Editing Marvin Gaye (section)

===Social commentary and concept albums===
Prior to recording the ''[[What's Going On (Marvin Gaye album)|What's Going On]]'' album, Gaye recorded a cover of the song, "[[Abraham, Martin & John]]", which became a UK hit in 1970. Despite some political music and socially conscious material recorded by [[The Temptations]], Motown artists were often told to not delve into political and social commentary, for fear of alienating pop audiences. Early in his career, Gaye was affected by social events including the 1965 [[Watts riots]] and once asked himself: "with the world exploding around me, how am I supposed to keep singing love songs?"{{sfn|Lynskey|2011|p=156}} When Gaye called Gordy in the Bahamas about wanting to do [[protest music]], Gordy told him: "Marvin, don't be ridiculous. That's taking things too far."{{sfn|Lynskey|2011|p=157}}

Gaye was inspired by the [[Black Panther Party]] and supported the efforts they put forth such as giving free meals to poor families door to door. However, he did not support the violent tactics the Panthers used to fight oppression, as Gaye's messages in many of his political songs were [[nonviolent]]. The lyrics and music of ''What's Going On'' discuss and illustrate issues during the 1960s/1970s such as racism, police brutality, drug abuse, environmental issues, anti-war, and black power issues.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Party Music : The Inside Story of the Black Panthers' Band and How Black Power Transformed Soul Music|last = Vincet|first = Rickey|publisher = Lawrence Hill Books|year = 2013|pages = 288–289}}</ref> Gaye was inspired to make this album because of events such as the [[Vietnam War]], the [[1967 Detroit riot|1967 race riots in Detroit]], and the [[Kent State shootings]], as well as the assassinations of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Robert F. Kennedy]].<ref name="Charnock-2015">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.united-academics.org/journal/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Biography_Marvin-Gaye_Ruth-Charnock.pdf |title='Things ain't what they used to be': Marvin Gaye and the making of What's Going On |last=Charnock |first=Ruth |year=2015 |journal=United Academics Journal of Social Sciences |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120111436/http://www.united-academics.org/journal/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Biography_Marvin-Gaye_Ruth-Charnock.pdf |archive-date=November 20, 2015 }}</ref>

Once Gaye presented Gordy with the ''What's Going On'' album, Gordy feared Gaye was risking the ruination of his image as a sex symbol.{{sfn|Bowman|2006|p=16}} Following the album's success, Gaye tried a follow-up album, ''[[You're the Man (album)|You're the Man]]''. The [[You're the Man|title track]] only produced modest success, however, and Gaye and Motown shelved the album. Several of Gaye's unreleased songs of social commentary, including "[[The World Is Rated X]]", would be issued on posthumous compilation albums. ''What's Going On'' would later be described by an [[AllMusic]] writer as an album that "not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change".<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4344/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Allmusic (Marvin Gaye – Overview)|access-date=January 9, 2009}}</ref> ''You're the Man'' was finally released on March 29, 2019, through [[Motown]], [[Universal Music Enterprises]], and [[Universal Music Group]].<ref name="CoS">{{cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/02/marvin-gaye-youre-the-man-official-release/|title=Marvin Gaye's lost 1972 album You're the Man to receive official release|work=[[Consequence of Sound]]|last=Roffman|first=Michael|date=February 8, 2019|access-date=February 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124247/https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/02/marvin-gaye-youre-the-man-official-release/|archive-date=February 9, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''What's Going On'' album also provided another first in both Motown and R&B music: Gaye and his engineers had composed the album in a [[song cycle]], segueing previous songs into other songs giving the album a more cohesive feel as opposed to R&B albums that traditionally included [[filler (music)|filler tracks]] to complete the album. This style of music would influence recordings by artists such as [[Stevie Wonder]] and [[Barry White]] making the concept album format a part of 1970s R&B music. Concept albums are usually based on either one theme or a series of themes in connection to the original thesis of the album's concept. ''Let's Get It On'' repeated the suite-form arrangement of ''What's Going On'', as would Gaye's later albums such as ''I Want You'', ''Here, My Dear'' and ''In Our Lifetime''.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} Although Gaye was not politically active outside of his music, he became a public figure for social change and inspired/educated many people through his work.<ref name="Charnock-2015" />