This Day in History: Marvin Gaye Is Shot and Killed by His Own Father April 1, 1984 Gaye's father — Rev. Marvin Gaye Sr. — shot and killed the Prince of Soul three times in the chest following a physical dispute between the two. It was a day before the soul icon's 45th birthday. Despite winning his first Grammy for "Sexual Healing" just a year before, Gaye was struggling with debt, depression and substance abuse. He had recently moved in with his father and mother. Gaye and his father had a difficult and complicated relationship since Gaye was a boy. According to Gaye's brother, Frankie — who held the singer in his arms as he died — his final words were, “I got what I wanted ... I couldn’t do it myself, so I made him do it.”
