Anna Gordy Gaye
Encyclopedia
Anna Gordy Gaye is an American songwriter
and composer
, known as the elder sister of Motown
founder Berry Gordy
and the first wife of soul
legend Marvin Gaye
, who used their troubled marriage as the focal point of his critically acclaimed 1978 effort, Here, My Dear
, an album from which Gordy agreed to receive royalties due to their divorce court proceedings.
to Berry Gordy Sr. and Bertha Gordy. Shortly before her birth, her family had moved to Detroit to get away from racial tension in Georgia; Anna was born shortly after the Gordys had migrated. She was the third eldest of eight (Fuller, Esther
, Anna, George, Louyce, Gwen
, Berry
and Robert
). Most of the Gordy siblings got involved in the music business in the late 1950s forming several production companies in Michigan. Berry, in particular, gained success writing hit songs for Jackie Wilson
and a popular Detroit-based vocal group called The Miracles
. In 1959, Gordy's brother formed Motown Records and within a few months, Anna, sister Gwen and Billy Davis formed Anna Records, the label would be the national distributor for Barrett Strong
's local Tamla
single, "Money (That's What I Want)
", which in turn became a top forty hit and became Motown's first hit single.
and one of his proteges, Marvin Gaye
, moved from Chicago
to Detroit shortly after Fuqua disbanded his version of the legendary doo-wop group The Moonglows
. Fuqua had gotten acquainted with Anna's sister Gwen Gordy
and introduced Gordy to Gaye, who then introduced the singer to Motown president Berry Gordy
. While performing at the annual Christmas
party at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A.
studios, Anna and Marvin met. In her book, Berry, Me and Motown, Raynoma Liles Gordy
said Fuqua and Gaye concocted a plan to date Anna and Gwen with Fuqua dating Anna and Gaye dating Gwen. However, Gaye wanted to do a switch, which Fuqua agreed on. The plan, according to Liles, worked when Marvin and Anna got involved in a serious relationship and Harvey and Gwen also began dating. Prior to them dating, Marvin signed with Motown Records as a solo artist, staff writer and sometime session musician in December 1960. In later documentaries on her ex-husband's life, Gordy would often say that she played hard-to-get with Gaye, who she said kept showing up at her house at a certain time. When Gaye didn't show up one day as Anna had expected, she started to get concerned until Marvin suddenly cocked his head to the side and asked "you missed me, didn't you?" After that, the 21-year-old Gaye and the 38-year-old Gordy started dating.
Despite snickers over the couple's seventeen-year age difference, Gaye and Gordy openly carried on an affair, and their affair later inspired some of Gaye's early hits. Gaye's 1962 single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow
", was based on an argument Gaye and Gordy had, leaving Gordy to ask Gaye "what makes you so stubborn?" Always motivated by personal experiences, Gaye wrote "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", with extra composition by Anna's brother George and Mickey Stevenson. The song became a hit. Another Anna-inspired single came in 1963 with "Pride & Joy", Gaye's first top 10 pop hit, followed by 1964's "You're a Wonderful One". In Gaye's earlier Motown career, Gaye bluntly told Motown executives, Berry Gordy in particular, that he wanted to be a standards
performer, having no desire to have a career in the pigeonholed R&B genre. Anna Gordy was said to have been the defining factor in Motown's decision to try the standards route with Gaye as the singer's first album, 1961's The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye
, featured mainly standards and jazz covers with two rhythm and blues
tunes, one co-written by Anna, to compromise. As Berry Gordy predicted, however, the album failed and Gaye, realizing he was connected to the Gordy family, decided to use the leverage to get fame from singing R&B though he privately chided at the demands. Anna would encourage Marvin to record, even if Marvin didn't feel up to recording on a particular day, sometimes leading to spats, both privately and publicly, according to Marvin.
In Motown's carefully concocted public relations
stories, Marvin and Anna married as quickly after they started dating in 1961. However, according to Gaye, they married in 1964, as he shouted after a bridge in his song, "I Met a Little Girl
". The date of their marriage was January 8, 1964. Marvin was 24, Anna was 41. The marriage was deemed controversial not just due to their age difference but also put Gaye in conflict with some of Motown's peers, who accused him (and later Diana Ross
) for marrying/having relations with the company and also bristled at Gaye's stubbornness towards the label's grooming school, which Gaye hardly attended though Anna Gordy was a co-founder and president of that school. Gaye would later account, however, that even with his famous in-laws, he felt like he was an outsider. The Gordys' liberal sense of life was also different from Gaye's conservative childhood, growing up in a Seventh day Adventist home in Washington
.
