What's Happening Brother

Infobox Song
Name = What's Happening Brother


Artist = Marvin Gaye
Album = What's Going On
Released = 1971
track_no = 2
Recorded = May 1-10, 1971, Hitsville USA (Studio A)
Golden World (Studio B)
Hitsville West
Genre = Soul
Label = Tamla
Length = 2:44
Writer = James Nyx
Marvin Gaye
Producer = Marvin Gaye
Tracks
prev = "What's Going On"
prev_no = 1
next = "Flying High (In The Friendly Sky)"
next_no = 3

"What's Happening Brother" is a song written by James Nyx, Jr. and Marvin Gaye, produced by Gaye and issued on the soul singer's acclaimed 1971 album, "What's Going On". The song started off the song cycle that began with a man returning home from fighting in the Vietnam War only to discover that his world is abstractly different from what it used to be before he left for duty. In Marvin's case, the song was dedicated to his younger brother, Frankie, who was returning back from a three-year duty at Vietnam, in essence, Marvin later told interviews that Frankie's experience in Vietnam inspired him to collaborate on the songs for the "What's Going On" project. Throughout this song, Marvin mentions in his brother's third person about the nightclub, about whether or not his baseball team would "win the pennant" and wonders how his friend has been which brings upon the question, "what's happening brother?" Musically the song follows the same path as "What's Going On" and features The Andantes as background vocalists.

Credits

*Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye
*Background vocals by The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps
*Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
*Produced by Marvin Gaye