Where Marvin Gaye was fatally shot

Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr., in the family home at 2101 South Gramercy Place in Los Angeles on April 1, 1984 -- one day before what would have been his 45th birthday. The shooting occurred after a violent argument in which Marvin Sr. attacked his son, who had broken up the fight between his parents. Marvin Sr., who was later found to have a brain tumour that may have contributed to his behaviour, was charged with first-degree murder but the charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter after the diagnosis; he received a suspended sentence.

Marvin Gaye was one of the defining voices in the history of American popular music. His work for Motown in the 1960s -- 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine', 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'What's Going On' -- shaped the sound of soul music for decades. What's Going On (1971), which he produced against Motown's wishes, was a landmark of political and musical ambition. Sexual Healing (1982), recorded in Belgium after years of crisis, showed that his gift was intact even as his personal life was dissolving. He had returned to Los Angeles the previous year after years abroad.

The house at 2101 South Gramercy Place is a private residence with no official designation. The address is in a quiet residential neighbourhood in southwest Los Angeles. For Marvin Gaye fans, the location carries the weight of one of American music's most senseless endings -- an artist of that magnitude, killed in his parents' home the day before his birthday, by his own father.