Tag Archives: serendipity

Ironically, the results of mistakes often end up to be far more interesting than those of hard work. Marvin Gaye’s 1970 hit “What’s Going On” serves as one of those miraculous examples of serendipity. During the recording sessions a rather fortunate accident occurred. The singer had recorded two alternate takes of the lead-vocals that were one octave apart. When the artist asked the sound engineer on duty, Ken Sands, to play these two tracks for him, the technician unwittingly played them simultaneously in mono. The unintended result was a duet between the singer and himself