Marvin Gaye Finally Gets a Star

“I am not a star. At least, I don’t consider myself a star . “

Marvin Gaye, in a 1973 interview published in the Los Angeles Times.

Grammy award-winning recording artist Marvin Gaye, popular for his intimate reflections on the ways of love and spiritual salvation, received a posthumous star Thursday on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

The award came after two years of intensive campaigning by fans across the country and by local radio stations with predominantly African-American audiences.

Friends and fans gathered around Gaye’s star on Vine Street adjacent to the Motown Building, which houses the company he recorded with during most of his career, turning out early hits such as “Stubborn Kind of Fellow,” “Pride and Joy” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” His version of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” is considered one of popular music’s biggest hits.

The crowd of more than 400 reminisced about the soul singer who was shot to death in 1984 by his father, Marvin Gay Sr., during an argument in their Crenshaw district home. (Gaye added an “e” to his family name when he began recording for Motown in 1962).

Fans remembered Gaye’s smooth tenor, which has for two decades caused tears to well up in the eyes of the happy, the hurting, the introspective, and those with even the faintest stirrings of soul.

Gaye’s children, Nona, Marvin III and Frankie, accepted the award on behalf of their father. Marvin Gay Sr. and Gaye’s mother, Alberta, did not attend.

Gaye’s father, who testified in court in 1984 that he was beaten repeatedly by his son, pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge and was sentenced to a jail term that later was reduced to five years’ probation. The probation period ended last November.

Many of the African-American fans at Thursday’s ceremony said the circumstances of Gaye’s death, his reported abuse of drugs and his penchant for controversy may have caused an undue delay in his receiving a star. They also speculated that the Chamber of Commerce selection committee was uncomfortable with Gaye’s outspoken--some said strident--manner.

“At first we were told that Marvin didn’t get a star because he was not a good role model,” said Joyce Miller, 26, a South Los Angeles special education teacher who began lobbying two years ago for recognition of Gaye on the walk. “It is so offensive to black people to hear he was refused because of something like that,” said Miller, noting that Elvis Presley, who also abused drugs, has a star on the walk.

A protracted wait is common, said Johnny Grant, chairman of the star selection committee of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

“There was never a doubt that Marvin would be given a star,” Grant said. “It was just a matter of time.” Grant added that a stipulation in the selection rules states that five years must pass before considering any candidate for a posthumous star.