In Michael Eric Dyson's book, Mercy Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye, Dyson contented that Gaye was put into a corner when, desperate for a child with Anna, the Gordy family insisted they arranged for Gaye to have a baby with a much younger member of the family, 16-year-old Denise Gordy
(George Gordy's daughter and later the wife of actor Richard Lawson). Gaye was said to have initially resisted the demand but soon, as he felt powerless in Motown at the time, he agreed to a quickie pregnancy plan with Denise. Marvin's first child, Marvin Pentz Gaye III, was born on November 17, 1965. And Gaye III was adopted by Anna Gordy shortly after the birth. Despite some claims of this supposed concocted plan in the book and in Steve Turner's Trouble Man biography, the Gordy family has never confirmed the story and Gaye himself said he and Anna both adopted him. When asked the reason why they adopted Marvin III, Gaye said Anna couldn't have children and Marvin lied (mainly through Motown public relations stories) that Marvin III was conceived naturally. Gaye said he didn't want to be accused for not being able to naturally conceive a child.
Prior to Marvin III's arrival, Anna Gordy struggled to have children and was later told by a doctor that she would never have children on her own, which caused the Gordy family, wanting a perfect image for Motown's then-leading male star, to concoct a plan to make Gaye seem like a homebody. While lovingly doting on his son, Marvin and Anna's own relationship began falling apart. Motown concocting duets for Gaye, to boost his ladies' man image, gave Gordy reasons to believe Gaye was unfaithful especially with rumors he was dating Mary Wells
, though Wells was married to Herman Griffin at the time Gaye and Wells did their duets. Kim Weston
and Tammi Terrell
were also accused of having a romance with Gaye though Weston and Terrell were with others and Gaye had budding friendships with both singers. Gaye's road musicians contended that Gaye was faithful to a fault with Gordy, because he was in love with her and, they said, Gaye often compared Gordy to his mother favorably. Overtime, however, Gaye would hear rumors of his own that Gordy was also being unfaithful to him.
The rumors of infidelity by the two of them caused nearly violent arguments, often in front of the public. This is what said to have inspired Gaye's impassionate reading of his signature 1968 hit, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine
", which main subject was rumors of infidelity. By the late 1960s, Gordy was still involved in songwriting and soon, with Gaye, helped to co-write several songs, mainly because of Gaye, who wanted to prove to Motown executives that he can produce and write on his own. Motown's then-background vocalists The Originals
proved to be his best test to prove them wrong, and he and Gordy wrote the group's signature hits, "Baby I'm For Real
" and "The Bells
". The couple also wrote for The Monitors and Diana Ross
. In 1971, Gaye released his acclaimed What's Going On
, which included two songs Gordy co-composed with Gaye ("God is Love
" and "Flying High (In The Friendly Sky)"). Despite this success, Gaye and Gordy's personal relationship kept falling apart.
Following the couple's move to Los Angeles
in late 1971, Gaye separated from Gordy after a public spat. Gaye and Gordy would reconcile several times afterwards but they grew more volatile and distant, especially after Gaye began a relationship with 17-year-old Janis Hunter
in 1973, which was a reverse of Marvin and Anna's 17-year age difference, only this time with Gaye as the older suitor in his relationship with Janis. After Gaye had two kids with Hunter in 1974 and 1975, Marvin and Anna agreed to file for divorce, however, Gordy's demands, including child support
, alimony
and spousal support, would lead to a nasty court battle that lasted into March 1977. The failure of the marriage, the court battle, and Marvin's personal feelings, led to the creation of Gaye's so-called "divorce" album, Here, My Dear
.
, which included personal details of their relationship. It's said when Anna Gordy heard the album, she was moved to sue, but later stopped short of pursuing a lawsuit against her ex-husband. Ironically, despite a nasty divorce, Gaye and Gordy kept seeing each other even after the split. Gaye's attorney Curtis Shaw
once noted that Gaye came over at Gordy's home in Los Angeles and was shocked to see the former married couple hugging and kissing each other with Gordy calling for Shaw to come in. Shaw thought it was the most bizarre thing he had ever encountered especially considering the former couple's nasty spat in divorce court.
