It was on this day in 1971 that Tamla Records (a division of Motown) released Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. According to many stories, it almost wasn’t released.

From songfacts.com:

According to the book Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves & Demons of Marvin Gaye, Motown head Berry Gordy initially refused to release this song, calling it the “worst record I ever heard in my life.” The song was slipped out by the man in charge while Gordy was on vacation and, of course, he was furious… until he found out the single sold 100,000 copies in the US upon its release. Needless to say, he soon changed his mind about this song.

Although Berry Gordy admits he had reservations about “What’s Going On,” he claims all of the stories surrounding his refusal to release the song are false. He explained to the Wall Street Journal: “For years, people have written that I stood in the way of this song’s release and that Marvin had threatened never to record for me again if I didn’t put it out,” he said. “That must make for great reading, but none of it is true.”

He went on to explain the potential ramifications of the song: “My reason for pushing back on Marvin wasn’t to stop the single, just to determine whether or not this was another one of his wild ideas,” Gordy said. “Motown was about music for all people – white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone. This was a big risk for his image.”

The song was written by songwriter Al Cleveland, Four Tops member Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Marvin Gaye. It was Marvin who added lyrics and worked on the arrangement. Marvin did not want to record the song, he wanted the Originals to record it. However, Benson and Cleveland persuaded Gaye to do it himself.

Songfacts.com says,

Until this song, Gaye rarely participated in the songwriting process. For this album, he took control of the production so he could make a statement as an artist. Motown management was skeptical, but Gaye was an established star and had enough power to pull it off, going so far as to use an orchestra on this track.

The song is one of Motown legend. James Jamerson, the bass player for the Funk Brothers, was apparently drunk when he arrived at the studio. Jamerson could not sit properly in his seat and, according to one of the members of the group, lay on the floor playing his bass riffs.

Fun Fact: At the beginning of the song, there are people chatting. Marvin wanted to give the song a laid back feel, so he, the Funk Brothers and Mel Farr and Lem Barney of the Detroit Lions are the ones having conversation as the song begins.

The song was one of the first Motown songs to make a political statement.  Jackson Browne said in a 2008 interview with Rolling Stone: “No one was expecting an anti-war song from him. But it was a moment in time when people were willing to hear it from anybody, if it was heartfelt. And who better than the person who has talked to you about love and desire?”

It was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1972, but did not win either category. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was ranked the fourth greatest song of all time by a 2004 Rolling Stone poll. It was also ranked the 2nd on the Detroit’s 100 Greatest Songs List by the Detroit Free Press.