On This Day in 1984, Soul Legend Marvin Gaye Was Gunned Down by His Father

On this day (April 1) in 1984, legendary soul singer Marvin Gaye was murdered by his father, Marvin Gaye Sr. The elder Gaye shot his son twice after a heated argument the day before the singer’s 45^th birthday. The tragedy marked the end of the “What’s Going On” singer’s life and his long and dysfunctional relationship with his father.

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Called the Prince of Soul, Gaye helped shape the Motown Sound in the ’60s and ’70s. Hits like “Ain’t That Peculiar,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and “Let’s Get It On” made him a superstar and afforded him a glamorous lifestyle. However, things began to go downhill in the late ’70s. Grief, depression, and pressure to continue creating hit songs led to substance abuse and substantial financial issues. According to an A&E feature, Gaye owed his ex-wives and the United States government millions of dollars. This debt led him to move back in with his parents in 1983.

[RELATED: 3 Eternal Songs by Marvin Gaye that Have Stood the Test of Time]

Gaye’s father, a Pentecostal reverend who fancied himself a prophet, resented his son’s success and his attractiveness to women. At the same time, the soul legend was very close to his mother. As a result, their relationship was antagonistic. Their adversarial relationship came to a head 41 years ago today.

The Murder of Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye’s close relationship with his mother and his father’s abrasive personality planted the seeds of his demise. On the afternoon of April 1, 1984, Gaye’s parents were engaged in a heated argument, and the singer intervened.

According to Trouble Man, the biography of Gaye penned by Steve Turner, things escalated quickly. Gaye told his father, “You can’t talk to my mother like that,” before his father turned the verbal altercation into a physical one. The singer punched his father in the face several times. Then, he went to his room and sat on his bed.

Moments later, Gaye’s father opened his bedroom door holding a .38 revolver. The first bullet pierced the Prince of Soul’s heart, lung, liver, stomach, and left kidney, killing him almost instantly. Then, the reverend stepped forward and fired another shot, hitting his deceased son point-blank in the shoulder.

The elder Gaye was arrested and his wife posted his bail. “He started speaking to me, but said nothing about Marvin. His eyes were dry. He wasn’t apologetic or repentant. He acted like someone who had finally gotten something out of the way,” she recalled of the moments after posting Gaye’s bail in David Ritz’ Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye.

Gaye was given a six-year suspended sentence and five years probation for a charge of voluntary manslaughter on September 20, 1984. Fourteen years later, Gaye died of pneumonia in a nursing home.

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