Essentials by the Dozen — Stevie Wonder in 12 Tracks

With respect to Stevie Wonder, if you’ve ever made statements worthy of a solid facepalm, such as “He’s that blind guy that made ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’ and ‘Ebony and Ivory’”, or found yourself listening in on some conversation that had you asking “Did Stevie Wonder ever make anything as good as ‘Superstition’?”, then this next list should serve as a good starting point if you wish to expand your knowledge on one of music’s most creative minds.

[NOTE: This list is not a definite top 12 of Stevie Wonder’s all-time greatest songs. Rather, it should be viewed as a strong collection in his catalogue that would essentially allow to have an efficient overview of his entire career. As a Stevie Wonder fan myself, I also firmly believe that you should at the very least know every single one of these songs if you ever wish to debate the brilliance of his music. If at the moment you do not, RELAX, SIT BACK & ENJOY THE MAGIC OF R&B.]

1. Uptight (Everything’s Alright) (1965)

By 1963, a year in which the singer was still referred to as “Little Stevie”, Stevie Wonder already had a number-one Billboard hit. He was thirteen years old and still holds the record today for being the youngest solo artist to ever top the charts. Stevie Wonder proved to be tremendously prolific from the very start, and at the age of fifteen, he released “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)”, a quality example of what the singer was able to produce in his adolescent years. It’s quite funny to think there was a time during which people worried the artist would no longer prove relevant as he reached adulthood. Although his music was very much impressive and soulful from the get-go, it was not even close to the tour de force career which would develop in the following decade.

Great Moment:

“Baby, everything is all right

Uptight, out of sight”

2. For Once in My Life (1968)

Not only is “For Once in My Life” amongst the most uplifting songs ever recorded, but it also remains notable for a variety of reasons. For starters, it was initially written as a slow ballad; to provide an idea of just how slow this entailed, Tony Bennett had immediately covered it in 1967. Stevie Wonder thankfully put his own spin on it, and the result was an upbeat track with an up-tempo arrangement that slapped hard. Another interesting fact is that Wonder’s version (originally recorded in the Summer of 1967) was totally disregarded for an entire year by Motown record producer Berry Gordy Jr., for he did not truly see any appeal to it. Upon release in 1968, it peaked at number two on the charts. One last notable piece of information I wish to mention involves the song’s bassist James Jamerson who, though an uncredited bassist for too long a time, is often cited as amongst the greatest to ever play the instrument. The musician truly proved himself a godly bass player on “For Once in My Life”, for there are no two music bars in the entire song that are played the same way, and to have a good understanding of what this entails, I highly recommend any YouTube video that isolates James Jamerson from the remainder of the track.

Great Moment:

“For once, I can say

This is mine, you can’t take it

As long as I know I have love I can make it

For once in my life

I have someone who needs me”

3. We Can Work It Out (1971)

It was impossible for me not to add this track on the list of essentials. If ever anyone wishes to grasp the real reasons a singer should be thought of as exceptional (rather than scrutinize whether or not the artist’s vocal cords near perfection, which is surely an impressive feat, nonetheless), one should instead be telling themselves, with respect to a given artist: “There is nobody else in the world I would rather have sing this particular song.” Due to my self-labelling as a deranged Beatles fan, in my lifetime, I have heard very few cover versions of a Beatles song that I deemed to be even worthy of a listen when compared with the original. Stevie Wonder’s version of “We Can Work It Out” not only proves itself as worthy of a listen, but I also admit it might be the only time any artist ever managed to surpass the original Beatles recording. MIGHT be. Go hear both, and judge for yourselves.

Great Moment:

“Think of what you’re saying

You can get it wrong and still you think that it’s alright

Think of what I’m saying

We can work it out and get it straight, or say good night

We can work it out! We can work it out!”

4. Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) (1972)

Music of My Mind is the album that many believe to have kicked off the classic period for which Stevie Wonder came to be known. Whereas his earliest period entailed Motown hits and his final period somewhat came across as being oversentimental, his middle period brimmed with a visionary string of astounding albums, all released within relatively short time frames from one another in the 1970’s. “Superwoman” is the highlight of Music of My Mind and provides but a slight taste of the glorious music that was yet to arrive.

Great Moment:

“When the summer came, you were not around

Now the summer’s gone and love cannot be found

Where were you when I needed you

Last winter, my love?”

