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Marvin Gaye released this song in January 1971 as the opening track on his self-titled album through Motown's Tamla label. Written by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland, and Gaye himself, it represented a shift away from the traditional Motown Sound toward more introspective songwriting. The track achieved significant commercial success, dominating the Hot Soul Singles chart for five weeks and reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100, selling over two million copies and becoming Gaye's second-biggest Motown hit. It earned high rankings from Rolling Stone across multiple decades of their greatest songs lists.
Lyrics ↗What the lyrics are about
The song was inspired by a police brutality incident witnessed by one of its co-writers.
| Producer | Marvin Gaye |
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