As promised, this is part two of my “Stevie Trifecta” in honor of his 70th birthday a couple days ago. It was supposed to be posted yesterday, but you know…life! I thought a lot yesterday about how I wanted to frame this post, and I’ve decided to separate this entry into sections. As I said in my previous post on him, his discography is huge. He is one of the most prolific artists ever, with albums spanning over five decades. Throughout all of those releases, he tackled diverse topics; however, the core themes of love, joy, faith, equality, pride, and peace are consistently found throughout his catalog. This entry will simply highlight examples of these particular themes throughout his discography.
Stevie The Lover
There are countless examples of “love songs” by Stevie that I could include in this section, including “I Love Every Little Thing About You”, but since I posted that in my first birthday entry, I’ll start out with his quintessential love song, “As” (I know an argument could be made for “Ribbon In The Sky”, but hear me out):
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky
Until the ocean covers every mountain high
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream
Until the day is night and night becomes the day
Until the trees and seas just up and fly away
Until the day that eight times eight times eight is four
Until the day that is the day that I’m no more
Until the day the earth starts turning right to left
Until the earth just for the sun denies itself
Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through
Until the day that you are me and I am you
I remember breaking it down for her by explaining to her that these are all things that will never happen. So, in essence, he is saying that he will never stop loving her. He is assuring his lover that he will love her until these things happen. In other words, he will always love her, hence the refrain of the word “always” throughout the chorus of the song (when I was younger, I actually thought the name of the song was “Always” because of this). Genius.
Stevie The Activist
Honorable Mention: “Happy Birthday” from Hotter Than July, which was his tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the theme song of his advocacy for making Dr. King’s birthday a nationally recognized holiday. (It’s also the unofficial birthday song for Black America. Haha)
Stevie The Party
Honorable Mention(s): “Boogie On Reggae Woman” from Fulfillingness’ First Finale
“I Wish” and “Another Star” from Songs In The Key Of Life
“Go Home” from In Square Circle
Stevie The Faithful
Homorable Mention: “Have A Talk With God” from Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie The Prodigy
One thing I have always gotten a kick out of doing is reading liner notes in album covers. I spent a lot of time doing that as a kid. I also loved examining the cover art, especially on the inside, but that’s another entry. Album liner notes were and are of interest to me so that I can see who wrote what, who was singing backgrounds, who played what instrument, etc. “Produced and Arranged by Stevie Wonder” or some variation of that phrase can be found on almost all of Stevie’s albums, as well as “All Instruments Played by Stevie Wonder”. The man is just gifted. If he was not playing an instrument on his albums, he definitely wrote and arranged how it was played. I think a lot of people mainly associate him with the piano and/or keyboard, as he often performs while playing one or the other, but he’s also a gifted drummer and innovator of the use of synthesizers in popular music. Then there is also his trademark harmonica playing. So, all of this: his vocals, songwriting, arranging, producing, and activism, make him a true one of a kind artist.
Author’s Note: The final part of my celebration of Stevie Wonder’s 70th birthday, which will focus on Stevie’s impact on other artists, will be posted later today!
Very well written and explained! I agree with your choices regarding “Stevie the Lover, Stevie the Activist, and Stevie the Party.” Stevie the Party- Do I Do, is my JAM! Yes! Love the tempo and musicianship as well as the lyrics. Love how he wants to know if his love-interest feels the same way he does when she sees him. It’s a classic that gets me moving everytime.
❤🎶❤
I knew you would appreciate “Do I Do” being included. 😉 Great observation about the lyrics too.
Yes, I, too, love “As” & believe it’s one of Stevie’s best love songs. It’s one of those songs you can’t stop listening or singing to when it comes on, even though it’s a long one. 😃 Also, “Ribbon in the Sky” is debatably one of his best love songs. The lyrics are nice, but the production/arrangement is more attractive to me.
Another thing, I appreciate you pointing out how well-rounded Steve’s music is. People really do need to listen to his lyrics & not just see him as a singing pianist. Like you said, he has music about love ❤, spiritualism 🙏🏼, activism ✊🏼, partying💃🏽 & may I add that the man has music about music 🎼🎵🎶 (ie: “Sir Duke”). Hellooooo?!?!?! “Sir Duke”, people!!! 🙌🏼
By the way, “Sir Duke” is probably my favorite Stevie song. 😉😏
Oh yeah, I was that chick in high school that kept covers of CDs, too. I used them to protect & organize my CDs in my CD book. However, mostly, learning about the music I loved was interesting to me. Finding out who produced, wrote or sung songs were something I cherished & wanted to acknowledge. As controversial as Kanye West is, that’s a huge reason why I appreciate him. His name is on a lot of projects that people love. Also, finding out about samples in those CD covers was a nice surprise for me. 💿🙂
I enjoyed this entry, Ash. 😊
Re: “Sir Duke”, you’ve gotta love a legend who makes music about the music legends that came before him. 😉 And yes, I remember the CD covers days, lol…and your big black case(s). Very true about Kanye too.
Glad you enjoyed the entry!