Music News

R.I.P. Anna Gordy Gaye

Anna Gordon Gaye obituaryAnna Gordy Gaye, a Motown songwriter and widow of the late Marvin Gaye, passed away on Friday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 92 years old.

Anna was involved in the music industry for much of her life. In 1958, a year before her brother Berry Gordy opened Motown Records, Anna founded her own imprint, Anna Records. The label scored one massive hit, Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want),” before it was eventually bought by and absorbed into Motown. Once at Hitsville, U.S.A., Anna began writing songs for the label’s stable of artists, often working with her eventual husband Marvin Gaye. The two collaborated on songs that ended up on Gaye’s landmark albums What’s Going On and Let’s Get It On.

The two had an acrimonious divorce in 1977, the events of which sparked Marvin to write the album Here, My Dear. Eventually, the two reconciled and remained friends until Marvin’s death in 1984.

Anna is survived by her son, Marvin Gaye III.

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