Anna Gordy turned into a recluse shortly after her divorce from Marvin Gaye, only to show up briefly for parties with her family. Gordy still kept in contact with Gaye, even after Gaye had moved to Belgium
to avoid paying back taxes and to also not be noticed by anyone. After Gaye reclaimed superstardom following the release of Midnight Love
and its parent single, "Sexual Healing
", in 1982, he moved back to the United States
and got reacquainted with Gordy and their son Marvin III. The couple were together at Gaye's CBS Records-hosted party celebrating the singer's recent success. Gaye and Gordy made another public appearance together at the Grammy Awards where Gaye won his first Grammy Award of his entire career. Rumors later specified that Gaye and Gordy had even considered remarriage at this point but in the end decided to remain as friends though Gaye carried on a tumultuous affair with his second ex-wife Janis Hunter. Gordy was said to have been depressed following news of Gaye's death at the hands of his father in 1984. After Gaye's funeral, Anna, Gaye's three children, and several of the children's friends, went on a boat and spread what remained of Gaye's ashes near the Pacific Ocean
because, Anna later said, Marvin wanted to be cremated and be near nature and for doing this, Marvin would be at peace. Gordy occasionally was in the public eye after Gaye's death usually in matters relating to Gaye's legacy. In 1987, she and son Marvin III were present to accept Gaye's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Three years later, they, and Marvin's two other children, were present when Gaye was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
. Gordy again drifted into seclusion.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, known as the elder sister of Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
founder Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
and the first wife of soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
legend Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, who used their troubled marriage as the focal point of his critically acclaimed 1978 effort, Here, My Dear
Here, My Dear
Here, My Dear is a studio double album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released December 15, 1978 on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Marvin's Room in Hollywood, California from 1976 to 1977. A deeply personal and controversial album, Here, My Dear is notable for...
, an album from which Gordy agreed to receive royalties due to their divorce court proceedings.
Early life
Born Anna Ruby Gordy in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
to Berry Gordy Sr. and Bertha Gordy. Shortly before her birth, her family had moved to Detroit to get away from racial tension in Georgia; Anna was born shortly after the Gordys had migrated. She was the third eldest of eight (Fuller, Esther
Esther Gordy Edwards
Esther Gordy Edwards was a staff member and associate of her younger brother Berry Gordy's fabled Motown label during the 1960s. Edwards created the Motown Museum, Hitsville U.S.A., by preserving the label's Detroit studio. She also served as President of the Motown Museum.-Biography:Esther Gordy...
, Anna, George, Louyce, Gwen
Gwen Gordy Fuqua
Gwen Gordy Fuqua was the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, sister of Motown songwriters Anna Gordy Gaye, Robert Gordy and George Gordy, sister of Motown Museum founder Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Fuller Gordy and also Loucye Gordy, and the former wife of Harvey Fuqua...
, Berry
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
and Robert
Robert Gordy
Robert Gordy was the youngest child of Berry Gordy, Sr. and Bertha Fuller, and is best known as the youngest brother of Motown founder, Berry Gordy, Jr....
). Most of the Gordy siblings got involved in the music business in the late 1950s forming several production companies in Michigan. Berry, in particular, gained success writing hit songs for Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
and a popular Detroit-based vocal group called The Miracles
The Miracles
The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
. In 1959, Gordy's brother formed Motown Records and within a few months, Anna, sister Gwen and Billy Davis formed Anna Records, the label would be the national distributor for Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best remembered for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfield.-His career:Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry...
's local Tamla
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
single, "Money (That's What I Want)
Money (That's What I Want)
"Money " is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and became the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise....
", which in turn became a top forty hit and became Motown's first hit single.
Marriage to Marvin Gaye and later career
In 1960, Harvey FuquaHarvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua, was an African-American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s...
and one of his proteges, Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, moved from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to Detroit shortly after Fuqua disbanded his version of the legendary doo-wop group The Moonglows
The Moonglows
The Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'...
. Fuqua had gotten acquainted with Anna's sister Gwen Gordy
Gwen Gordy Fuqua
Gwen Gordy Fuqua was the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, sister of Motown songwriters Anna Gordy Gaye, Robert Gordy and George Gordy, sister of Motown Museum founder Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Fuller Gordy and also Loucye Gordy, and the former wife of Harvey Fuqua...
and introduced Gordy to Gaye, who then introduced the singer to Motown president Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
. While performing at the annual Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
party at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A.
