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"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" is a song by Marvin Gaye, released as the third and final single from his 1971 landmark album, What's Going On. The song was written by Gaye and James Nyx Jr. and produced by Gaye himself. It was recorded in March 1971 at Hitsville USA (Studio A) in a mellow funk style with Gaye playing piano. Several of the Funk Brothers also contributed, including Eddie "Bongo" Brown, and bassist Bob Babbitt.
The song depicts the ghettos and bleak economic situations of inner-city America, and the emotional effects these have on inhabitants. In 1998, co-writer James Nyx Jr. recalled, "Marvin had a good tune, sort of blues-like, but didn't have any words for it. We started putting some stuff in there about how rough things were around town. We laughed about putting lyrics in about high taxes, 'cause both of us owed a lot. And we talked about how the government would send guys to the moon, but not help folks in the ghetto. But we still didn't have a name, or really a good idea of the song. Then, I was home reading the paper one morning, and saw a headline that said something about the 'inner city' of Detroit. And I said, 'Damn, that's it. 'Inner City Blues'" .
The song was released as a single on Tamla label on October 14, 1971. It helped Gaye make history by being one of the few artists to have three or more Top 10 songs off Billboard's Pop Singles chart peaking at #9 and one of the first to have three consecutive #1 hits on Billboard's R&B Singles chart where it stayed for two weeks. Although not certified by the RIAA at that time, all three releases from the What's Going On album gained Gold status by selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States.
The song has been covered by several artists including Sarah Vaughan, The Chi-Lites, The Impressions, Grover Washington Jr., and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Guru. It was also featured in the HBO Sports Documentary A City on Fire: The Story of the '68 Detroit Tigers.
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