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.”