Hitsville U.S.A.
"Hitsville U.S.A." is the nickname given to Motown's first headquarters. A former photographers' studio located at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, it was purchased by Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1959 and converted into both the record label's administrative building and recording...
studios, Anna and Marvin met. In her book, Berry, Me and Motown, Raynoma Liles Gordy
Ray Singleton
Ray Mayberry Liles Gordy Singleton is an American R&B producer, songwriter and vocalist, best known for her association with ex-husband Berry Gordy during the early days of Motown.-Early life:...
said Fuqua and Gaye concocted a plan to date Anna and Gwen with Fuqua dating Anna and Gaye dating Gwen. However, Gaye wanted to do a switch, which Fuqua agreed on. The plan, according to Liles, worked when Marvin and Anna got involved in a serious relationship and Harvey and Gwen also began dating. Prior to them dating, Marvin signed with Motown Records as a solo artist, staff writer and sometime session musician in December 1960. In later documentaries on her ex-husband's life, Gordy would often say that she played hard-to-get with Gaye, who she said kept showing up at her house at a certain time. When Gaye didn't show up one day as Anna had expected, she started to get concerned until Marvin suddenly cocked his head to the side and asked "you missed me, didn't you?" After that, the 21-year-old Gaye and the 38-year-old Gordy started dating.
Despite snickers over the couple's seventeen-year age difference, Gaye and Gordy openly carried on an affair, and their affair later inspired some of Gaye's early hits. Gaye's 1962 single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow
Stubborn Kind of Fellow
"Stubborn Kind of Fellow" is a 1962 single by Marvin Gaye, released on the Motown subsidiary Tamla. The single was historic in many ways for the Washington, D.C.-bred singer and former Moonglows member, for it was the first major hit record for the singer on Motown after three failed singles and an...
", was based on an argument Gaye and Gordy had, leaving Gordy to ask Gaye "what makes you so stubborn?" Always motivated by personal experiences, Gaye wrote "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", with extra composition by Anna's brother George and Mickey Stevenson. The song became a hit. Another Anna-inspired single came in 1963 with "Pride & Joy", Gaye's first top 10 pop hit, followed by 1964's "You're a Wonderful One". In Gaye's earlier Motown career, Gaye bluntly told Motown executives, Berry Gordy in particular, that he wanted to be a standards
Standard (music)
In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...
performer, having no desire to have a career in the pigeonholed R&B genre. Anna Gordy was said to have been the defining factor in Motown's decision to try the standards route with Gaye as the singer's first album, 1961's The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye
The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye
The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye is Marvin Gaye's 1961 debut album, and the second long-playing album released by Motown. The first was Hi... We're The Miracles . It's most notable as the album that caused the first known struggle of Gaye's turbulent tenure with the label.-History:Between his...
, featured mainly standards and jazz covers with two rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
tunes, one co-written by Anna, to compromise. As Berry Gordy predicted, however, the album failed and Gaye, realizing he was connected to the Gordy family, decided to use the leverage to get fame from singing R&B though he privately chided at the demands. Anna would encourage Marvin to record, even if Marvin didn't feel up to recording on a particular day, sometimes leading to spats, both privately and publicly, according to Marvin.
In Motown's carefully concocted public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
stories, Marvin and Anna married as quickly after they started dating in 1961. However, according to Gaye, they married in 1964, as he shouted after a bridge in his song, "I Met a Little Girl
I Met a Little Girl
"I Met a Little Girl" is a song recorded by singer Marvin Gaye for his Here, My Dear album. Recorded at his studio in 1976, the song chronicles the growth and demise of Gaye's marriage to his first wife Anna...
". The date of their marriage was January 8, 1964. Marvin was 24, Anna was 41. The marriage was deemed controversial not just due to their age difference but also put Gaye in conflict with some of Motown's peers, who accused him (and later Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
) for marrying/having relations with the company and also bristled at Gaye's stubbornness towards the label's grooming school, which Gaye hardly attended though Anna Gordy was a co-founder and president of that school. Gaye would later account, however, that even with his famous in-laws, he felt like he was an outsider. The Gordys' liberal sense of life was also different from Gaye's conservative childhood, growing up in a Seventh day Adventist home in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
In Michael Eric Dyson's book, Mercy Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye, Dyson contented that Gaye was put into a corner when, desperate for a child with Anna, the Gordy family insisted they arranged for Gaye to have a baby with a much younger member of the family, 16-year-old Denise Gordy
Denise Gordy
Denise Gordy is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Denise Gordy was born in Detroit, Michigan. She is the daughter of George and Rosemary Gordy and sister of George Gordy, Jr...
