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But in 1970 Gaye simply turned his back on sweet pop, soul and public concerts. Partly this was because his favorite singing partner, a pert brunette named Tammi Terrell, collapsed in his arms onstage at William and Mary College and later died of a brain tumor. Beyond that, though, he had simply grown weary of Marvin the Motown Star who, night after night, had to tell jokes, do little dance steps and "put out the grin."
For nearly a year Gaye did not go near the Motown plant. To keep his name before the public, Brother-in-Law Gordy issued an LP of Marvin Gaye Super Hits. Then one morning last winter Gaye showed up with the idea for What's Going On. Beyond its $2,000,000 worth of straight sales, the album also produced three hit singles with combined sales of 4,000,000 copies—the title song, Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology) and Inner City Blues. Such selling power obviously means that a lot of people are willing to tag along behind Marvin Gaye. On their own, of course. Says Gaye: "I have a right to respectfully decline to lead my people anywhere."