John Legend performing at the Kennedy Center last night with the National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke conducting. Photo by Logan Coles, courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Nearly 40 years ago to this day, in its inaugural season, the Kennedy Center hosted legendary soul singer Marvin Gaye for a concert that was billed as a homecoming of sorts, though the Motown star had by then cut nearly all ties with his native D.C.. The event paired Gaye with the National Symphony Orchestra for a performance of his What’s Going On album, the seminal 1971 concept recording that spoke to the social ills that America was suffering at the time.

Though the concert was reportedly shaky at times, it has gone down as a major event in the Kennedy Center’s history. Last night, the venue revisited this milestone with a performer who is most clearly carrying Marvin Gaye’s mantle—nine-time Grammy winner John Legend.

Before getting to What’s Going On, played in its entirety, the concert featured a first act in which Legend teamed up with soul revivalists, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. The 9-piece band, along with four backing vocalists and the two leads, explored the classic duets of Gaye and Tammi Terrell, who enjoyed several hits in the mid-’60s. The partnership came to a tragic end in 1967, when Terrell collapsed on stage into Gaye’s arms, the result of a brain tumor that led to her death in 1970, just short of her 25th birthday. Terrell’s illness and passing led to a period of semi-retirement for Gaye, which only came to an end with his performance at the Kennedy Center.

John Legend performing with Sharon Jones last night at the Kennedy Center. Photo by Logan Coles, courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Legend took the stage at the start, looking dapper in a simple black suit, and launched into “Heard It Through The Grapevine”, showing why he is the perfect artist to step into Gaye’s shoes. Like Gaye, Legend’s silky voice projects sensuality without any sense of vulgarity.An uptempo funk groove took over as Jones appeared, drawing cheers. If there’s anyone who has a personality large enough to pull off a blinding gold-sequined dress, Jones is that person, and she has the voice to match. The first set included hits like “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, but the two vocalists truly shined on lesser known cuts such as “If I Could Build My Whole World Around You”. Throughout, Jones’ powerful voice proved a worthy foil to Legend’s easy-going delivery. The set closed with an uplifting rendition of “You’re All I Need To Get By”, which was among the last songs Terrell and Gaye recorded together.

After intermission, Legend took to the piano, backed by the National Symphony with conductor Steven Reineke. The signature conga part to “What’s Going On” started and the ensemble proceeded through the entire song cycle using the same orchestrations, by Joseph Joubert and Sam Shoup, that were used back in ’72. Like the album, the pieces were performed as a suite, with one song segueing to the next. For the most part, the performance carried the same vibe as the original recordings, with the exception of “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”, which was given a slightly more aggressive outro. Legend sounded fantastic throughout, but truly shined on the slower numbers. His emoting on “Wholy Holy” literally gave me goosebumps and sent shivers down my spine. All of the evening’s performers returned to the stage for the reprise of the title track, which also featured the show choir from the Ellington School of the Arts.

An unexpected highlight was the spoken word that was peppered throughout the evening. Marc Bamuthi Joseph was the evening’s host and dropped prose at key points. But it was the teenagers from the What’s Going On… NOW Media + Arts Youth Summit that truly shined. Their words on complex issues like environmental degradation, race relations and poverty were insightful, inspiring and nuanced, unlike the rhetoric we often hear in this government town. Perhaps if Congress took heed and listened to kids like these, What’s Going On‘s unfortunate and ongoing relevance would cease.

The Kennedy Center hosts another performance of What’s Going On…Now tonight at 8 p.m. The show is sold out, but it is definitely worth contacting the box office for last minute availability.