Marvin Gaye Death Location — 2101 S Gramercy Place, Los Angeles

On April 1, 1984 — the day before his 45th birthday — Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr., at the family home at 2101 South Gramercy Place in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. The shooting followed a violent argument between father and son. Marvin Gay Sr. was charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter after a medical examination revealed a brain tumour; he received a suspended sentence and probation. The death of one of the greatest voices in American music, at the hands of his own father, in the house he had bought for his parents, remains one of the most tragic events in music history.

Marvin Gaye had been living at the Gramercy Place house with his parents during a period of personal crisis — struggling with cocaine addiction, depression, and paranoia after years of creative triumphs. He had recorded 'What's Going On' (1971), 'Let's Get It On' (1973), and 'I Want You' (1976) as a Motown artist before a difficult period that included exile in Europe. His final album, Midnight Love (1982), produced the hit 'Sexual Healing' and suggested a creative resurgence, but his personal life continued to deteriorate.

The house at 2101 S Gramercy Place was demolished in 2015 and replaced with a new structure. There is no formal memorial at the site, though the address is documented in every biography of Gaye. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Marvin Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.