Marvin Gaye Trivia
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60 free Marvin Gaye trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Marvin Gaye trivia quiz follows the Prince of Motown from a Washington, D.C. housing project to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The early questions cover the doo-wop years with Harvey Fuqua, his session-drumming days at Motown, and the string of 1960s hits written for him by Holland-Dozier-Holland and Smokey Robinson. From there it moves through the Tammi Terrell duets, the seven-week reign of I Heard It Through the Grapevine, and the fight with Berry Gordy that produced What's Going On. The back half of the quiz covers the 1970s concept albums, the alimony album Here, My Dear, the tax exile that ended in a seaside apartment in Ostend, Belgium, and the comeback of Sexual Healing and Midnight Love. It finishes with the national anthem at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, his death at his father's hands the day before his 45th birthday, and the awards, stamps, lawsuits and biopics that followed. Difficulty ranges from questions any soul fan can answer to details only a devoted collector will know. Every answer was checked against the Wikipedia article on Marvin Gaye, and each explanation adds one more detail worth remembering.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which U.S. city was Marvin Gaye born and raised?
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.: he was born at Freedman's Hospital and grew up in public housing in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood, which he and his friends nicknamed 'Simple City'.
Q 02Which Motown subsidiary label released Marvin Gaye's music?
Tamla
Tamla: Gaye joined the Tamla imprint soon after moving to Detroit, and it issued his first single, 'Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide', in May 1961.
Q 03Marvin Gaye's first Billboard Hot 100 number one, in December 1968, was his recording of which song?
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
I Heard It Through the Grapevine topped the Hot 100 for seven weeks from December 1968 and sold more than four million copies, yet lost the R&B Grammy to Otis Redding's '(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay'.
Q 04Which duet partner collapsed in Marvin Gaye's arms on stage in October 1967?
Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell collapsed into Gaye's arms during a show at Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia, on October 14, 1967; a malignant brain tumor was found, and she died in March 1970 at 24.
Q 05Which Four Tops member brought Marvin Gaye the idea for 'What's Going On' after a Berkeley rally?
Renaldo 'Obie' Benson
Renaldo 'Obie' Benson had watched police beat protesters in Berkeley's People's Park in 1969 and wrote the song with Al Cleveland; Gaye reworked it, and Berry Gordy at first refused to release it as too political.
Q 06How many days did Marvin Gaye spend recording the What's Going On album in March 1971?
Ten
He had won creative control by giving Motown an ultimatum, and remixed the album in Hollywood before its May release.
Q 07Which two pro football players sang harmony vocals on 'What's Going On'?
Mel Farr and Lem Barney
Mel Farr and Lem Barney, football friends from Gaye's 1970 bid to try out for the team, contributed the opening party chatter and backing harmonies and are credited on the sleeve.
Q 08Which sister of Berry Gordy did Marvin Gaye marry in June 1963?
Anna
Anna Gordy, 17 years his senior, married him in June 1963; the contentious marriage ended in 1977 after a drawn-out divorce, and the settlement shaped his 1978 double album.
Q 09Which 1978 Marvin Gaye album was recorded so part of its royalties could go to his first wife as alimony?
Here, My Dear
Here, My Dear, the 1978 double album, was made so part of its royalties would go to his ex-wife as divorce settlement; it flopped on release but later entered Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list.
Q 10In which Belgian seaside town did Marvin Gaye live in 1981-82 and write 'Sexual Healing'?
Ostend
Ostend: Gaye moved into promoter Freddy Cousaert's apartment in the North Sea resort in 1981, cut back on drugs, ran on the beach and finished 'Sexual Healing' there.
Q 11Marvin Gaye left Motown in 1982 and signed with which company?
CBS Records
CBS Records signed him in 1982 and placed him on its Columbia imprint, with the terms kept quiet so as not to disturb his settlement with the IRS; 'Midnight Love' followed that October.
Q 12Where did 'Sexual Healing' peak on the Billboard Hot 100?
No. 3
No. 3: 'Sexual Healing' peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in January 1983 and brought Gaye his first two Grammy awards, for male R&B vocal and R&B instrumental.
Q 13At which event on February 13, 1983, did Marvin Gaye give his slowed-down national anthem?
The NBA All-Star Game
The NBA All-Star Game at The Forum in Inglewood: guitarist Gordon Banks fed a drum-machine backing tape from the stands while Gaye sang a slowed, soulful anthem that became a celebrated performance.
Q 21Which Marvelettes hit did Marvin Gaye co-write in 1962?
Beechwood 4-5789
Beechwood 4-5789, co-written with Mickey Stevenson and George Gordy, gave the Marvelettes a No. 17 pop hit in 1962 and was Gaye's first success as a songwriter.