(George Gordy's daughter and later the wife of actor Richard Lawson). Gaye was said to have initially resisted the demand but soon, as he felt powerless in Motown at the time, he agreed to a quickie pregnancy plan with Denise. Marvin's first child, Marvin Pentz Gaye III, was born on November 17, 1965. And Gaye III was adopted by Anna Gordy shortly after the birth. Despite some claims of this supposed concocted plan in the book and in Steve Turner's Trouble Man biography, the Gordy family has never confirmed the story and Gaye himself said he and Anna both adopted him. When asked the reason why they adopted Marvin III, Gaye said Anna couldn't have children and Marvin lied (mainly through Motown public relations stories) that Marvin III was conceived naturally. Gaye said he didn't want to be accused for not being able to naturally conceive a child.
Prior to Marvin III's arrival, Anna Gordy struggled to have children and was later told by a doctor that she would never have children on her own, which caused the Gordy family, wanting a perfect image for Motown's then-leading male star, to concoct a plan to make Gaye seem like a homebody. While lovingly doting on his son, Marvin and Anna's own relationship began falling apart. Motown concocting duets for Gaye, to boost his ladies' man image, gave Gordy reasons to believe Gaye was unfaithful especially with rumors he was dating Mary Wells
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...
, though Wells was married to Herman Griffin at the time Gaye and Wells did their duets. Kim Weston
Kim Weston
Kim Weston is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms ".-Career:...
and Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, known as Tammi Terrell was an American singer-songwriter most notable for her association with Motown and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter–Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in April 1965 and enjoyed...
were also accused of having a romance with Gaye though Weston and Terrell were with others and Gaye had budding friendships with both singers. Gaye's road musicians contended that Gaye was faithful to a fault with Gordy, because he was in love with her and, they said, Gaye often compared Gordy to his mother favorably. Overtime, however, Gaye would hear rumors of his own that Gordy was also being unfaithful to him.
The rumors of infidelity by the two of them caused nearly violent arguments, often in front of the public. This is what said to have inspired Gaye's impassionate reading of his signature 1968 hit, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine
I Heard It through the Grapevine
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a landmark song in the history of Motown. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966, the single was first recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles...
", which main subject was rumors of infidelity. By the late 1960s, Gordy was still involved in songwriting and soon, with Gaye, helped to co-write several songs, mainly because of Gaye, who wanted to prove to Motown executives that he can produce and write on his own. Motown's then-background vocalists The Originals
The Originals
The Originals were a successful Motown R&B and soul group during the late 1960s and the 1970s, most notable for the hits "Baby I'm For Real", "The Bells" and the disco classic, "Down to Love Town"...
proved to be his best test to prove them wrong, and he and Gordy wrote the group's signature hits, "Baby I'm For Real
Baby I'm For Real
"Baby, I'm for Real" is a soul ballad written by Marvin Gaye and Anna Gordy Gaye, produced by Marvin and recorded and released by American Motown vocal group The Originals for the Soul label issued in 1969.-The Originals version:...
" and "The Bells
The Bells (The Originals song)
"The Bells" is a 1970 single recorded by The Originals for Motown Records' Soul label, produced by Marvin Gaye and co-written by Gaye, his wife Anna Gordy Gaye, Iris Gordy, and Elgie Stover.-The Originals version:...
". The couple also wrote for The Monitors and Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
. In 1971, Gaye released his acclaimed What's Going On
What's Going On
What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...
, which included two songs Gordy co-composed with Gaye ("God is Love
God Is Love (song)
"God is Love" is a 1970 song written by Marvin Gaye, Anna Gordy Gaye, James Nyx and Elgie Stover and recorded by Marvin for his What's Going On album. The song was a return of sorts to Gaye's religious background dedicating this song to God and his father, Marvin Pentz Gay, Sr. The song was...
" and "Flying High (In The Friendly Sky)"). Despite this success, Gaye and Gordy's personal relationship kept falling apart.
