What's Going On — Marvin Gaye (1971)

Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' spent 5 weeks at #1 on the R&B chart, challenging Motown head Berry Gordy, who initially refused to release it, calling it 'the worst thing he had ever heard.' The 1971 title track from Gaye's concept album sold over 2 million copies and addressed Vietnam War, poverty, and police brutality with unprecedented musical sophistication. Rolling Stone ranked the album #1 on its 2020 Greatest Albums list, while the song reached #2 on the Hot 100—narrowly missing #1 Aretha Franklin's 1967 achievement but becoming the fastest-selling Motown single at the time, with over 100,000 copies sold in its first week.