5. Superstition (1972)

Simply put, this is the quintessential Stevie Wonder song. That funk riff has got to be amongst the most recognizable in the history of popular music. A friend of mine, who is not an enormous funk admirer, criticizes the genre for dragging on in length, singling out “Superstition” as a good example of this. So, he’s wrong. No funk song, especially not one as creatively phenomenal as “Superstition”, should place importance on its time frame. Rather, the beats to these songs should sound as if they indeed can go on forever, and this is exactly what Stevie Wonder accomplishes here. Released off his following album Talking Book, a landmark in soul music, the track is once again the highlight of the album, and although I find myself unable to place more of its songs on this list, I highly recommend music lovers discover more of them on their own once the list of essentials is dealt with.

Great Moment (at the 3:00 mark):

“Thirteen-month-old baby

Broke the looking glass

Seven years of bad luck

The good things in your past

When you believe in things

That you don’t understand

Then you suffer

Superstition ain’t the way!”

6. Living for the City (1973)

Revisiting Stevie Wonder’s catalog is such a genuine thrill. His album Innervisions is so complete and flawless, every single one of its songs deserves multiple listens. More so than the highly acclaimed “Higher Ground”, I believe “Living for the City” to represent the very peak of the album. Every single detail of Wonder’s artistry seems to be superbly represented on this one, from his wide vocal range and extraordinary interpretation to the beat, synthesizer, handclaps and background vocals, all provided by none other than multi-instrumentalist Wonder himself. The lyrics prove ridiculously powerful as well, and the whole is very much one enormous diverting experience.

Great Moment:

“Her brother’s smart, he’s got more sense than many

His patience’s long, but soon he won’t have any

To find a job is like a haystack needle

Cause where he lives, they don’t use colored people

Living just enough, just enough for the city!”

7. Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing (1973)

This was the one that did it for me. When I was in secondary four, at the age of sixteen, I went through a Stevie Wonder phase during which I became familiar with most of his body of work. Although my ears enjoyed pretty much everything they were being fed from the musical prodigy, “Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing” was my favourite, the song I endlessly played when I was at my happiest, the song I will forever remember as being my personal motive to elevate Stevie Wonder over every other soul/funk/R&B artist that came before him. The man could honestly do anything, and with this track, he proved he could even take on Latin soul and still emerge as the supreme monarch of the genre.

Great Moment:

“Everybody needs a change

A chance to check out the new

But you’re the only one to see

The changes you take yourself through

But don’t you worry ‘bout a thing!

Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing, pretty mama!”

8. Boogie on Reggae Woman (1974)

“Can I play?” Wonder absurdly asks a couple of times throughout this track, for the answer is a definite “Please do”. Neither a boogie tune nor a reggae one, “Boogie on Reggae Woman” is another exemplary exploit of the funk genre, and it feels like some medical remedy, as if my ears are being fed life upon being fully immersed in its groove. Released on the fourth of Wonder’s five-classic-album streak, this track is as pleasurable as anyone would hope from the genre, and it greatly inspires feelings of joy and optimism. The album’s name is Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and as much as the Grammy Awards are total nonsense, there’s a humorous quote associated with it having won Album of the Year. In the years 1973 and 1974, Stevie Wonder won for Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale respectively, causing Paul Simon to thank the legend in his own acceptance speech for NOT releasing an album in 1975 when he won that year for Still Crazy After All These Years. The following year, in 1976, Stevie Wonder would win a third time with his magnum opus Songs in the Key of Life.

Great Moment:

“So, boogie on reggae woman

What is wrong with me?

Boogie on reggae woman,

Baby, can’t you see?”

9. Love’s in Need of Love Today (1976)

The song that serves as the opener to one of the most commendable achievements in 20th century music, an album appropriately entitled Songs in the Key of Life, which would enter the famed pantheon if for the laudable title alone, is “Love’s in Need of Love Today”. Thankfully, the album is more than just its exquisitely given title, and every single one of its songs feels like a great tidal wave of buoyancy that never fails to revive in me a great passion for life. I am aware this might sound intense, but I truly mean every word of it and genuinely hope there is some music out there (whether it be Stevie Wonder or anyone else) that makes you feel similarly because I won’t lie to you, it’s a pretty amazing feeling. While discovering Stevie Wonder on my own at the age of sixteen, one classmate of mine — cheery amiable guy named Thien who moved to the unfortunate city of Toronto to pursue dentistry — lent me a copy of his Songs in the Key of Life, insisting it was all anyone needed at the time. The very moment Stevie Wonder uttered the verse “Good morn’ or evenin’ friends”, my heart immediately sank, I knew he was right, and the rest was history.

