Abstract

Born 1939 in Washington, D.C, Marvin Pentz Gay Jnr (who later added the “e” to his name) was one of four born to a
mother he remained devoted to throughout his life and a father whose cross-dressing tendencies he reportedly found both humiliating and confusing. A minister for a small Hebrew Pentecostal sect, according to his daughter, Marvin Gay Snr. was not one to “spare the rod” when it came to his children. Violence coursed through Gaye’s life (in a BBC Radio 2 documentary to commemorate the 40th anniversary of What’s Going On, Gaye also alluded to
frequent scuffles with Motown boss Berry Gordy), culminating in his violent death at the hands of his father in 1984.