The Worst Most Clueless Tribute Performance of All Time

This will be very short. None of it is a joke. I am deadly serious about it. 99% of it is tragic. 1% of it is inspirational and amazing.

Just know that for an extremely short time Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrelle were the greatest duet team ever and for an extremely short time everything about it was truly beautiful.

For that very short time, that very tragic man had hope and acted better than he ever did in his life. Because of her. In that video: No one is acting. No one is showing off. No one is competing. Nothing is plotted. There is nothing but mutual love and respect.

Watch this, but please only watch it once and then never again, because some people love it, but it is my intent to PROVE to you that it is the most CLUELESS thing of all time. People will say it affirmed real music. I will say that perhaps it DESTROYED real music FOREVER.

1. This is from “Motown 30: What’s Going On.” It aired in 1990. At the truly legendary and epic Motown 25, Marvin Gaye sang “What’s Going On.” It aired in 1983. So mathematically, I don’t even understand this performance.
2. Its alleged intent was to pay tribute to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. In no way does it do that or even understand Marvin Gaye or Tammi Terrell. I don’t care what else Michael Bolton or Patti LaBelle ever did either together or apart, but my assumption is that when you pay tribute to something that you do so.
3. Look how close Marvin and Tammi are to each other at all times in their video. Look how far apart those two are for most of their video.
4. Remember what I said above about why you should love and pay tribute to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. “No one is acting. No one is showing off. No one is competing. Nothing is plotted.” Every single one of those things is VIOLATED by those two in that performance.
5. Go to that video’s YouTube page and read the 225 nearly unanimous, clueless comments. 586 likes and 27 – oops just now it changed, 28 dislikes!
6. Indeed nearly all of those comments discuss a battle of epic proportions. They love Patti. They have a newfound respect for Michael. The more they show off, the more impressed the audience was.
7. No one alive is going to attempt to say that Michael Bolton can compare to Marvin Gaye so that is not there. What is there are a lot of people talking about how much Patti Labelle kicks Tammi Terrell’s ass. I don’t think that is true in any way. If you do, fine, but the time to show that certainly is not while you are paying TRIBUTE to her!
8. The first song they sing is “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real  Thing.” That isn’t the real thing. Thank God, it was never the real thing. Don’t ever  let anyone tell you it was or is the real thing.
9. I’ve sort of made a pledge to not write anything hostile about musical opinions that I have about things I have despised because they aren’t very productive. But I despise this performance perhaps more than any other performance ever, and my level of hostility about it is endless!
10. Feel free to own anything that exists by either Michael or Patti and love them if you want, but try to spend 5 minutes understanding why Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell were the greatest singing duo ever and try to understand why they were so deserving of a TRIBUTE and try to understand why that was in no way a TRIBUTE, much less the one that they DESERVED.

Aretha Franklin just died, and she could have explained that to you. Had she been so inclined she could have taken Patti’s place and fought Patti on those terms and knocked her out in 15 seconds. Aretha Franklin would have never done that especially not during a tribute to Tammi Terrell.

What she could have likely  done was  pay proper tribute to the best singing duo of all time all by herself.

In fact, here is Aretha Franklin paying tribute to Martin Luther King at his funeral. At no time is she competing or showing off, it is all heartfelt.

If you spend that 5 minutes learning about Tammi Terrell, you will find out that only one person related to Motown was allowed at her funeral. It was Marvin Gaye who gave her eulogy, and he did not sing. He spoke, probably quietly, as one on their songs played.

Read this about Tammi Terrell. The Brilliant Life of Tammi Terrell

What you will find there is that Tammi Terrell was constantly abused by very famous, talented male singers.

Know that Marvin Gaye was a very famous, talented male singer who could be abusive.

Understand that Marvin Gaye’s best moments as a human being were because of Tammi Terrell. Know that for a very short time his life was transformed by Tammi Terrell, and that he would have died in the most grotesque fashion, humanly possible after that to keep her from ever being abused again.

Know that Marvin Gaye had very few truly joyous moments in his time on earth and almost none on stage. Know that all of his few, most joyous moments were either onstage with, or because of Tammi Terrell.

Know that Marvin Gaye, after she passed, probably never had another truly joyous moment in his life because she passed.

All of that deserves a tribute. Someone demand a proper tribute to it!