Divided Soul cover art

Divided Soul

The Life of Marvin Gaye

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Divided Soul

By: David Ritz
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

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 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, D.C. 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. It is also the story of his glorious music and the music of Black America over the past 50 years, an epic tale whose cast of characters includes Diana Ross, Berry Gordie, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder.

©1991 David Ritz (P)1995 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Cultural & Regional Entertainment & Celebrities Music Sociology Celebrity
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Soul Survivor cover art
Me and Sister Bobbie cover art
Looking to Get Lost cover art
Temptations cover art
On Time cover art
Detroit 67 cover art
The Greatest cover art
Blood cover art
I've Had to Think Up a Way to Survive cover art
God Only Knows cover art
Eternal Troubadour cover art
Born to Run cover art
Johnny Cash cover art
High on Arrival cover art
The Polygamist’s Daughter cover art
After the Dance cover art

Critic reviews

"[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." ( The Nation)

What listeners say about Divided Soul

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    29
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great retelling of a tragic life self sabotaged and ruined despite huge talent

Interesting but frustrating life story of a massive talent. Well written and entertainingly retold by the narrator of a life of strife and trouble of a man with huge abilities but also of self hamstringing and damage radiating outwards. By the end it is hard to envisage any other outcome than the self destruction that Marvin almost wills onto himself via his life long nemesis and part originator of his demons but this man’s talents should also be celebrated here as both sides of this sad story are excellently put together in a book length that is about right.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Spellbinding

Loved it. Incredibly interesting all the way through. What a life. A great artist and a tortured human being

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a complex and sad story

I love Marvin Gaye's music, his life was so complicated and messed up. This book captures his journey from cradle to grave. A very interesting listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Divided soul

Beautifully narrated story of a tortured genius who’s music lives on still , find music biography’s so interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent delivery

Loved it. so deep, I feel so sorry for Marvin and his mother. Thanks Dave!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another total waste of a talent!

I have always loved Marvin Gaye’s music, it was my youth, after listening to his story I feel a little different about the person. For all his talent, looks and obvious brain he wasn’t a good person. As is usual for people with so much talent those around him indulged him, helping him to be delusional. His mother I think held the key to his happiness and unhappiness.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tragic, but somewhat predictable death of a tortured, spiritual genius.

In the early part of this book it reveals the treatment metered out by his father. Subsequently we see Marvin searching to regain a sense of adequate self, through using addictive substances and sex. A sad and troubled story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Marvin

An excellent book would recommend to anyone not just Marvin fans. gives such an insight into his life and struggles.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent so sad

excellent so sad well narrated..easy to listen to.a hard life for such a great man

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The Drugs Don't Work

A sad take of the great singer-songwriter. This is an apparent abridged version. There are relatively few descriptions of recording the albums which is what I wanted to know about. Not the greatest autobiography.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!