Marvin Gaye Soul singer Marvin Gaye had a hugely successful career spanning several decades. He started out as a session musician and a some-time songwriter for a host of popular Motown acts, coordinating Martha & The Vandella's 'Dancing in the Street' in the early Sixties. By 1963, he had scored his first pop hit with 'Hitchhike'. Gaye remained Motown's top solo male artist throughout the Sixties with hits including 'I Heard it Through The Grapevine' and 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' (with Tammi Terrell). By The Seventies, Gaye was writing songs with a more socio-political slant, producing his own albums and taking complete control of his career, a move that rewrote the relationship between artists and recording company forever. His tragic death in 1984, shot by his clergyman father, robbed the world of an artist that was truly great. His music inspired and continues to inspire, an incredibly diverse range of contemporary artists - from Christina Aguilera to Arrested Development.