Our first Soul, Rhythm, and Blues Mauve Music selection, last fall, was Marvin Gaye‘s What’s Going On, just months before the fiftieth anniversary of the album’s release. Well, that day is today. What’s Going On dropped on May 21, 1971. Below you’ll find links to the title track, “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”, “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)”, and an L.A. Times article covering Spike Lee’s use of What’s Going On in last year’s film, Da 5 Bloods—perhaps a good film for Memorial Day. But today, we can officially say “Happy Birthday” to one of the most famous soul albums of all time.
-Maude
May 21, 2021