In Tribute To Arranger David Van De Pitte

 

Marvin Gaye
What's Going On

(Motown, 1971)

In tribute to arranger David Van De Pitte, who died in August this year.

The inspiration behind and gestation of Marvin Gaye's masterwork is well known and has been told at length in MOJO 64 and in Ben Edmonds' MOJO book from 2001. One of the keys to its success are the arrangements of David Van DePitte, who also conducted the orchestra. Arguably the most able and sophisticated of Motown's arrangers, Van DePitte wrote charts that gave What's Going On its overarching cohesion and gravitas, made the storyline and concept whole and cemented the impression that here was a major statement, a work of spiritual inspiration and profundity.
And yet, as he told Billboard's Book Of Number 1 R&B Hits, he got the job by default - none of the other arrangers, weary of the singer's peculiarities, wanted to work with Gaye. And, indeed, when Van DePitte first heard Marvin's plans he said, according to Edmonds, "it was never gonna fly". And Berry Gordy doubted What's Going On, the album's forerunning single, from the start. But Gaye insisted and after that, added Van DePitte, "we both got into a kind of 'the hell with the company' mode."

Certain happenings an arranger can never write. Eli Fountain's opening alto sax solo on the title track for instance, was only the musician's warm-up yet fitted so perfectly, and engineer Ken Sands' mistake created Gaye's voice double-tracked duetting with itself - yet for the most part Van DePitte induced a discipline in Gaye while giving the studio musicians latitude to stretch.

The success of the single (#2 Billboard Pop; #1 R&B in January, 1971) demanded an album, but Gaye's (lack of) working practices pushed Van DePitte to the brink and he demanded to be released from the project. Lured back, the arranger suggested segues to link the tracks. These added to the album's sense of serious purpose, pulling together the thematic subject matter, and highlit the organic flow of voice and instruments, melody and rhythm. Gaye was also relying on Van DePitte to get the music he heard in his head, and his ideas for instrumentation, on to paper, and thence to the other musicians. As engineer Ken Sands told Ben Edmonds, "Marvin relied on David to translate the feel he wanted... The arrangers were there to steer the ship." Finally, master helmsman Van De Pitte added classic string arrangements to give the album its rich sheen. That Gaye and the label knew the extent of these contributions was implicit in the ultra-rare credit on the front cover of a Motown album: "Orchestra Conducted And Arranged By David Van DePitte".

Geoff Brown