One of Motown and soul music's biggest assets, his career spanned just slightly more than 25 years, but those hits kept coming.  His many duets with Tammi Terrell, Kim Seston and Diana Ross all stood out as classics.  He wrote or co-wrote his own songs as well as many others, including "Dancin' in the Street" for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.  He redirected his musical style throughout his career based on his own life and the times he lived in.  His life was plagued with drug problems and bouts of depression. He was the son of an apostolic preacher with whom he constantly quarreled throughout his life.  The final tragedy came when his father shot him to death during an argument in their home on Sunday morning, April 1, 1984, one day before his 45th birthday.