Itzhak Perlman: American Masters

Marvin Gaye: What's Going On

A great, enduring figure of American music, Marvin Gaye combined gospel, rhythm and blues, soul and jazz to create his own intimate style -- reflecting his "path of the heart" and, essentially, giving us his autobiography in lyrics and sound. He was a glamorous, sometime flamboyant, performer, a Motown star who challenged and changed the face of popular music with records such as "What's Going On" in 1971 -- full of honesty, vulnerability and integrity. Yet, his life was tainted by the bizarre -- full of torment, constant battling of demons and, ultimately, death at the hand of his own father -- a preacher and a cross-dresser, who seemed to have "a grudge against his son" from the day he was born. The program includes extensive performance footage and insight from Mary Wilson, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight and Mos Def, among many others.