The Motown “masterpiece” Bruce Springsteen has adored since 1971
Bruce Springsteen has praised Marvin Gaye’s 1971 album *What’s Going On* as a masterpiece and said it had a major influence on him. Gaye’s blend of social commentary and inviting soul music showed how a record could address political issues while drawing listeners into an emotional world.
On BBC’s *Desert Island Discs*, Springsteen chose the album’s title track and described the record as both sensual and attentive to street-level politics. He admired how its songs formed a connected whole without relying on the label “concept album”. The article links that approach to Springsteen records including *Darkness on the Edge of Town*, *Nebraska* and *The Rising*.
- Springsteen calls *What’s Going On* a masterpiece.
- Gaye’s album influenced Springsteen’s songwriting.
- Its connected songs blend soul with social commentary.
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Motown was a Detroit record label known for polished soul music, and Marvin Gaye was one of its best-known singers. In 1971, he released What’s Going On, an album shaped by concerns about war, poverty, racism and life in American cities.
The songs combine those subjects with warm, intimate arrangements and are linked by recurring musical and lyrical ideas. Bruce Springsteen has said the album influenced his own songwriting, including records that connect individual stories with wider social concerns.