Museum object · Record Albums
What's Going On
1971
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America
Source catalog description
This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.
A long-playing record of the album What's Going On recorded by Marvin Gaye. This object is comprised of a disc (a) of the long-playing record What’s Going On, an album jacket (b) and a paper sleeve (c).The vinyl disc (a) has a round tan colored label with a band of brown across the top. In the middle of the band is a rectangle with an oval globe inside it. Under the globe is tan text that reads [TAMLA]. The album jacket (b) depicts a photographic portrait of Marvin Gaye shown from the shoulders up. He wears a black raincoat with its collar turned up. He is turned a slight quarter-turn away from the viewer and gazes above the viewer’s head away to his left. In the top right corner is text that reads [What’s / Going On / Marvin Gaye]. There is a Tamla trademark in the bottom right corner.
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Sources & collection details
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗
Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13
Catalog reference: 2015.189.29abc
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