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David Ritz is a pioneer of the collaborative autobiography, helping to write celebrated memoirs by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Marvin Gaye. He has also been nominated for a Grammy numerous times for his liner notes, and won the Grammy for Best Album Notes for his work on Aretha Franklin’s Queen of Soul.
How the song emerged from Gaye’s struggles with faith, drug addiction, and childhood abuse.
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For National Poetry Month, sign up for our newsletter and get a digital copy of our out-of-print chapbook Poems for Political Disaster.