By David Ritz

After watching the repeat of a PBS documentary special on the life of Marvin Gaye, a well respected colleague strongly recommended author David Ritz’s book Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye if I wanted a definitive life view of this most brilliant soul man, and his music.  I’d never bothered to read it before even though written and released back in 1985, a year after Gaye’s untimely death at the hands of his father.  Skepticism over the years, along with a suspicion of superficiality and sensationalism, had prevailed because Ritz, in my familiarity, had cranked out numerous biographies, one after another, including those on B.B King, Jimmy Scott, Etta James, Ray Charles, Aretha, and The Neville Brothers.

Here so many years later, it is scary to admit said colleague, for the most part, was right.  While Ritz’s flair for the dramatic and sometimes melodramatic remains, there is a method to his style that works and this is truly one of the more disturbing and emotionally wrenching books on an artist of music.  It is detailed, deeply moving, intimate, and awe-instilling at different turns.  In part, because Gaye is such an interesting and complex subject but more likely due to his remarkable sensitivity, openness in response to the author’s probing interviews, and a candor which stretches to the point of feeling unnaturally forthcoming at times.  Clearly we benefit from the friendship and collaborative partnership Ritz formed with Gaye as a result of long periods spent on and off the road with him after he signing on to write his biography.  That alone makes all the difference in providing the kind of intimacy we continuously seek to satisfy our need for understanding an artist’s brilliance.

By all accounts here, Marvin Gaye was a tortured soul and his father played such an important role in how he moved forward with his choices in life. The story begins with his youth in Washington D.C. and moves on the road through Motown stardom, spiraling drug usage, sexual confusion, women, financial setbacks, the significant life period of his marriages to Berry’s sister Anna Gordy and the much younger Janis Hunter, musical comebacks, till finally the tragic death that shocked the world.  As much as we might believe these events were well documented already by the news and magazines at the time, Ritz is not at a loss for added details you won’t find elsewhere.

What is most compelling and crucial in remembrance as we read, is the music that drives him, gives him peace, faith, and rewards him throughout the length of his chaotic living.  Although an admittedly poor businessman, he was heart and soul wrapped up in the process of expression and the making of music.  Beyond the concert stage, the golden voiced duets, as a singer sensitive to and exceptionally aware of his vocal capabilities, he became a master in the studio sound and the multi-track vocal layering technique still influential and a primer to many musicians creating today.

Those born early enough will well remember events surrounding the making of the contractual obligation album “Hear My Dear,” an ode to Anna at the end of their tumultuous marriage, and the making of one of the most important albums of all time even as it fit the timeframe and shouted out the struggles of the country: “What’s Going On.”  

In addition to the compelling aspects of Gaye’s own words and admissions, Ritz provides a roster of stars eliciting people such as Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, and other Motown alumni who recount their interactions with him as he navigated changes in style and musical direction in pursuit of much deserved recognition.

This book is not for those who seek a deeper musical exploration and dissection. For any who’ve already read and re-read this biography in earnest years ago when first released, it is still a good reference.  However, the book is surely relevant, especially in today’s world, for the many of us who must be reminded how flawed we are as human beings, and how sublime beauty and brilliance can be created out of darkness.  As disturbing and often painful it may be, consider it a necessary read about a shining star whose purpose and light still shines decades later.  Read it and formulate your own perspectives about Marvin Gaye, the unforgettable artist of such incredible impact and soul in the world of music and beyond.

She Kent for Soulinterviews.com
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ISBN-10: 030681191X
ISBN-13: 978-0306811913

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