Q 22Who wrote 'I'll Be Doggone' and 'Ain't That Peculiar', Marvin Gaye's first two R&B number ones?
Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson, writing with fellow Miracles Warren 'Pete' Moore and Marv Tarplin, supplied both 1965 singles, each a million seller that reached No. 8 on the Hot 100.
Q 23With which singer did Marvin Gaye record the 1966 top-20 duet 'It Takes Two'?
Kim Weston
Q 14Marvin Gaye was shot dead on April 1, 1984, the day before which birthday?
His 45th
His 45th: born April 2, 1939, he was shot by his father at the family's Los Angeles home and pronounced dead at 1:01 p.m. at California Hospital Medical Center.
Q 15To what charge did Marvin Gay Sr. plead no contest after the original first-degree murder charge was reduced?
Voluntary manslaughter
Voluntary manslaughter: after a brain tumor was found, prosecutors dropped the murder charge and Gay Sr. pleaded no contest, receiving a six-year suspended sentence and five years' probation; he died in a nursing home in 1998.
Q 16Under which name did Marvin Gaye's group the Marquees record for Chess in 1959 after moving to Chicago?
Harvey and the New Moonglows
Harvey and the New Moonglows: the Marquees were hired to replace the original Moonglows, and under the new name the group sang backing vocals on Chuck Berry's 'Back in the U.S.A.' and 'Almost Grown' for Chess.
Q 17Which U.S. military branch did 17-year-old Marvin Gaye join after dropping out of school in 1956?
Air Force
Air Force: he enlisted in 1956, hated the menial duty, feigned mental illness and was given a general discharge; his sergeant wrote that he could not adjust to regimentation or authority.
Q 18Which rock and roll pioneer co-wrote the Marquees' only single, 'Wyatt Earp'?
Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley co-wrote and produced 'Wyatt Earp' in 1957, failed to get the Marquees onto Chess, and steered them to OKeh instead; the single flopped and the group was dropped.
Q 19What instrument did Marvin Gaye play as a Motown session musician on 'Dancing in the Street' and 'Fingertips'?
Drums
Drums: Gaye drummed on 'Dancing in the Street' and 'Fingertips', was paid about $5 a week for 1961 session work, and toured that year as the Miracles' drummer.
Q 20What was Marvin Gaye's first solo hit, released in September 1962?
Stubborn Kind of Fellow
Stubborn Kind of Fellow, released in September 1962, reached No. 8 on the R&B chart and No. 46 on the Hot 100, sung in the raspy gospel tone he used on his early dance records.
Kim Weston: 'It Takes Two', released in December 1966, reached No. 14 on the Hot 100 during a solo chart lull and revived Gaye's duet career shortly before she left Motown.
Q 24Which duet earned Marvin Gaye his first Grammy nomination?
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Ain't No Mountain High Enough, the 1967 Ashford & Simpson song, brought the nomination for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance; the other three duets listed all made the pop top 10.
Q 25At which ballpark did Marvin Gaye first sing the national anthem live, during Game 4 of the 1968 World Series?
Tiger Stadium
Tiger Stadium: Gaye sang the anthem before Game 4 on October 6, 1968, as the Tigers hosted the St. Louis Cardinals; José Feliciano's controversial version came the next day.
Q 26For which 1972 blaxploitation film did Marvin Gaye produce the soundtrack and score?
Trouble Man
Trouble Man: Gaye produced and scored the 1972 film's soundtrack, his first, and the title song reached No. 7 on the Hot 100 in early 1973.
Q 27Which Marvin Gaye single became his second Hot 100 number one, in September 1973?
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On held the top of the Hot 100 for two weeks from September 8, 1973 and also led the R&B chart; critics hailed its parent album for its sensuality.
Q 28Which Motown star was Marvin Gaye's partner on his final duet album, released in 1973?
Diana Ross
Diana Ross: the album Diana & Marvin came out in October 1973 with several Ashford & Simpson songs and sold well internationally, though the two recorded some parts separately.
Q 29Marvin Gaye persuaded Frankie Beverly to rename his band from Raw Soul to what?
Maze
Maze: after his sister-in-law pointed the band out, Gaye took Frankie Beverly's group on tour as his opening act and suggested they drop the name Raw Soul for something shorter.
Q 30Which Marvin Gaye number one was a studio track on 1977's Live at the London Palladium?
Got to Give It Up
Got to Give It Up, cut in the studio as the album's fourth side, topped the Hot 100 in June 1977 and the R&B and dance charts too; the album sold over two million copies.