Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye - Softcover

Ritz, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 030681191X ISBN 13: 9780306811913

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2003

Synopsis

"A biography as dramatic as any to come out of the pop field . . . told with sympathy and unflinching candor."--San Francisco Chronicle

In this intimate biography of the Prince of Soul, David Ritz provides a candid look at a star and a friend. Ritz had been collaborating with Gaye on his story for several years before the singer's tragic death, and had conducted a series of extraordinary interviews in which Gaye discussed his deepest secrets. Drawing from these interviews, Gaye's life is recounted in his own words and the words of those who knew him best: his family, friends, and colleagues. What emerges is a full-scale portrait of a charming but tortured artist, a brilliant singer with a divided soul.

Here is Marvin's story from his early years in the slums of Washington, D.C., to is rise to the top of the Motown industry, his fall from grace, his comeback, and finally his sudden, shocking end at the hands of his own father. But it is also the story of his glorious music, and the music of black America over the past fifty years, from gospel to doo-wop to soul to funk. The result is an epic tale whose cast of characters includes Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder, among others.
The definitive biography of an enormously gifted and sensitive man, Divided Soul takes us deep into the life and music of one of America's most passionate--and most troubled--composers and singers.

About this title

About the Author:

David Ritz is the author of Faith in Time: The Life of Jimmy Scott, Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, and many other books with or about Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and B.B. King. He is a three-time winner of the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award. He lives in Los Angeles.

From Publishers Weekly:

Based largely on interviews for a projected "autobiography" that was cancelled after Gaye's death in 1984 at the hands of his father, this book is neither especially well-written nor perceptive. PW recommended that the Motown singer's fans "skip the book and listen to his records instead."
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 030681191X
• ISBN 13: 9780306811913
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416