Following the couple's move to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in late 1971, Gaye separated from Gordy after a public spat. Gaye and Gordy would reconcile several times afterwards but they grew more volatile and distant, especially after Gaye began a relationship with 17-year-old Janis Hunter
Janis Gaye
Janis Gaye is best known as the second wife of American musician Marvin Gaye.-Biography:...
in 1973, which was a reverse of Marvin and Anna's 17-year age difference, only this time with Gaye as the older suitor in his relationship with Janis. After Gaye had two kids with Hunter in 1974 and 1975, Marvin and Anna agreed to file for divorce, however, Gordy's demands, including child support
Child support
In family law and public policy, child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship...
, alimony
Alimony
Alimony is a U.S. term denoting a legal obligation to provide financial support to one's spouse from the other spouse after marital separation or from the ex-spouse upon divorce...
and spousal support, would lead to a nasty court battle that lasted into March 1977. The failure of the marriage, the court battle, and Marvin's personal feelings, led to the creation of Gaye's so-called "divorce" album, Here, My Dear
Here, My Dear
Here, My Dear is a studio double album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released December 15, 1978 on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Marvin's Room in Hollywood, California from 1976 to 1977. A deeply personal and controversial album, Here, My Dear is notable for...
.
After Marvin Gaye
Following a divorce settlement in March 1977, it was reported that Gaye agreed to give up royalties of his upcoming studio album to Gordy as money for support and alimony payments, since Gaye was deeply in debt to the IRS at the time. Gaye released the sarcastically-titled Here, My DearHere, My Dear
Here, My Dear is a studio double album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released December 15, 1978 on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Marvin's Room in Hollywood, California from 1976 to 1977. A deeply personal and controversial album, Here, My Dear is notable for...
, which included personal details of their relationship. It's said when Anna Gordy heard the album, she was moved to sue, but later stopped short of pursuing a lawsuit against her ex-husband. Ironically, despite a nasty divorce, Gaye and Gordy kept seeing each other even after the split. Gaye's attorney Curtis Shaw
Curtis Shaw
Curtis L. Shaw was mayor of Murray, Utah from 1942-1943. He was born in Union, Utah March 1, 1888. He was educated in the Fort Union area and was a farmer up to the time he moved to Murray in 1921. He was a general construction contractor since 1908 where he built homes as well as two power plants...
once noted that Gaye came over at Gordy's home in Los Angeles and was shocked to see the former married couple hugging and kissing each other with Gordy calling for Shaw to come in. Shaw thought it was the most bizarre thing he had ever encountered especially considering the former couple's nasty spat in divorce court.
Anna Gordy turned into a recluse shortly after her divorce from Marvin Gaye, only to show up briefly for parties with her family. Gordy still kept in contact with Gaye, even after Gaye had moved to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
to avoid paying back taxes and to also not be noticed by anyone. After Gaye reclaimed superstardom following the release of Midnight Love
Midnight Love
Midnight Love is the final studio album recorded and issued by American soul singer Marvin Gaye and was the singer's first release from Columbia months after leaving his longtime label, Motown. It claimed the number one slot on NME Album of the Year....
and its parent single, "Sexual Healing
Sexual Healing
"Sexual Healing" is a 1982 song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye on the Columbia Records label. It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime album the previous year...
", in 1982, he moved back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and got reacquainted with Gordy and their son Marvin III. The couple were together at Gaye's CBS Records-hosted party celebrating the singer's recent success. Gaye and Gordy made another public appearance together at the Grammy Awards where Gaye won his first Grammy Award of his entire career. Rumors later specified that Gaye and Gordy had even considered remarriage at this point but in the end decided to remain as friends though Gaye carried on a tumultuous affair with his second ex-wife Janis Hunter. Gordy was said to have been depressed following news of Gaye's death at the hands of his father in 1984. After Gaye's funeral, Anna, Gaye's three children, and several of the children's friends, went on a boat and spread what remained of Gaye's ashes near the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
because, Anna later said, Marvin wanted to be cremated and be near nature and for doing this, Marvin would be at peace. Gordy occasionally was in the public eye after Gaye's death usually in matters relating to Gaye's legacy. In 1987, she and son Marvin III were present to accept Gaye's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Three years later, they, and Marvin's two other children, were present when Gaye was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
. Gordy again drifted into seclusion.