Son of a church minister, Marvin Gaye was used to sermonizing and prophecy. At 32, with a younger brother serving in the Vietnam War, he was more than ready to record soul music’s first concept album full of both. Gaye unleashed Motown’s house band, the Funk Brothers, to explore their jazz capabilities, multi-tracked his own voice to harmonize with himself, and dug deeper than ever lyrically to express the social frustrations of urban communities all around the country. What’s Going On immediately inspired the inner artiste in African-American singer-songwriters forevermore.

– Miles Marshall Lewis