Marvin Gaye III

Marvin Gaye III: Biography in Details

Who was Marvin Gaye III?

Marvin Gaye III was an African-American singer, songwriter, and businessman. He gave the world major songs such as “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” He was the one who helped Motown Records emerge.

Marvin Gaye III was well known for his 1982 hit single “Sexual Healing” which lasted 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Black Singles chart and was widely regarded as the biggest R&B success of the 1980s.

Death

Marvin Gaye III died at the age of 44 after being shot by his father, Marvin Gay Sr. while having an argument on the eve of his birthday. He was shot twice on the night of April 1, 1984.

His father was sentenced to 6-years suspension and 5-year of probation and then spent his remaining life in nursing homes and died in 1998 at the age of 84.

Marvin Gaye III: Age, Parents, Siblings, Ethnicity

Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., aka Marvin Gaye III, was born in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 1939. His father, Marvin Gay Sr., was a church minister, while his mother, Alberta Gay, worked as a housekeeper.

Marvin spent his childhood with his step-siblings from his mother & father’s extramarital affair.

Marvin Gaye III grew up in a household where his father often subjected him and his siblings to physical and emotional violence.

Education, School/College University

Marvin went to Randall Junior High School after attending Syphax Elementary School. In junior high, he got more serious about singing and joined the Randall Junior High Glee Club, where he rose to stardom.

Marvin went to Spingarn High School for a short time before moving to Cardozo. He was a member of the Dippers and the D.C. Tones, two doo-wop vocal ensembles at Cardozo.

Marvin’s father’s behavior toward him worsened as he grew older, and he couldn’t handle it any longer, so he moved out and dropped out of school.

Marvin Gaye III: Professional Life, Career

Marvin Gaye III aspired to be a pilot and joined the United States Air Force when he was 17 years old. However, when he was only assigned menial chores to complete, he became dissatisfied and pretended to be unwell to be fired.

He co-founded the vocal quartet The Marquees with a buddy, Reese Palmer. The band eventually changed its name to ‘Harvey’ and began producing music. They found employment as session vocalists for other artists such as Chuck Berry.

Gaye eventually began pursuing a solo career, releasing his debut single, ‘Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide,’ in 1961.

In 1962, his single ‘Stubborn Kind of Fellow’ became his first solo hit. It peaked at number eight on the R&B charts.

In 1973, he released the album ‘Let’s Get It On,’ which became a big hit.

Marvin Gaye III was going through a divorce in the late 1970s when he wrote a song called ‘Here, My Dear,’ which was dedicated to his failed marriage to his first wife, Anna Gordy.

In 1982, he released his song ‘Sexual Healing,’ which became a huge hit.

Awards, Nominations

In 1983, he received two Grammy Awards for ‘Sexual Healing,’ for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Instrumental Performance. Gaye also received an American Music Award in the R&B-soul category for the song.

In 1996, Marvin Gaye III was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his creative and aesthetic contributions to the world of music.

Marvin Gaye III: Net Worth, Salary

Marvin’s estate made $3.5 million in 2008 (US$4,207,032 in 2020 dollars). In a conclusion, he was ranked 13th in Forbes magazine’s list of “Top-Earning Dead Celebrities.” His net worth is believed to be about $5 million.

Marvin Gaye III: Rumors and Controversy/Scandal

Marvin was said to be homophobic because his father was a crossdresser. Marvin Gaye’s actual surname was Gay (no ‘e’), which he later changed to Gaye.

He was also romantically acquainted with Dutch model Eugenie Vis and British socialite Lady Edith Foxwell in the early 1980s.

Body Measurements: Height, Weight, Body Size

Marvin Gaye III stood around 6 feet 11 inches (1.85m) tall. He had black hair color and dark brown eye color. Besides, his weight and other body measurements are unknown.

Social Media

Although Marvin is no longer with us, his music and singing will live on. Marvin has over 17.3k Instagram followers, 1247 Twitter followers, and 3.5M Facebook fans.

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Marvin Gaye III's Birthday Dates