>> ironically, here he was trying his best to make black music that would cross over to the white world. he ended up making the greatest black music ever. >> he created a machine where you take the artist and polish him up and make them a great package that they can play the ed sullivan show and kill. >> back in the '60s, marvin gaye wanted to be frank sinatra. >> he was svelte, clean-shaven, debonair. and all of that changed in the '70s. >> marvin wanted to compete on a high level, "why can't i make a record like the beatles? i'm selling records like they sell. why can't i have that artistic expression?" ♪ talk to me so you can see what's going on, what's going on, what's going on ♪ ♪ tell me what's going on ♪ >> marvin gaye was very much affected by the vietnam war. his brother was in vietnam, so he's hearing all these stories about what's going on over