We all know "What's Going On", the classic track written and sung by Marvin Gaye on his groundbreaking album, What's Going On. It's such a powerful, well-written, and catchy song, and although it's a bit cliche to say it, it is one of my favorite soul songs ever. You can't deny the power of it, although it has been overplayed a bit in soul circles, and actually I find Marvin Gaye's discography as a whole a bit overrated. But What's Going On is a strong album, and the title track is an absolute classic. Recently, I was thinking about how many different cover versions I own of "What's Going On", and it makes it all the more obvious how influential Gaye's song was.
We all know the Marvin Gaye original:
I love the Donny Hathaway version of it, off of his 1972 album, Live. Hathaway is one of my favorite singers of all-time, period. He could've sang the alphabet on a recording and I would buy it. I love this version, as Donny is playing the intro chords on a keyboard and you can hear a fan on the recording yell out "What's Going On" before Hathaway begins singing the song.
I enjoy the Weldon Irvine version of "What's Going On", taken from his 1976 album Sinbad. It definitely has a more jazz groove to it than the original and even without the vocals, it's still a very engaging listen.
(Couldn't find a youtube of the track, but here's a link to take a listen) http://www.turntablelab.com/digital/player.html?pid=90411&num=3
I love El Chicano's version of "What's Going On", recorded in 1971. It has a similar jazz-funk feel to it that Irvine's version has, but with a Latin edge.
Lastly, Delroy Wilson is one of my favorite ska reggae singers, and his version of "What's Going On" is a pleasant listen, a reggae version with tasty electric keyboards over it.
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