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by Mick the Ram
To be spoken in the same company as Elvis Presley and the Beatles, indicates just what level the great Marvin Gaye reached in his career.
The “Prince of Motown” – as he was christened for the way he shaped the sound in the 1960’s – died 40 years ago in a tragic family dispute, but his music is still streamed and downloaded around 20 million times a month, and his classic duet with Tammi Terrell, “Ain’t No Mountain”, has been streamed more than a billion times.
Now, a stash of audio tapes containing new material recorded by the great man has been unearthed, after being hidden in a Belgian house since the 1980’s.
They are part of a treasure trove which the American singer-songwriter left when living with a local musician.
They are now forming a complicated legal debate on ownership, but what is certain is that amongst it all, there is bound to be material that will in many fans’ eyes, almost bring Marvin Gaye “back from the dead”.
Catalogue of classics
Many of Marvin Gaye’s hits have already earned themselves classic notoriety and include the likes of “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”.
He also famously sang in a duet with Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell recording favourites such as: “It Takes Two”; “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing”.
Belgian healing
By 1981 he had become reliant on the use of cocaine, but it was a meeting with Belgian concert promoter, Freddy Cousaert, in a nightclub that turned things around for him. He agreed to move to the coastal city of Ostend in the European country, and share an apartment, where he was able to get himself fit again.
He then was able to return to the recording studio and it was at that time that he recorded what was his biggest career success – “Sexual Healing”, a track that won him his first of two Grammy Awards.
Tragic loss
Tragedy struck however in April 1984, when Gaye, who was just a day short of his 45th birthday, stepped in between a fight that his parents were having at the family home in Los Angeles. In the dispute the singer was shot twice by his father, with the first proving fatal.
Fans have enjoyed his wonderful catalogue ever since, but now there will be immense excitement at the possibility of new material coming into the public domain.
Authenticated
Any doubts about the authenticity of this find have been categorically dismissed by Belgian lawyer, Alex Trappeniers, who is the business partner of the family who are now laying claim to the material.
He explained the legal position, which is extremely complicated. “They belong to the family because they were left in Belgium 42 years ago with Marvin stating at the time: “Do whatever you want with them”.
Never straightforward
Nevertheless, of course situations involving intellectual property and music publishing rights are rarely straightforward, and this is no different.
The star’s apparent decision to gift this material does on the face of it, seem to mean that the collection belongs absolutely to the family. Additionally, Belgium have an unusual law which stipulates that any property, however it is acquired – even if stolen – becomes that person’s after a period of 30 years.
However, that particular ruling does not apply to intellectual property.
Complicated situation
Mr Trappeniers put forward a scenario where by his partners could end up as the owners of the physical tapes on which the music was recorded, but without the right to publish the songs.
The flip side being that the heirs of Marvin Gaye in the US, could find themselves with a theoretical right to exploit the music, but with no way of accessing it, because they do not own the tapes.
Some sort of a compromise is obviously needed, otherwise there is a genuine possibility that there would be nothing prevent a buyer from exploiting the music and passing it off as his own.
Indexing exercise
That would be an absolute disgrace and rob fans of something very special. Mr Trappeniers waxed lyrical about the find, even listening to the singer rehearsing with his backing musicians delivering a complex sequence of harmonies.
Likening it to the recent remastering of the Beatles final hit “Now and Then”, he told how he took it upon himself to index the collection, saying: “At the end when I had listened to all the 30 tapes, I had 66 demos of new songs. A few of them are complete and a few of them are as good as Sexual Healing, because it was made in the same time.”
Influenced some of the greats
The “Prince of Motown” was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
His music heavily influenced, on their own admission, artists such as: Barry White and Stevie Wonder. He has been described as “someone who blended the soul music of the urban scene with the beat of the old time gospel singer”.
Had this newly found material been released at the time he would surely have received even greater accolades and tributes.
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