MARVIN GAYE: SEXUAL HEALER MAKES OUT JUST FINE

I never consciously decided that Marvin Gaye is my favorite male singer. Like the unassuming rhythms and casual grooves of his early records ("Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" and "Pride And Joy," to name only two), like the smooth insinuation of his late-'60s monster hit, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," like the almost subliminal power of his 1977 disco smash, "Got To Give It Up," and most of all, like his subtle, seemingly offhand vocals, the fact of Marvin Gaye's primacy in my personal pantheon sneaked up on me.