Editing Marvin Gaye (section)

===Vocal style===
Gaye had a four-octave [[vocal range]].{{sfn|Ritz|1991|p=82}} From his earlier recordings as member of the Marquees and Harvey and the New Moonglows, and in his first several recordings with Motown, Gaye recorded mainly in the [[baritone]] and [[tenor]] ranges. He changed his tone to a rasp for his gospel-inspired early hits such as "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" and "Hitch Hike". As writer [[Eddie Holland]] explained, "He was the only singer I have ever heard known to take a song of that nature, that was so far removed from his natural voice where he liked singing, and do whatever it took to sell that song."{{sfn|Bowman|2006|p=8}}

In songs such as "Pride and Joy", Gaye used three different vocal ranges—singing in his baritone range at the beginning, bringing a lighter tenor in the verses before reaching a gospel mode in the chorus. Holland further stated of Gaye's voice that it was "one of the sweetest and prettiest voices you ever wanted to hear".{{sfn|Bowman|2006|p=9}} And while he noted that ballads and jazz was "his basic soul", he stated Gaye "had the ability to take a roughhouse, rock and roll, blues, R&B, any kind of song and make it his own", later saying that Gaye was the most versatile vocalist he had ever worked with.{{sfn|Bowman|2006|p=9}}

Gaye changed his vocal style in the late 1960s, when he was advised to use a sharper, raspy voice—especially in Norman Whitfield's recordings. Gaye initially disliked the new style, considering it out of his range, but said he was "into being produce-able".{{sfn|Bowman|2006|p=14}} After listening to David Ruffin and Levi Stubbs, Gaye said he started to develop what he called his "tough man voice"—saying, "I developed a growl."{{sfnm|Bowman|2006|1p=14|Ritz|1991|2p=100}} In the liner notes of his DVD set, ''Marvin Gaye: The Real Thing in Performance 1964–1981'', Rob Bowman said that by the early 1970s, Gaye had developed "three distinct voices: his smooth, sweet tenor; a growling rasp; and an unreal [[falsetto]]."{{sfn|Bowman|2006|p=15}} Bowman further wrote that the recording of the ''What's Going On'' single was "...{{nbsp}}the first single to use all three as Marvin developed a radical approach to constructing his recordings by layering a series of contrapuntal background vocal lines on different tracks, each one conceived and sung in isolation by Marvin himself."{{sfn|Bowman|2006|p=15}} Bowman found that Gaye's multi-tracking of his tenor voice and other vocal styles "summon[ed] up what might be termed the ancient art of weaving".{{sfn|Bowman|2006|p=15}}