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*It’s all Marvin Gaye, all day for two days straight at New York’s WBLS this weekend in honor of the soul legend’s birthday on April 2, 1939, and his death on April 1, 1984.
“Marvin Gaye is a core artist and a staple of what we do,” explains WBLS program director Vinny Brown. “Someone who has made such a contribution needs to be recognized appropriately. I looked at the calendar and saw that this is a weekend which will mark not only the birth, but the death of such a legend, as it falls on Saturday and Sunday. And we thought that we’d dedicate the entire weekend to salute the man and his music and his legacy.”
On Saturday (April 1), WBLS will play at least two songs an hour from artists covering Marvin Gaye songs or paying tribute to the Motown standout. On Sunday morning, the station will air the Lee Bailey-produced tribute “Marvin Gaye: We Miss You.”
“We’ve run it before, we’ve had it on, it’s gotten such tremendous response,” Brown said of the special. “It has such an impact and makes such an impact on the radio that it’s back by popular demand.”
(Copies of the special 2-hour show can be purchased online at MarvinGayeProgram.com.)
From noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, WBLS’ Hal Jackson will take over with his own thoughts and memories for the program “Marvin, Then and Now,” which chronicles Gaye’s earlier years with Tammi Terrell and moves through his material up to the early 80s.
From 7-9 p.m., Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson will host a special edition of the Quiet Storm, featuring their own personal memories of working with Gaye as Motown staff writers. The songwriting duo will offer exclusive details about writing one of Gaye’s biggest singles, “Your Precious Love.”
“At 9 p.m., we open up the phones for the listeners, with more of their favorite Marvin Gaye songs in between,” adds Brown. “So it’s a full weekend.”