The addition of the "e" to his name was also emulating one of his favorite singers, Sam Cooke, who did the same thing with his last name. Coincidentally, both performers were shot and killed at young ages.
The song "I Want You" was said to be an ode to his second wife Janis Hunter. According to legend, he wrote and recorded the song in two hours after first setting eyes on her, when she was accompanying her mother (a huge fan) to the studio to watch him work. They married two months later.
The song "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holla)" ends with a prelude to the song "What's Goin' On." This version of the latter-mentioned song is slightly different from the now popular version, in that Gaye begins it with: "Father, Father" and the new version begins with "Mother, Mother". This was due to his burning hatred for his father and eternal love for his mother.
Theme song, "Trouble Man" features different vocal takes than the single and album.
Voted the sixth greatest singer of the rock era in a Rolling Stone magazine poll in 2008.
Was going to do a duet with Barry White but died a week before they began their rehearsal.
Was honorably discharged from the US Air Force in 1957.
Was slated to record a duet album with Dionne Warwick, but changed his mind.