The album sold massively. It reached No. 2 on the pop album chart and No. 1 on the R&B chart. It remains one of the most influential albums in the soul and R&B canon.
And it marked a significant turn in Gaye’s personal life. His marriage to Anna Gordy was in serious trouble.
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The Gaye-Gordy marriage had always been complicated. Anna was seventeen years older than Marvin. She was Berry Gordy’s sister, which meant Marvin’s marital difficulties were also Motown’s internal affairs. The couple had adopted a son—Marvin Gaye III, born November 17, 1965, to Denise Gordy—in 1965.
By the early 1970s, the marriage had become marked by volatility. Multiple accounts suggest the relationship included physical and verbal altercations. Gaye’s brother Frankie told biographers that he had discovered Anna in a compromising situation with another man at a Detroit motel, which accelerated the breakdown. Gaye filed for legal separation in the winter of 1973.
Anna formally filed for divorce in November 1975, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking child support. Gaye fell behind on payments. In September 1976, a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to pay alimony. His attorney Curtis Shaw maneuvered to resolve the situation, and the divorce was finalized in May 1977.
The settlement terms were unusual. Anna was entitled to a portion of the royalties from Gaye’s next Motown album—specifically, half of his royalty percentage from that record.
Gaye, who could have simply produced a commercial throwaway album to satisfy the settlement, did something that no one expected. He made an album about the marriage itself.