This Day in History: Marvin Gaye Is
Shot and Killed by His Own Father April 1, 1984 Gaye's father — Rev. Marvin Gaye Sr. —
shot and killed the Prince of Soul
three times in the chest following a
physical dispute between the two. It was a day before the
soul icon's 45th birthday. Despite winning his first Grammy
for "Sexual Healing" just a year
before, Gaye was struggling with
debt, depression and substance abuse. He had recently moved in
with his father and mother. Gaye and his father had a
difficult and complicated
relationship since Gaye was a boy. According to Gaye's brother, Frankie —
who held the singer in his arms as he died —
his final words were, “I got what I wanted ...
I couldn’t do it myself, so I made him do it.”
