the best musicians I have ever heard in my entire life. Do you know how Marvin Gaye died? His own father shot him. Which is horrible and somewhat ironic due to the fact that one of the very first lyrics of the title & opening track of arguably his best album (What’s Going On) is “Father father/ we don’t need to escalate/ see war is not the answer/ for only love can come of hate”. Marvin Gaye is one of those John Lennon type characters. The perfect image of peace too soon in life silhouetted by their own death. Men that also bestowed some of the best music to have ever been made upon us. With the voice of a god that seemingly poured the heavens through your ears when they opened their mouths and their minds to us. Listen to Marvin Gaye. Life will seem to make more sense. Or at least seem better.

-Adam Fitzgerald