number 4 on the Rolling Stone list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", making it the highest Marvin Gaye song on the list. It was ranked number 6 in Rolling Stone's 2021 edition of the list. In 2016, it was voted number 2 in "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs", a project based on voting by music experts and the public, conducted by the Detroit Free Press. In 1999, music writers Paul Gambaccini and Kevin Howlett listed the song number 74 on BBC Radio 2's Songs of the Century. In 2003, Q magazine placed the song 64th out of its 1001 Best Songs Ever. In 2004, the Detroit publication Metro Times named it the "Greatest Detroit Song of All Time" out of 100 songs on the list. It also reached number 14 on VH1's 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. In March 2012, New Musical Express named it the number 33 Greatest 1970s song on their list. The song topped Detroit's Metro Times list of the 100 Greatest Detroit Songs of All Time, and in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the fourth-greatest song of all time; in its updated 2011 list, the song remained at that position. It is included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list, along with two other songs by the singer. It was also listed at number fourteen on VH-1's 100 Greatest Rock Songs. Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications Accolades Personnel Marvin Gaye – lead and backing vocals, piano and box drum Backing vocals by Marvin Gaye, Mel Farr, Lem Barney, Elgie Stover, Kenneth Stover, Bobby Rogers, and the Funk Brothers Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra including: Eli Fountain – alto saxophone Robert White – guitar James Jamerson – bass Chet Forest – drums Eddie "Bongo" Brown – bongos, congas Jack Ashford – tambourine, percussion Production Marvin Gaye – producer, composer Renaldo "Obie" Benson – composer Al Cleveland – composer David Van De Pitte – arranger Steve Smith – recording engineer Mike McLean – recording engineer Ken Sands – recording and mix engineer Cyndi Lauper version Cyndi Lauper covered "What's Going On" on her second album, True Colors, in 1986. In March 1987, it was released as the third single from the album. On the album version, the song starts off with a series of gunshots in reference to