Song by Song: "What's Going On" Quiz

Answer: Sam Cooke

Renaldo "Obie" Benson was inspired to write the song when he witnessed an incident of police brutality in San Francisco during his 1969 tour with the Four Tops. Benson saw police officers attacking a group of hippies who were protesting the war in People's Park. Benson wrote the song with in-house Motown composer Al Cleveland. Uninterested in protest music, the Four Tops never recorded the song. Marvin Gaye picked it up, however, and "made the song his own," Rolling Stone magazine reports, "overseeing the arrangement and investing the topical references to war and racial strife with private anguish." All three musicians share writing credit, and the song was produced by Marvin Gaye.

Answer: "The worst thing I've ever heard in my life."

According to an article in The Conversation tilted "Marvin Gaye's 1971 'What's Going On?' remains unanswered today," Gordy called the song "the worst thing I've ever heard in my life," but desperate for new material from Gaye, the label released it anyway.

The song went onto both commercial success and criminal acclaim, peaking at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the U.S. R&B/Soul Singles Chart.

Answer: Detroit Lions

Vocal chatter (or mock conversation) was added to the song to give it a laid back sound. Motown musician Elgie Stover opened the song by saying, "Hey, man, what's happening?" Football players Mel Farr and Lem Barney of the Detroit Lions were also invited to the studio to join in the verbal chatter.

In 1972, the song was nominated for a Grammy Award in the categories of Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance but did not win in either category.

Answer: The Neville Brothers

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, along with Detroit-based sessions musicians the Funk Brothers, supplied instrumentation for the song. Various members of the Funk Brothers played on over a hundred of Mowtown's hit U.S. R&B singles. Marvin Gaye also played piano and box drum on the song, and it was arranged by David Van De Pitte. Lead vocals for "What's Going On" were sung by Marvin Gaye and background vocals by The Originals.

Answer: Cyndi Lauper

Known for the hit song "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," Cyndi Lauper covered "What's Going On" on her second studio album. Her version of the song was released as a single from "True Colors" in 1987 with "One Track Mind" on the B-Side. Lauper's version peaked at number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: dying

The song continues:

"You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today, eh eh."

Q magazine included "What's Going On" in its list of "100 Songs That Changed the World." The Recording Industry Association of America ranked it as number 65 on its list of "365 Songs of the Century."

Answer: escalate

"Escalate" is a term often used in reference to the Vietnam War, especially after the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the Gulf of Tonkin resolution that followed.

In 1995, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame named "What's Going On" one of its "500 Songs That Shaped Rock."

Answer: picket

"Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Yeah, what's going on
Ah, what's going on."

A remake of "What's Going On" was released by Live Aid Armenia to raise money to assist those suffering from the 1988 Armenian earthquake. Another cover was released in 1994 by Music Relief '94 in memory of the Rwandan genocide.

Answer: Because their hair is long

"Mother, mother, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply 'cause our hair is long
Oh, you..."

The opening line of this song was improvised on soprano saxophone by Eli Fontaine.

Chaka Khan's performance of "What's Going On" with The Funk Brothers for the 2002 documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" won a Grammy award for the Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.

Answer: AIDS

The album was released under the name of Artists Against AIDS Worldwide. Though initially intended only to support AIDS programs (primarily in Africa), because the September 11th attacks occurred shortly before the album was released, it was determined that some of the benefits should also go to support the September 11 fund of the American Red Cross. Musicians contributing to the album included Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, NSYNC, and the Backstreet Boys, to name but a few.