Marvin Gaye wrote one of the best albums of all time (Here, my dear) because he didn’t want to pay child support.

During divorce proceedings, Marvin was ordered to pay more money than he actually had on hand as alimony, so a deal was arranged - 50% of the royalties from his next album would go to his ex-wife.

Marvin was incensed. He didn’t want her to get a penny, so he decided to just throw out a quick album that critics would hate and no one would buy so the album wouldn’t do well.

He never usually wrote lyrics for his albums but he was never usually consumed by fury.

He wrote and he wrote. He poured more of his heart and soul into this album than any before it. And in doing so he became fascinated with it.

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