Marvin Gaye Was Shot Dead by His Own FATHER

The man who gave the world its most healing music was killed by his own father.

Marvin Gaye grew up in Washington under a strict preacher who ruled the house with fear.

His father beat him often, and Marvin found his only escape in the church choir.

He joined Motown as a session drummer, then stepped out front and became a star.

He sang tender duets with Tammi Terrell, until she collapsed in his arms on stage.

Her death shattered him, and he poured that grief into something no one expected.

In 1971, he recorded What's Going On, and his own label refused to release it.

He fought them, it came out, and it became one of the greatest albums ever made.

He battled addiction and exile, then clawed back with one last enormous hit.

A day before his forty-fifth birthday, his father shot him during an argument.

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