Wikipedia
Trouble Man is a 1972 Soul Cinema Classic film produced and released by 20th Century-Fox. The film stars Robert Hooks as "Mr. T.", a hard-edged private detective who tends to take justice into his own hands. It is still of note today for its successful soundtrack, written, produced and performed by Motown artist Marvin Gaye.
(Hooks' character is often referred to as the "Original Mr. T", to distinguish him from the real-life actor of the same name.)
Like Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield before him, Gaye became the next in a line of soul music stars who recorded soundtracks for films aimed at African American audiences. The Trouble Man soundtrack and single became successes for Gaye.
Trouble Man is a soundtrack and twelfth studio album by American soul singer Marvin Gaye, released on December 8, 1972, on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. As the soundtrack to the 1972 Blaxploitation film of the same name, the Trouble Man soundtrack was a more contemporary move for Gaye, following his landmark politically charged album What's Going On.
"Trouble Man" is a song composed and written by American recording artist Marvin Gaye released on the Motown subsidiary, Tamla, in November of 1972.
The song was the title track and theme of the Soul Cinema Classic film of the same name. Relating the song to the travails of the movie's leading character, named "Mister T", and also relating to issues in his private life, Marvin called it one of the most honest recordings he ever made. Gaye played drums and piano on the record as well as performing all the vocals himself, in which he sings most of the song in falsetto while reaching a gospel-styled growl during the bridges of the song.
The performances of the song during Marvin's later concerts became one of his highlights during his 1970s and early 1980s tours. The song was also used as two instrumental "theme songs" on the accompanying album, in which Marvin played synthesizers to accompany saxophone solos from his musicians. Marvin also recorded a slightly different version of the song primarily for the movie's opening, in which he sang in both tenor and falsetto.
The album version of the song was the only one released as a single in November 1972 where it became a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 reaching number seven on that chart in January 1973. The song became one of Marvin's signature songs for the remainder of his life and would later be the basis of a biography and would be a sort of nickname/alias for Gaye.
It was featured on the soundtrack for the video game Driver: Parallel Lines. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the films Four Brothers, Seven and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
T.I's album, Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head, is made after Marvin Gaye's song and on his first track, T.I samples Marvin's voice in the song.
Trouble Man can mean:
- Trouble Man (film), a 1972 Soul Cinema Classic film
- Trouble Man (album), the film soundtrack album by Marvin Gaye
- "Trouble Man" (song), a song composed and written by Marvin Gaye and the theme for the film
- Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head, a 2012 album by American rapper T.I.
- Trouble Man, a 2010 album by Robert Aaron