Few figures in American music in the 20th century can compare to Marvin Gaye. As a singer, he was without peer, possessing a silky voice that could sound either angelic or seductive or, on his biggest hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," positively haunted. As a songwriter, he was equally skilled at writing with an eye for the charts and mining the depths of his heart, a combination that created many of the enduring classics of his era: "Hitch Hike," "Dancing in the Street," "Pride and Joy," "What's Going On," "Let's Get It On," "Got to Give It Up," and "Sexual Healing." That list also shows how the entire history of postwar R&B can be seen through the career of Marvin Gaye.