HIP-HOP 45th Anniversary of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' Album Signals New Vinyl Release

Motown's BJ the Chicago Kid will also be featured on commemorative 10-inch vinyl EP.

In celebration of the 45th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s seminal 1971 album What’s Going On, Universal Music Enterprises is coordinating a series of new vinyl releases that includes the next installment in the label’s special reissue rollout: the seven-album box set Marvin Gaye Volume 3: 1971-1981.

The May 27 release includes the final seven studio albums that Gaye recorded for Motown subsidiary Tamla Records: What’s Going On, Trouble Man (1972), Let’s Get It On (1973), Diana & Marvin (1973), I Want You (1976), double-album Here, My Dear (1978) and In Our Lifetime (1981).

Rewinding the Charts: In 1971, Marvin Gaye Had to Ask, 'What's Going On'

Four of the albums in the box set -- Let’s Get It On, Diana & Marvin, Here, My Dear and In Our Lifetime -- will also be available individually for the first time in several years. Additionally, a special What’s Going On 10-inch vinyl EP will be released June 24. It will be comprised of the original 7-inch mono single versions of the title track and “God Is Love” on one side (different from the later album versions). The other side will feature two “Motown: Re-Imagined” versions of the title song using only the original instrumentation. One will be a duet version with Motown newcomer BJ the Chicago Kid; the second will be an unplugged “Coffeehouse Mix.” The EP will also be released digitally.

The forthcoming Volume 3 box set was preceded last year by the seven-album set Marvin Gaye Volume 1: 1961-1965 and the eight-album Volume 2: 1966-1970.