Marvin Gaye and David Ruffin

I say Little Richard, James Brown, a mix of David Ruffin and Marvin for sure.
R.I.P. J-DILLA 1974-2006.

^^Agreed, definetely a mix of Marvin Gaye, Paul Williams of the Temptations, James Brown, Otis Redding, Garrett Strong and Jackie Wilson.
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Marvin Gaye, Paul Williams and Garrett Strong

Wilson Pickett
niles513

ames Brown, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, (list goes on) never was in a true slumpi.e. 'needing a new sound'. We suffered from too many great artists who died early during that era.
I think that his character was partially based of of Marvin Gaye. Add up all the factors:
Marvin did try a new sound. He wanted more politically conscious songs like Mercy Mercy Me and What's going on compared to Jimmy Early's Patience.
He fought Berry Gordy for the release of those songs. Berry Gordy thought that a message song would be too offensive and wouldn't make any money.
Even though it's not what eventually killed him, he did have a drug addiction.
He also cheated on his wife with a much younger woman/girl. He eventually left his wife for her. She was actually a teenager at the time.
Also compare Jimmy Early's last performance to some of Marvin Gaye's last performances such as sexual healing. The way they looked, acted and dressed were practically the same. If I'm not mistaken, I think I even remember Marvin Gaye taking off his shirt during one of his last performances. You know Berry Gordy wasn't going for that.
This is not to say that he was completely based off of Marvin Gaye but there are some similarities.
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Yeah, it was a combination of different folks including Little Richard, though only from the 'I was the originator' aspect of the character. None of the others boosted starting anything. There really wasn't a single artist in that area that was identical to Jimmy. James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, (list goes on) never was in a true slumpi.e. 'needing a new sound'. We suffered from too many great artists who died early during that era.

and Paul Williams

I always suspected he was a microcosm. I noticed elements of James Brown, Marvin Gaye and some Otis Redding.

i read somewhere that his character was inspired by james brown, marvin gaye and jackie wilson.

I go for James Brown, definately not Marvin Gaye

i assumed he was portraying marvin gaye

I think he was loosely based on James Brown.
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He's kinda like a combination of Jackie Wilson and James Brown.
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