The tragedy that made Marvin Gaye “never” want to duet again
As one of the most highly-respected soul singers of an era, it’s no surprise that many other artists were clamouring to work alongside Marvin Gaye.
His popularity was such when performing at the peak of his powers that having your name credited on one of his releases would undoubtedly have been an incredible thing to claim. Not only would it be a surefire way to boost your own career, but it’s also the sort of experience that will live with you forever, knowing that you had the opportunity to trade lines with someone as illustrious as the ‘Prince of Motown’.
Among the names that he collaborated with throughout his career are Mary Wells, Kim Weston and Diana Ross, all of whom he released entire albums alongside, while he put out a total of three full-length albums with Tammi Terrell. Not only that, but he dueted alongside the likes of Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder on single releases. Put it this way, it’s quite an impressive list of collaborators to be able to profess.
However, while some of these instances all arose in the latter part of the 1970s, Gaye had previously vowed never to duet with anyone again, and so for him to have chosen to work with Ross, Robinson and Wonder was largely down to his already-established relationships with these artists, and the fact that he was signed to the same label as them in the first place. Had they been lesser-known names or people that he wasn’t as familiar with, persuading him may have been something of a struggle for the label.
Ross is perhaps the most surprising exception to the rule, as Gaye explicitly said in 1971 in an interview with Disc and Music Echo that he’d never work with another female singer, and the reason that he pledged to follow this strict rule wasn’t misogyny, but for a far more heartbreaking reason than one might imagine.
With Terrell having passed away tragically in 1970 due to complications from a brain tumour, Gaye felt a hole open up in his life that he didn’t feel could be filled by any other female artist, and as a result, he became reluctant to accept any further offers from women who wanted to duet with him on a track. “I had such emotional experiences with Tammi and her subsequent death that I don’t imagine I’ll ever work with a girl again,” he told the publication.
Given how close the duo had been, having released multiple albums together and an undeniable vocal chemistry, there are plenty of good reasons for him to feel as though there was no way he could possibly recreate the same sense of magic that he felt when working with someone who was taken from this earth too soon.
That said, the depression and struggles with substance abuse that Gaye underwent in the years following her death led him to some of his most ambitious and introspective works, with What’s Going On supposedly partially a response to Terrell’s passing. It may have caused Gaye some trials and grief, but it was also clear that the duo’s connection lived on through him and his masterpieces.