Great Moment:

“You know that hate’s goin’ round

Hate’s goin’ round… Hate’s goin’ round in a trial

Breakin’ up many hearts

You’ve got to, I’ve got to, they’ve got to

We’ve got to, they’ve got to, we’ve got to

Stop before it’s gone too far”

10. Isn’t She Lovely (1976)

Having decided to only include one of the album’s biggest hits on this list of essentials, I went with “Isn’t She Lovely”, which is so insanely jovial, it exponentially widens my smile at the thought of a nonexistent daughter of mine my nonexistent wife still has yet to conceive. Along with all the song’s instruments, Stevie Wonder’s harmonica carves such an inordinately heartfelt feeling in me, and even those final minutes of the song during which us listeners are given a glimpse of the interactions Wonder had with his own daughter Aisha never once feel inessential to the jubilation felt on the track. If anyone ever doubted just how joyous this man truly was, one should look no further than a song like “Isn’t She Lovely”.

Great Moment:

“Isn’t she pretty?

Truly the angel’s best

Boy, I’m so happy

We have been Heaven-blessed

I can’t believe what God has done

Through us, He’s given life to one

But isn’t she lovely made from love?”

11. Summer Soft (1976)

As is the case for many of these lists I concoct, I am adding a song like this as an example of a lesser-known track one can discover amid an artist’s classic period, proving how many breathtaking stones can still very well be shrouded within a hilltop of diamonds. A few years following the obsession I developed for Songs in the Key of Life, at the age of nineteen, I was out of high school, and although my friend Thien and I occasionally chatted with one another in Cégep, our paths were no longer intertwining as much as they used to, which is simply the reality of things. Out of nowhere, an announcement on the radio informed me that the legendary Stevie Wonder was to come perform his double album at the Bell Centre in its entirety and, wanting to pay back my friend for the gift he so happily bestowed on me all those years prior, I immediately called Thien to see if he was interested. Without hesitation, the tickets were purchased, and the entire experience (the last time the both of us ever hung out before departing to separate universities), was both riveting and memorable. Wonder brimmed of energy the entire evening, and he played a variety of his hits following the conclusion of the double album. The concert lasted nearly four hours, and the running joke of the night was that he unfortunately never had the chance to look at the time to know when it was time to end. Bad taste? Lighten up. It’s just a joke, and I’m sure Stevie Wonder himself would laugh.

Great Moment:

“You find it’s October

And she’s gone

And she’s gone

Summer’s gone

You’ve been fooled by April

And he’s gone

And he’s gone

Winter’s gone”

12. Master Blaster (Jammin’) (1980)

By this point, Stevie Wonder’s “classic period” had officially ended. He went on to release a few albums more over the next few decades, but none would prove as spectacular as the profusion of material he released in the 70’s. Nonetheless, he accomplished quite a number of feats during this later period of his as well, which included advocating a national holiday to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., winning an Oscar and wholly creating the soundtrack to a Spike Lee film. “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” is a good example of what the artist was able to record after his prime had left him. It is a hell of a track to which I can jam for hours on end (no pun intended), and it was still miles ahead of so many contemporary R&B artists who only wished they could have released such a tune. A few years back, Beyoncé had performed a tribute to Stevie Wonder’s music, starting with “Fingertips”, continuing with “Master Blaster” and ending with “Higher Ground”. I admit I am not a huge fan of her work, but it’s always enjoyable to watch present-day musicians (in this case Beyoncé, who made my respect level for her rise exponentially with that performance) pay tribute in the most jaw-dropping of ways to a bygone artist, and I seriously recommend giving it a watch. I choose to mention this here for two reasons: one, I’ll probably never have the chance to ever bring this up in an article again, and two, to demonstrate just how much Wonder was admired by and proved influential on so many generations that followed.

Great Moment:

“Didn’t know you

Would be jammin’ until the break of dawn

I bet nobody ever told you that you

Would be jammin’ until the break of dawn

You would be jammin’ and jammin’ and jammin’, jam on”

BONUS:

1. “Fingertips”

2. “My Cherie Amour”

3. “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)”

4. “Tuesday Heartbreak”

5. “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”

6. “Too High”

7. “Higher Ground”

8. “Ngiculela — Es Una Historia — I Am Singing”

9. “If It’s Magic”

10. “Part-Time Lover”

Disclaimer: The original version of this story was published on another platform. Link to original version: https://medium.com/@gabriele_delbusso/essentials-by-the-dozen-stevie-wonder-in-12-tracks-55a5574f3de1