Motown has given us some of the most iconic hit songs of all time, launching the careers of countless stars. Unfortunately, a lot of Motown stars had very sad lives, too. Many of the label's most powerful vocalists went through all kinds of horrible things before making it big, and sadly for some, the tragedy continued after they started recording hit records. From the singer who was in abusive relationships with multiple superstars to the horrifying death of Marvin Gaye at the hands of his father, let's take a look at the tragic real-life stories of some of Motown's biggest stars.
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00:00There's no sound like Motown.
00:02The record company changed the way music was done in the 60s and 70s, letting black people
00:07see famous musicians who looked like themselves.
00:10But the fame and fortune hid some tragic stories behind the scenes.
00:13Tammy Turrell really brought out the best in Marvin Gaye.
00:16Together they performed some of the most riveting love songs of all time, including Ain't No
00:20Mountain High Enough and You're All I Need to Get By.
00:22But while she and Gaye always hit the right notes together, the partners and her private
00:26life horribly wronged her.
00:28Before joining Motown, Turrell worked for and dated James Brown.
00:32The godfather of soul beat Turrell bloody, according to Bobby Bennett, a former member
00:36of Brown's band.
00:37Turrell managed to get out of that relationship, but she eventually entered the arms of another
00:41abuser, Temptation singer David Ruffin.
00:44By all accounts, Ruffin treated Turrell terribly.
00:46Their relationship ended after Ruffin allegedly struck her face with a motorcycle helmet.
00:51Rumor has long held that Ruffin caused Turrell's death by hitting her head with a hammer.
00:55In reality, she died of a brain tumor, which was discovered after she collapsed in Marvin
00:59Gaye's arms onstage.
01:01She underwent eight surgeries that impaired her memory and left her partially paralyzed.
01:05She was only 24 when she passed.
01:08Marvin Gaye made music that moved human hearts to different beats.
01:11He turned his voice into an aphrodisiac in Let's Get It On, voiced the widespread anxieties
01:16surrounding the Vietnam War and what's going on, and championed environmentalism in Mercy
01:20Mercy Me.
01:22The beauty he created stood in stark contrast to the ugliness in his personal life.
01:26Gaye was the son of Marvin Gaye Sr., a preacher with a taste for drinking and violence.
01:31Gaye Sr. subjected young Marvin to hellish beatings.
01:34With soaring fame came more pain.
01:36In 1970, Gaye was deeply depressed by the loss of his singing partner Tammy Turrell,
01:41and he nearly quit the music business.
01:43He had multiple divorces, struggled with drug addiction, and became so paranoid that he
01:47reportedly had people test his food and water.
01:50In 1983, he moved back home with his parents.
01:54On April 1st, 1984, one day before his 45th birthday, he got into a fight with his father,
01:59who shot and killed him.
02:01My blessings actually outweigh all of the negative things that have occurred in my life,
02:08and it's that fact that probably makes me happiest.
02:12The Temptations have existed since the 1960s in different forms, but the frontman most
02:16associated with their heyday was David Ruffin.
02:19Ruffin had smooth moves and massive magnetism, but to put it bluntly, his greatness as a
02:23performer was eclipsed by his horribleness as a person.
02:27In addition to terrorizing his girlfriend Tammy Turrell, he also had an insufferable
02:31ego, as evidenced by how he rode separately from his fellow Temptations in a mink-lined
02:36limo.
02:37But even people who do detestable things can be tragic figures.
02:40In Ruffin's case, he wasted his immense talent and ultimately destroyed himself.
02:44Drug addiction was his undoing.
02:46As he became increasingly erratic, he was kicked out of The Temptations.
02:50He had some solo success but never fully succeeded at kicking his drug habit, which hindered
02:54his career.
02:55In 1991, a 50-year-old Ruffin collapsed in a crack house and died shortly thereafter
03:00at the hospital.
03:01Before 1962, Motown had never had a Top Ten song.
03:05But then Mary Wells came along, and not only did she crack the Top Ten multiple times,
03:09she also sang the label's first number-one hit, My Guy.
03:12Upbeat and syrupy-sweet, My Guy sounded nothing like the bitterness Wells experienced with
03:17the men in her own life.
03:19At age 17, she married Motown background singer Herman Griffin.
03:22They frequently argued, Griffin cheated with a prostitute, and he forced her to terminate
03:27two pregnancies.
03:28They divorced in 1963, and in 1964, Wells parted ways with Motown because she felt the
03:33company underpaid her.
03:35But then, her career floundered.
03:37Wells continued to have ill-fated relationships.
03:40She married Cecil Womack, had an affair with his brother, and later attempted suicide because
03:44of the intense guilt she felt.
03:46She then became addicted to heroin.
03:48Also a heavy smoker, she developed cancer of the larynx, which destroyed her voice.
03:53Reduced to whispering her songs, she could no longer perform, went broke from medical
03:57expenses, and got evicted from her apartment.
04:00A slew of celebrities and supporters, including Bruce Springsteen and Phil Collins, helped
04:04her financially, but nobody could save her.
04:06She died at age 49.
04:09Despite thriving in the limelight, the Temptations had their share of sour notes.
04:13Perhaps none played out more painfully than the downfall of Paul Williams.
04:16He was one of the group's original lead singers, and the only founding member who didn't originally
04:21drink alcohol.
04:22Unfortunately, he didn't maintain that healthy lifestyle.
04:25He suffered from sickle cell anemia, which can cause debilitating pain, and that pain
04:29drove him to alcohol.
04:31According to fellow founding Temptation Otis Williams, Paul sometimes drank two to three-fifths
04:35of the cognac Cavasier a day.
04:37This ruined his stamina and wore down his respiratory system.
04:40Too sick to perform, he had to leave the group in 1971.
04:43Two years later, he parked two blocks away from Motown Studios and took his own life.
04:48He was just 34.
04:49If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
04:54Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.