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there are a lot of Biographies of Marvin Gaye.

Guantanamo_JonesGuantanamo_Jones 177 Posts
edited May 2009 in Strut Central
I know damn well I don't Need to read all of them, Anyone Have any Recommendations?Yo Whats Up With that Biopic staring Mos-Def?

  Comments

  • tecatetecate 73 Posts
    Read 'Divided Soul', it's the best one in my opinion. It's an amazing read but it's also really sad.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts




    Ritz tries a little to hard to highten the drama w/ some extra writing that's not needed w/ all the stories Marvin told, but the book is fuskin good.

    And if Mos Def is chosen to play Gaye im gonna go Postal.


    This is my Gaye....



    Phil Morris - son of Mission Impossible's Greg Morris.

    Dude had Gaye's sharp nose, and the real Gaye shit doesnt happen until he gets his freedom from Barry Gordy.

    I dont need an hour of him as a Jazz crooner/gettin beat by his pops/drinkin w/ the other Motown folks.

    GrapeVine to Sexual Healing.
  • DJ_PhillieDJ_Phillie 199 Posts

    This is my Gaye lover....



    Phil Morris - son of Mission Impossible's Greg Morris.

  • dayday 9,611 Posts




    Ritz tries a little to hard to highten the drama w/ some extra writing that's not needed w/ all the stories Marvin told, but the book is fuskin good.

    And if Mos Def is chosen to play Gaye im gonna go Postal.


    This is my Gaye....



    Phil Morris - son of Mission Impossible's Greg Morris.

    Dude had Gaye's sharp nose, and the real Gaye shit doesnt happen until he gets his freedom from Barry Gordy.

    I dont need an hour of him as a Jazz crooner/gettin beat by his pops/drinkin w/ the other Motown folks.

    GrapeVine to Sexual Healing.


    This is why I fuck with you.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I say Divided Soul, too, but I got the feeling Ritz was trying to downplay stuff out of repspect...think there could have been a lot more details about Gaye's exploits, freak-outs and conflicts, but it was all pretty low-key. The extra writing that got to me was the philosophizing about Gaye's inner turmoil, a little corny, but it didn't get in the way of the book as a whole.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I say Divided Soul, too, but I got the feeling Ritz was trying to downplay stuff out of repspect...think there could have been a lot more details about Gaye's exploits, freak-outs and conflicts, but it was all pretty low-key. The extra writing that got to me was the philosophizing about Gaye's inner turmoil, a little corny, but it didn't get in the way of the book as a whole.

    I felt the extra writing was Ritz putting his spin on the stories.
    Dude would try to get all deep about Marvin's abuse by his father. I didnt really need Ritz trying to analyze the scenarios at the end of every chapter.
    Ill give him props for trying to tie Marvin's turmoil into an overall arc,but I thought the stories spoke for themselves w/out the embellishment.
    He probably realized he needed to "contribute" to what Gaye was telling him or it would just be him transcribin' whatever was on the audio tapes.

    If u check Ritz' Liner Notes in the newer releases of Marvin Gaye, he continues his style of fluffing up his musical critiques w/ his dramatics.
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    i agree that the pop-psychology gets a bit over the top but if anything the book is slightly critical of marvin and that in itself separates it from most musical biographies which are fawning hagiographies (ie. quincy troupe's entertaining but tabloidy miles davis book and its embarassing follow up "miles and me")
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Ritz had a more complicated relationship to Gaye, especially compared to the other people with whom Ritz has collaborated with on biographies such as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. I think it's a delicate balance, between "transcribin' whatever was on the audio tapes" vs. "putting his spin on it" and while I don't think Ritz does a perfect job with it, I still think "Divided Soul" is as good a biography of Gaye as you're likely to find, flaws and all.

    The biography he did with Aretha has TERRIBLE however though, from what I understand, that wasn't his fault, but hers.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    "Divided Soul" is as good a biography of Gaye as you're likely to find, flaws and all.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I think, at the time Divide Soul was published it was the best bio of a pop star ever.

    Ritz turned into a hack pumping out bios and (ghost written) autobios of soul stars.

    I think the new bar for bios is Lush Life about Billy Strayhorn.

    Ritz's Faith In Time about Jimmy Scott is worth reading because Scott's life is so fascinating.

    I read one of the 2 recent Sam Cooke bios and it was meticulously researched, and fascinating.

    I want to learn about the world that shaped the artist and influenced their art.
    But more than that I want to learn about the art and the creative process.

    So let me know that he had issues with his abusive dad and he did drugs and had sex with more than one person.
    But I don't want pages of gossip about backstage blowjobs and drunken fights.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I think, at the time Divide Soul was published it was the best bio of a pop star ever.

    Ritz turned into a hack pumping out bios and (ghost written) autobios of soul stars.

    But his Ray Charles book (from '77 or '78) still holds up after all this time. Even though the book kinda lightens up after 1964 (the feeling is that he'd already accomplished what he was going to accomplish, so why go in depth about how he spent the early seventies?), everything leading up to then is essential. Both the art AND the backstage drugs and F*ck sessions.

    I read one of the 2 recent Sam Cooke bios and it was meticulously researched, and fascinating.

    Now THOSE books are the way to go, re: bios. Daniel Wolff had a Cooke book (You Send Me) and Peter Guralnick did too (Dream Boogie), but either tome has crucial information that you won't find in the other book, so I'd have to call it a draw. Both are good reads.
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