VIDEO: Motown Celebrates the 70th Birthday of Marvin Gaye, One of the Most Acclaimed...

VIDEO: Motown Celebrates the 70th Birthday of Marvin Gaye, One of the Most
Acclaimed Artists in Music History

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- In the 50th anniversary year of
Motown, April 2, 2009 will mark the 70th birthday of the late great Marvin
Gaye. Sadly, April 1 will also mark the 25th anniversary of his tragic death
the day before his 45th birthday. Motown's top solo male artist of the '60s,
led by his "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" -- at one time the biggest
selling single in Motown history -- Gaye became the label's most revolutionary
artist in the '70s, breaking down barriers whether singing about the body or
the soul, social consciousness or sexual politics. From his '60s classic "How
Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," to his legendary rendition of "The
Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, he defined the soul in
"soul music."

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Marvin Gaye's popularity and influence continues. His 1971 album What's Going
On forever changed the subject matter of popular music; it's one of Rolling
Stone magazine's top 10 albums of all time. In 1973, Let's Get It On became
perhaps the most passionate and sexual album ever recorded, led by its title
track, which remains one of the most popular songs of all time, a certified
Gold single back in the day, and in the digital music era it's a Gold digital
download and a Platinum-selling ringtone as well. In 1987, three years after
his death, Gaye was rightfully among only the second group of artists honored
with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. More recently, Marvin Gaye
was No. 6 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time.

Noting the milestones of his birth and passing, Motown/UMe will issue a
special digital-only album on March 31, Marvin Gaye: Then & Now, a 14-track
set of rarities highlighted by the previously unreleased "Soulie" (pronounced
"sue-lee"), a 1966 recording recently unearthed by Motown's New York-based
producer Mickey Gentile, and a hot funk 2009 remix of "I Want You," Marvin's
No. 1 hit from 1976, by the renowned John Morales of M+M Productions. Other
tracks making their online debut are: the deep vault track "It's Your Party,"
and his two super-rare late '50s Chess recordings with Harvey & The Moonglows
("Mama Loocie," "Twelve Months Of The Year"). Rounding out this special
collection are Marvin's earliest, pre-hit Motown singles ("Witchcraft," "Let
Your Conscience Be Your Guide" and more).

Motown/UMe is also issuing a vinyl-only edition of United (Motown/UMe), Gaye's
classic duet album with Tammi Terrell, on April 14. The standard by which all
R&B male-female duos are measured, Gaye and Terrell first teamed on the 1967
album that included "If I Could Build My World Around You," "Your Precious
Love" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

In addition, the ongoing, acclaimed "Motown 50" podcast series will feature
special episodes on Marvin Gaye's life and music; Gaye is also well
represented on the deluxe 10-CD box set Motown: The Complete No. 1's, which
kicked off the year long celebration for Motown's 50th anniversary. Both The
Real Thing, a DVD collection of his greatest television and concert
appearances, and Gold, a 2-CD overview of his career, have recently been
certified Gold. Gaye will also figure prominently in a two-hour documentary
about Motown produced by the label's founder, Berry Gordy.

SOURCE Motown/UMe

Sujata Murthy of UMe, +1-310-865-7812, sujata.murthy@umusic.com; or Jonathan
Wolfson of Wolfson PR, +1-818-615-0499, wolfsonpr@hotmail.com