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Divided Soul (Abridged): The Life of Marvin Gaye Audiobook
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(4.00) - 325 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In this intimate biography of the Prince of Soul, David Ritz provides a candid look at a star and a friend. Ritz had been collaborating with Marvin Gaye on his story for several years before the singer's tragic death and had conducted a series of extraordinary interviews in which Gaye discussed his deepest secrets. What emerges here is a full-scale portrait of a charming but tortured artist, a brilliant singer with a divided soul.
Here is Marvin's story, from his early years in the slums of Washington, DC, to his rise to the top of the Motown industry, his fall from grace, his comeback, and finally his sudden, shocking end at the hands of his own father. But it is also the story of his glorious music and the music of black America over the past fifty years, an epic tale whose cast of characters includes Diana Ross, Berry Gordie, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and countless other icons from the world of soul music.
This is the definitive biography of an enormously gifted and sensitive musician.
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"Excellent material. From the despised similarities between Marvin and his Father, Marvin's insecurities, frame of mind and musical talent, Ritz displayed a sidekick view of Mr. Gaye. Interesting, entertaining, disheartening, and insightful. Appreciate the detailed journey of Marvin Gaye."
— Chris (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A biography as dramatic as any to come out of the pop field…told with sympathy and unflinching candor.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“[David Ritz] tells Marvin Gaye’s sorrowful story with remarkable insight and sensitivity…Divided Soul is often startlingly candid, but it manages to avoid lurid sensationalism, no mean feat given the particulars of the story: sex, drugs, child abuse, show business scandal.”
— Nation -
“You won’t find a more fascinating rock bio.”
— Village Voice -
“One of the most widely acclaimed pop music biographies finally gets the audio treatment. As coauthor of one of Gaye’s biggest hits, ‘Sexual Healing,’ David Ritz actually knew Marvin Gaye, and their relationship gives this narrative a degree of intimacy rare in biographies…At the root of it was the artist’s complex relationship with his father, a contradiction that Dion Graham narrates expertly, mimicking the dialects of Marvin and his father. Graham is at ease with the colloquialisms that abound in this rough-and-tumble story of the rhythm-and-blues business and the performer who was at the center of it all until his father tragically took his life.”
— AudioFile -
“Dion Graham channels Marvin Gaye in his riveting performance of Ritz’s 1985 biography of the singer.”
— Library Journal
Awards
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A Library Journal Best Audiobook of 2009
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New Book of Rock Lists: #1 Rock Biography of all time
Divided Soul Listener Reviews
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" Started this in 2010, but got disinterested in it. People, almost purposefully, ruining their lives for drugs and women. "
— Heather, 1/16/2014 -
" Always interested in reading about famous people who's work I enjoy. "
— Vicky, 1/15/2014 -
" Ritz is absurdly pretentious. I only bring this up because his self-serving writing style begins to distract from the actual content after a while. I really doubt this is the best Marvin Gaye biography as everyone seems to believe. "
— Raffi, 1/6/2014 -
" I read this book several years ago but it was so good I had to add it to encourage others to read. I don't read many biopics but this one was great. "
— Susan, 1/2/2014 -
" Amazing and revealing book! Must-read. "
— Emmanuel, 12/5/2013 -
" Love the music, love the DC connection. "
— Suzie, 10/28/2013 -
" A well written and fascinating look at a complex, but self-destructive human being. He was truly a conflicted soul. "
— Tonya, 7/25/2013 -
" I read this book over the summer. It is interesting because it tells the story of one of our greatest singers.It tells the story of his childhood to adulthood and his many personal struggles. "
— Barbara, 6/30/2013 -
" lots of anecdotes in this I will never forget. "
— Kiof, 5/10/2013 -
" i read this in college. this was good. "
— RK, 4/8/2013 -
" It really deserves the title of "#1 Rock Biography of All Time." "
— Stéphanie, 3/21/2012 -
" Good read on the life of a legend. "
— Mac, 2/25/2012 -
" Excellent book! Learned so much about this gifted man, his childhood, and how he came to be! "
— Nicole, 2/15/2012 -
" Marvin Gaye was a complex man who beared his soul in his music "
— Daniel, 12/26/2011 -
" For me it was a definitive view into Marvin's life and music, until i read the biography by his brother, Frankie Gaye, which refuted a lot of Ritz's claims and provided a more complete and personal story. "
— Todd, 11/14/2011 -
" there are a lot of academic references in this book. which can be kind of annoying because they do not add to the richness of Gaye's story, they only detract from it. "
— mary, 8/10/2011 -
" I studied Motown music theory in grad school and love all things Motown. This book provides a great history of Gaye's life and timeline of Motown's earlier years. "
— Amanda, 7/22/2011 -
" What I learned from this book - drugs are bad. "
— Melissa, 7/1/2011 -
" It was a really interesting read, but I only gave this 3 stars due to the skimming over of so much of his life, along with the fact that parts seem really jumbled. "
— Jennifer, 6/21/2011 -
" Raw, honest and spoken from the heart. forget all you have read in the press about Mr. Weiland and hear it from him yourself. its a read you wont regret, fan or not. "
— Christa, 5/24/2011 -
" This book was absolutely amazing! I've always loved STP and Scott Weiland, and I've been waiting 15 years for this book. It was worth the wait. This book is well written, heartfelt, emotional, and honest. A must read for any STP fan. "
— Jennifer, 5/21/2011 -
" No big surprises, but still a good read. "
— Diana, 5/19/2011 -
" It was okay I have read better "
— Todd, 5/18/2011 -
" Great book. I finished it in only two days. Scott's life story is very interesting. Lots of ups and downs. The frenetic pace of his story telling was pretty interesting too. Such a shame he ever had to get hooked on drugs. Glad he's over it though. "
— Michael, 5/1/2011
About David Ritz
David Ritz is the author and coauthor of many acclaimed autobiographies of entertainers, including Ray Charles, Etta James, Scott Weiland, Grandmaster Flash, and more. Five of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, and he has won the Gleason Award for Best Music Book of the Year four times.
About Dion Graham
Dion Graham is an award-winning narrator named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Audie Award numerous times, as well as Earphones Awards, the Publishers Weekly Listen Up Awards, IBPA Ben Franklin Awards, and the ALA Odyssey Award. He was nominated in 2015 for a Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Narration. He is also a critically acclaimed actor who has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, with an MFA degree in acting.