Marvin Gaye
Initial success

In 1962, Gaye found success as co-writer of the Marvelettes track " Beechwood 4-5789 ", on which he also played drums. His first solo success, " Stubborn Kind of Fellow ", was later released that September, reaching No. 8 on the R&B chart and No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100. Gaye first reached the pop top 40 with the dance song, " Hitch Hike ", peaking at No. 30 on the Hot 100. " Pride and Joy " became Gaye's first top ten single after its release in 1963.

The three singles and songs from the 1962 sessions were included on Gaye's second album, That Stubborn Kinda Fellow, released on Tamla in January 1963. Starting in October 1962, Gaye performed as part of the Motortown Revue, a series of concert tours headlined at the north and southeastern coasts of the United States as part of the Chitlin' Circuit, a series of rock shows performed at venues that welcomed predominantly black musicians. A filmed performance of Gaye at the Apollo Theater took place in June 1963. Later that October, Tamla issued the live album, Marvin Gaye Recorded Live on Stage. " Can I Get a Witness " became one of Gaye's early international successes.

In 1964, Gaye recorded a successful duet album with singer Mary Wells titled Together, which reached No. 42 on the pop album chart. The album's two-sided single, including " Once Upon a Time " and ' What's the Matter With You Baby ", each reached the top 20. Gaye's next solo success, " How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) ", which Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote for him, reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and reached the top 50 in the UK. Gaye started getting television exposure around this time, on shows such as American Bandstand. Also in 1964, he appeared in the concert film The T.A.M.I. Show. Gaye had two number-one R&B singles in 1965 with the Miracles – composed " I'll Be Doggone " and " Ain't That Peculiar ". Both songs became million-sellers. After this, Gaye returned to jazz-derived ballads for a tribute album to the recently-deceased Nat "King" Cole.

After recording " It Takes Two " with Kim Weston, Gaye began working with Tammi Terrell on a series of duets, mostly composed by Ashford & Simpson, including " Ain't No Mountain High Enough ", " Your Precious Love ", " Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing " and " You're All I Need to Get By ".

In October 1967, Terrell collapsed in Gaye's arms during a performance in Farmville, Virginia. Terrell was subsequently rushed to Farmville's Southside Community Hospital, where doctors discovered she had a malignant tumor in her brain. The diagnosis ended Terrell's career as a live performer, though she continued to record music under careful supervision. Despite the presence of successful singles such as "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By", Terrell's illness caused problems with recording, and led to multiple operations to remove the tumor. Gaye was reportedly devastated by Terrell's sickness and became disillusioned with the record business.

On October 6, 1968, Gaye sang the national anthem during Game 4 of the 1968 World Series, held at Tiger Stadium, in Detroit, Michigan, between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

In late 1968, Gaye's recording of " I Heard It Through the Grapevine " became his first to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top of the charts in other countries, selling over four million copies. However, Gaye felt the success was something he "didn't deserve" and that he "felt like a puppet – Berry's puppet, Anna 's puppet". Gaye followed it up with " Too Busy Thinking About My Baby " and " That's the Way Love Is ", which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. That year, his album M.P.G. became his first No. 1 album on the R&B album charts. During this period, Gaye produced and co-wrote " Baby I'm For Real " and " The Bells " for The Originals.

Tammi Terrell died from brain cancer on March 16, 1970; Gaye attended her funeral and after a period of depression, Gaye sought out a position on a professional football team, the Detroit Lions, where he later befriended Mel Farr and Lem Barney. Barney and Farr had gotten gold records for providing backup vocals for the title track of Gaye's What's Going On album. The Lions played along for the publicity, but ultimately declined an invitation for Gaye to try out, owing to legal liabilities and fears of possible injuries that could have affected his music career.
language:response_language[Spanish], length_constraints:number_sentences[5], keywords:letter_frequency