Research Catalog

Title

Divided soul : the life of Marvin Gaye / by David Ritz.

Author

Ritz, David

Publication

New York : McGraw-Hill, c1985.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xv, 367 p. , [20] p. of plates : ports.; 24 cm.

Summary

In this intimate biography of the Prince of Soul, David Ritz provides a candid look at a star and a friend. Ritz had been collaborating with Gaye on his story for several years before the singer's tragic death, and had conducted a series of extraordinary interviews in which Gaye discussed his deepest secrets. Drawing from these interviews, Gaye's life is recounted in his own words and the words of those who knew him best: his family, friends, and colleagues. What emerges is a full-scale portrait of a charming but tortured artist, a brilliant singer with a divided soul. Here is Marvin's story from his early years in the slums of Washington, D.C., to is rise to the top of the Motown industry, his fall from grace, his comeback, and finally his sudden, shocking end at the hands of his own father. But it is also the story of his glorious music, and the music of black America over the past fifty years, from gospel to doo-wop to soul to funk. The result is an epic tale whose cast of characters includes Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder, among others. The definitive biography of an enormously gifted and sensitive man, Divided Soul takes us deep into the life and music of one of America's most passionate--and most troubled--composers and singers.

Alternative Title

Life of Marvin Gaye

Subject

• Gaye, Marvin
• Singers > United States > Biography

Genre/Form

• Biographies
• Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Note

• Includes index.

Bibliography (note)

• Discography: p. 341-347

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

In the beginning -- Original sin -- Sexual confusion -- Stimulation -- Coming of age -- Breakout -- Motown -- Sounds coming 'round -- Scoring -- Gain and strain -- Supreme wealth -- Pain in paradise -- An end to innocence -- Games -- Sermon from the studio -- The lure of adoration -- Hollywood hustles -- Getting it on -- The house in heaven -- Out there -- Suffering in style -- Wanting -- Giving it up -- Inspired divorce -- Disheartened vows -- Closing in -- Tropical nightmare -- Royal shafts -- Dealing and healing -- End of exile -- Remarkable reentry -- The last waltz -- Twilight -- April Fools' Day -- Night -- Day.

ISBN

0070529299 :

LCCN

^^^84028856^/MN

OCLC

11532705

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library