What's Going On?
Born from police violence targeting student protesters at
Berkeley, his brother's harrowing letters from Vietnam, and
Gaye's own grief in the wake of Tammi Terrell's death and
brought into a collective catharsis. Jazz-infused
arrangements and layered vocals - recorded in a single
midnight take - rejected Motown's apolitical formula,
bringing soul music's first protest concept album with a
single enduring question.