John Legend Performs Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’

Deana Mundell

Wednesday night there was a revolution in Los Angeles. It started with a simple 43-year old question: What’s going on?

Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On album was released in 1971 as a social commentary on race relations in America and the Vietnam War. Last night, when John Legend took the stage with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and guest poets to perform the album in its entirety, it was clear that, midway through 2014, little has changed.

The 1st half of the evening opened with an introduction by arts activist Bamuthi, who served as the night’s host. After a short, well-received, spoken word piece set to the music of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”, the National Poetry Slam champion was soon joined by John Legend himself, dressed in an all-white suit, and later by Sharon Jones, in a shimmering dress. The two reprised some of Gaye’s classics, as performed with his partner Tammi Terrell, with Legend’s soulful voice and slow lynx-like dance moves contrasting perfectly with Jones’ powerful vocals. Lifted by the Hollywood Bowl’s iconic shell, their raw energy and chemistry had not only the audience enthralled, but the musicians themselves, as several times the conductor turned around with a look of admiration, and the orchestra bopped and grooved over their instruments. The two ended on “California Soul”, with Bamuthi returning to the stage to close the set with a second piece.

As the 2nd half started, Legend strolled out with his jacket unbuttoned over a T-shirt which read in simple block letters: Don’t Shoot.

The reference to the fatal August 9th shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed young black man, by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer, was unequivocal, as was the tone for this second half. As Legend sat down at the piano to perform the title track of Gaye’s landmark album, it was clear that 43 years on, the lyrics “Brother, brother, brother/There’s far too many of you dying” were still depressingly relevant. Legend, still at the piano, shared the stage with several young poets who, in the spirit of Gaye’s social commentary, had been invited to offer their interpretation of the album, based on contemporary issues. From Ferguson to Fruitvale Station, from Afghanistan to Irak, from drugs to gun violence, the poets showed that race relations and war still plague America. One of the most rousing performances came courtesy of Get Lit, a trio of teen-aged poets comprised of Zariya Allen, Rhiannon McGavin and Belissa Escobedo whose crystal-clear and sorrowful words challenged the hypocrisy of schools banning works like To Kill a Mocking-bird, Catcher in the Rye and the works of Maya Angelou for the use of rape and politically incorrect words, while the prevalence of guns in the hands of the young continues. “The greatest lessons are the ones you don’t remember learning,” they called out. Another poet, Caitlyn Clark, offered an indictment of CNN and Fox for “imagining themselves to be somewhere where the gunshots are less loud”, as she drew parallels between her father’s experience in Afghanistan and the horrors perpetrated on national soil.

Throughout the event, which was attended by Gaye’s family, including his son, Marvin Gaye Jr., there was not one false note, except perhaps the conclusion that Gaye’s statement “War is not the answer” still hasn’t been heard. Legend, renowned for his soulful voice and heartfelt songs, addressed the crowd one last time to ask that we at last find it in us to get past “fear, color, gender, and sexuality,” and was met with great applause and cheers. Sharon Jones then returned to the stage for a final duet with Legend, before host Bamathi closed the night with the entreaty to “Let the healing begin”, the three walking off to a standing ovation from the cheering, emotional crowd.

Gaye would have been proud of the night’s performances, and 43 years after his question, the message was clear, as Bamathi said, “we are what’s going on right now.”