Marvin Gaye, the Motown legend famous for songs like “Mercy Mercy Me,” is about to get his own post office.
House lawmakers are expected next week to vote on legislation naming a Los Angeles post office after the soul singer. The post office at 4040 West Washington Boulevard in L.A. is the one that would be renamed.
The bill from Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., is backed by more than a dozen Democrats, and House Republican leaders have scheduled it for a quick vote. Bills naming post offices after people are typically fast-tracked in the House and don’t face any opposition.
Gaye was born in Washington, D.C. in 1939, and worked with other Motown legends like Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” was one of his hits from the 1960s.
On his own in the 1970s, he addressed social and political themes with songs like, “What’s Going On.” But he also scored with “Let’s Get It On,” a precursor of sorts to his 1980s hit “Sexual Healing.”
Gaye was killed in California by his father, who shot the singer after a fight.
