Post by timmy84 on Oct 23, 2006 12:37:55 GMT -5
LINK: www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.gaye23oct23,0,6803080.story?coll=bal-features-headlines
What's going on?
Two decades after his death, Marvin Gaye's musical legacy is being revived by his native Washington as well as on stage and on screen
By Joe Burris
Washington - You can still hear his buttery voice from Georgia Avenue to Georgetown, oozing from car stereos, as his loyal Washington-area fans lean back, close their eyes and holler, "Ohhhhhhh!" at the first chords of "Let's Get It On". Folks who grew up here in the 1950s still remember how he crooned with other doo-wop groups under street lights at nightfall, and how word got around about the teen from the Northeast projects who could draw hundreds of listeners.
But where is the late Marvin Gaye's legacy among D.C.'s monuments, memorials and landmarks?
Folks here have always struggled with where to place him in Washington lore. Though he left the Deanwood community and went on to Motown stardom, then worldwide R&B acclaim, he suffered the same misfortunes as his once closely knit neighborhood, succumbing to the drug culture and other social ills.
Gaye's life ended tragically in 1984 when his father, whose abusive ways led Gaye to pursue music for solace, shot and killed him during a heated argument on the eve of the singer's 45th birthday. Though his legend has grown throughout the world, it's been largely ignored in the city where he grew up, where residents prefer to pay tribute to more elegant homegrown icons such as Duke Ellington and Helen Hayes.
For years, Gaye's neighborhood - one of the oldest continous African-American communities in the country - had been left to rot and ultimately became a trash-strewn, drug-infested wasteland. Even his home, 12 60th St. N.E., was razed against the wishes of community residents who wanted it preserved as a cultural landmark.
But that is changing: Gaye's accomplishments have been welcomed home.
Go to his Northeast community now, and you'll see a 1.6-mile park named after him. Lush green commons and a restored stream have reclaimed an area once known to local residents as "Needle Park" for its attraction to drug dealers. Nearby, the long-dormant Crystal Lounge, where Gaye staged one of his first performances, is being turned into a community center. Its outside has already been redone in a dazzling multi-colored motif.
City officials rededicated Marvin Gaye Park, formerly Watts Branch Park, on April 2, Gaye's birthday. Last Friday, they dedicated a Marvin Gaye amphitheater and children's obstacle course adjacent to the stream. Nearly 1,000 Freddie Mac employees along with DC Habitat for Humanity and Washington Parks and People, the capital area's network of community park partnerships, built the structures that were officially opened last week.
"We kicked off the campaign on Marvin Gaye's birthday in 2001. Since then, we've had 27,000 volunteers from across the city, the region. We've had volunteers from all 50 states and all five major continents", said Steve Coleman, executive director of Washington Parks and People. "Music is really key here, not just human music, but we've even planted serviceberries, which are known to attract songbirds."
City and parks officials are working toward a Marvin Gaye festival, to be held on his birthday next year. D.C. Council chair Vincent C. Gray said he hopes the musician's rebirth in the city ushers in a new perspective. "Washington seems to be unique for naming things for national people rather than local people", he said. "This is an opportunity to change that dynamic, to begin naming things after our heros and heroines, which then sends the right message to our young people."
(Continued on next post)
What's going on?
Two decades after his death, Marvin Gaye's musical legacy is being revived by his native Washington as well as on stage and on screen
By Joe Burris
Washington - You can still hear his buttery voice from Georgia Avenue to Georgetown, oozing from car stereos, as his loyal Washington-area fans lean back, close their eyes and holler, "Ohhhhhhh!" at the first chords of "Let's Get It On". Folks who grew up here in the 1950s still remember how he crooned with other doo-wop groups under street lights at nightfall, and how word got around about the teen from the Northeast projects who could draw hundreds of listeners.
But where is the late Marvin Gaye's legacy among D.C.'s monuments, memorials and landmarks?
Folks here have always struggled with where to place him in Washington lore. Though he left the Deanwood community and went on to Motown stardom, then worldwide R&B acclaim, he suffered the same misfortunes as his once closely knit neighborhood, succumbing to the drug culture and other social ills.
Gaye's life ended tragically in 1984 when his father, whose abusive ways led Gaye to pursue music for solace, shot and killed him during a heated argument on the eve of the singer's 45th birthday. Though his legend has grown throughout the world, it's been largely ignored in the city where he grew up, where residents prefer to pay tribute to more elegant homegrown icons such as Duke Ellington and Helen Hayes.
For years, Gaye's neighborhood - one of the oldest continous African-American communities in the country - had been left to rot and ultimately became a trash-strewn, drug-infested wasteland. Even his home, 12 60th St. N.E., was razed against the wishes of community residents who wanted it preserved as a cultural landmark.
But that is changing: Gaye's accomplishments have been welcomed home.
Go to his Northeast community now, and you'll see a 1.6-mile park named after him. Lush green commons and a restored stream have reclaimed an area once known to local residents as "Needle Park" for its attraction to drug dealers. Nearby, the long-dormant Crystal Lounge, where Gaye staged one of his first performances, is being turned into a community center. Its outside has already been redone in a dazzling multi-colored motif.
City officials rededicated Marvin Gaye Park, formerly Watts Branch Park, on April 2, Gaye's birthday. Last Friday, they dedicated a Marvin Gaye amphitheater and children's obstacle course adjacent to the stream. Nearly 1,000 Freddie Mac employees along with DC Habitat for Humanity and Washington Parks and People, the capital area's network of community park partnerships, built the structures that were officially opened last week.
"We kicked off the campaign on Marvin Gaye's birthday in 2001. Since then, we've had 27,000 volunteers from across the city, the region. We've had volunteers from all 50 states and all five major continents", said Steve Coleman, executive director of Washington Parks and People. "Music is really key here, not just human music, but we've even planted serviceberries, which are known to attract songbirds."
City and parks officials are working toward a Marvin Gaye festival, to be held on his birthday next year. D.C. Council chair Vincent C. Gray said he hopes the musician's rebirth in the city ushers in a new perspective. "Washington seems to be unique for naming things for national people rather than local people", he said. "This is an opportunity to change that dynamic, to begin naming things after our heros and heroines, which then sends the right message to our young people."
(Continued on next post)