Marvin Gaye, My Brother

by Frankie Gaye, Fred E. Basten

(Book). Marvin Gaye's life and brilliant career were cut tragically short on April 1, 1984 one day before his 45th birthday when he was shot and killed by his own father. Now, for the first time ever, Marvin Gaye's story is told in intimate detail by a member of his own family. Frankie and Marvin Gaye were close from childhood until Marvin's death. Frankie was at Marvin's side when he died, and only Frankie heard his deathbed confession. Full of never-before-told personal anecdotes, this book takes you behind the scenes from Marvin's childhood, through his spectacular success at Motown and then Columbia, his stormy relationships with women, and finally to his descent into drugs and despair. The true story of the man behind the beloved music is now available to fans old and new. Includes great photos throughout, a helpful index, and a timeline of important events in Marvin's life.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

216 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[NON · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose to read this one to accompany my reading of Michael Eric Dyson's Mercy, Mercy Me but Frankie's memoir adds nothing new. Frankie was light on information. It almost felt like he was covering up for his father. The things he chose to discuss are the drug use, women and mental distresses. All that made me wonder; was Frankie really close to Marvin? Let me rephrase that question; did Frankie know Marvin at all? Because certainly this memoir suggests that he did not.

I wanted a real piece of information on why Rev. Gay shot Marvin, Frankie only speculated and almost indirectly blamed it all on Marvin. I know that many people around Marvin said that he had it coming but does that really justify the crime? Rev. Gay was not punished properly for the crime he committed and that appalls me. Rev. Gay caused tremendous amount of pain upon his family (specifically Marvin) through his excessive drinking, physical abuse, anger out-bursts, and among other immature behaviors. Heck, even the alleged claims that the father's brother “was a pedophile” and allegedly two of the kids were sexually abused by him, Frankie didn't address any of these claims. The one thing he wanted to clarify was that his father didn't cross-dress.

However, this book is not bad. It's just unsatisfying and quite lacking. Perhaps if the co-author did his job properly instead of just being a literal ghost in this memoir it would've turned out better than it is now. Frankie spared many of the most important details and facts.

The gut wrenching memory he shared for the first was the brief conversation he had with Marvin, as Marvin was bleeding before the paramedics came to his aid. How he - according to Frankie - confessed that he made his father shoot him because he couldn't do it himself. Sigh. That was tough to read about.

[Ben Coates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. I never learned a lot about Marvin other than the stories surrounding What’s Going On, Here My Dear, and his demise, but this filled in the gaps quite well. Though sometimes it felt like I could just have been reading a Wikipedia entry other than his closest confidant’s tell-all. I expected more emotions, more detail, and less factoids and seemingly fully-remembered conversations that took place decades before the writing of this book. But hey. Not every book is gonna be a zinger. It was nice, though. RIP Marvin and Frankie.

[Adhiambo Ongalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this book and learnt a little bit more about Marvin Gaye, the legend. At the end of it all he was just human, vulnerable to poor judgment & choices; and costly mistakes. I however feel that there are too many gaps in this story. While Frankie Gaye tried to make us understand who Marvin was, he also did his best to sanitize him. To make the public more sympathetic and forgiving of his shortcomings? I guess there might never be a clear answer to that question.

[Jye Whale · Rating 4 out of 5]

:,(

[Tasha Milteer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt that his brother told the truth about what he experienced. His and Jan Gaye's books were similar and a good read. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJoXppK3/

[MaryAlice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvin Gaye is among my favorite all-time recording artists. I knew a lot about him before reading "Marvin Gaye, My Brother" by Frankie Gaye with Fred E. Basten, but not that he had a look-alike, sound-alike brother. Nor did I know that Frankie's time served in the Vietnam war was the likely inspiration for Gaye's concept album, "What's Going On".

Although Frankie Gaye helped to write this book, he died of a sudden illness prior to its publication. His memoir takes readers from the boys' childhood, Marvin's rise to fame, continuing until Marvin's death at the hands of their father.

Definitely a good read.

[Doris Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

A. True. League. You. Came. And. Went. A. True. Angle. I. Believe. You. Was. Heavenlly. Sent. Who. Said. Life. Was. Going. To. Easy. I. Will. Always. Love. You. As. Marvin. Gaye. You. Will. Forever. Live. In. My. Heart. Now. And. Always. Still. I. Miss. You. Without. Any. Dought. Just. Listening. To. Your. Song's. Thats. What. Its. All. About. Love. You. Marvin. Gaye. Doris.

[Shannan Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice perspective. Frankie and Marvin were about a year apart and were extremely close. Frankie died before the book was completed, but it was nice hearing from his closest sibling some of the things Marvin went through growing up and during his career at Motown.

[Barbara Washington]

This book provides the reader powerful insight into the private
life of one of the greatest artists of our time

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting in terms of his personal decline, but sketchy on the details of his more difficult periods.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read. Cleared up many misconceptions for me and filled me in on a lot of things I didn't know. Well worth a read.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping it would flow more like a novel but unfortunately it read more like a journal.