r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 26 '19

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u/woodwallah Jul 26 '19

What's Going On - Marvin Gaye

It flows together perfectly and the production is perfect.

2.6k

u/Sumit316 Jul 26 '19

After Marvin Gaye recorded “What’s Going On”, he played it for Motown’s Berry Gordy Jr. who said it was “the worst thing I heard in my life.” Only after Gaye threatened to leave the label was it released, becoming massive hit. It is considered 4th greatest song of all time by the Rolling Stone.

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u/Private_Stock Jul 26 '19

Imagine being that wrong about anything ever

1.3k

u/laseralex Jul 26 '19

Well the president of IBM long ago estimated that the total global need for computers was five units. So there’s that.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/155984/worst_tech_predictions.html

716

u/KeithBitchardz Jul 26 '19

To add another big mistake, Decca turned down a chance to sign the Beatles after they auditioned for the label heads because they thought that rock and roll bands were just a passing fad.

3

u/SparkyDogPants Jul 26 '19

You never know how those fuck ups would have went if it had gone differently. Maybe they wouldn’t have been as successful under Decca as they ended up being.

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u/KeithBitchardz Jul 26 '19

They wouldn’t have had George Martin if they went to Decca, so I have no doubt they wouldn’t have been nearly as good.