Speaker 1: Weds Up music heads, Welcome back to Crash Course Spot.
Speaker 1: I hope you didn't think I was gonna leave you hanging,
Speaker 1: of course not. Quick tip. Maybe when there's two episodes
Speaker 1: released back to back in a single day, then just
Speaker 1: know that it's two weeks that I will be in Maya.
Speaker 1: So I try to do that. I try to give
Speaker 1: you two episodes when I know I'm gonna miss a week.
Speaker 1: That way you can pace yourselves and eat even when
Speaker 1: I'm not serving. Anyways, welcome back. I've missed you guys.
Speaker 1: But let's get into this week. We aren't just taking
Speaker 1: on a legend. We're diving into a literal musical universe. Today.
Speaker 1: We're celebrating the unparalleled talent, the ground breaking innovation, and
Speaker 1: the enduring spirit of mister Stevie Wonder. Yes, in case
Speaker 1: you miss that, we are talking about Stevie Wonder today
Speaker 1: and we're going deep from the child prodigy years to
Speaker 1: the classic period where he basically invented the future of sound.
Speaker 1: So grab your snacks and let's get into the journey.
Speaker 1: To understand the genius, you have to go back to Saginaw, Michigan,
Speaker 1: Yorn Steveland, Hardaway, Morris Morris, Why did I add a tea?
Speaker 1: Morris blind from birth? Despite that, the universe gave him
Speaker 1: a different kind of vision. By age eleven, he was
Speaker 1: mastering the piano, harmonica, and drums. So let's take a
Speaker 1: trip down memory lane. On The Ed Sullivan Show in
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three, it's amazing thirteen year old sing star
Speaker 1: Steedee wonders, Let's have a time now. How would Juta
Speaker 1: clap your hands? Stop doing anything that you want to do? It? Okay,
Speaker 1: So what you guys just heard was Fingertips Part two,
Speaker 1: recorded live. It was Motown's first live single to hit
Speaker 1: number one. But as Stevie grew up, the structured Motown
Speaker 1: sound started to feel like a cage. Before he was famous,
Speaker 1: or before his famous contract battle, he actually released an
Speaker 1: album called where I'm Coming From in nineteen seventy one.
Speaker 1: It was his first real attempt at total creative control.
Speaker 1: It didn't have the hits, but it was the blueprint
Speaker 1: for everything that followed. Then came the power move. At
Speaker 1: twenty one, Stevie Wonder let his contract expire. He had
Speaker 1: a million dollars in a childhood trust fund and used
Speaker 1: it as leverage to and away force Barry Gordy into
Speaker 1: a deal that gave Stevie Wonder total artistic and financial
Speaker 1: independence and most importantly, his own publishing. That move changed
Speaker 1: the industry forever. So now we're going to move into
Speaker 1: the Classic period, a symphony of innovation, and this is
Speaker 1: where things get revolutionary, and the classic period actually begins.
Speaker 1: Between nineteen seventy two and nineteen seventy six, Stevie Wonder
Speaker 1: went on a creative run that hasn't been matched in history,
Speaker 1: if I'm completely honest. Let's talk tech first. Stevie was
Speaker 1: a pioneer of the synthesizer. He met Malcolm Cecil and
Speaker 1: Robert Margolif Margolyph, the geniuses behind Tonto. If you're not familiar,
Speaker 1: Tonto is the original new tembrel orchestra. We're talking massive
Speaker 1: mogues and arps. It was a massive, semi circular wall
Speaker 1: of modules that Robert Magolph and Malcolm Cecil built, which
Speaker 1: gave Stevie those living sounds on Music of My Mind
Speaker 1: and talking book. Speaking of Music of my Mind, he
Speaker 1: didn't just use since as a gimmick. He made them organic.
Speaker 1: He programmed beats and textures way before MIDI, mi idi
Speaker 1: or pro tools existed. It on Talking Book, he gave
Speaker 1: us Superstition. Now here's a music head fact for you.
Speaker 1: Stevie Wonder actually wrote that song with Jeff Beck. Beck
Speaker 1: actually came up with that opening drum beat while y'all
Speaker 1: like during a jam session. Stevie originally intended for Beck
Speaker 1: to record it, but Barry Gordy heard the hit potential
Speaker 1: and insisted Stevie release his version first. And as you know,
Speaker 1: with a song Superstition, the rest is history. Then came
Speaker 1: Inner Visions and Fulfillingness first finale. Stevie was literal was
Speaker 1: a literal one man band. Here on tracks like Living
Speaker 1: for the City, that's Stevie on the drums, the moge,
Speaker 1: bass and the keys. He was blending heavy social commentary
Speaker 1: with funky, intricate grooves that he programmed himself way before.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna keep saying it. This is way before pro
Speaker 1: tools existed. And then in nineteen seventy six we have
Speaker 1: Songs in the Key of Life, a double platinum not platinum.
Speaker 1: Sorry I'm jumping ahead of myself, but it was a
Speaker 1: double album plus an EP. It's the everest of R
Speaker 1: and B. Sir Duke, I wish isn't she lovely? It's
Speaker 1: a masterclass in jazz, funk and pure pop perfection. I'm
Speaker 1: trying to sing. What do we want to talk about next?
Speaker 1: Let's talk about his legacy. Stevie's legacy isn't just about
Speaker 1: the twenty five Grammys or the Golden Records. It's about
Speaker 1: his heart and we absolutely have to talk about his
Speaker 1: tireless effort to establish Martin Luther King Junior Day as
Speaker 1: a national holiday. He didn't just support it, he was
Speaker 1: the engine behind it. Shall I say? His song Happy
Speaker 1: Birthday was the anthem for that movement, leading to the
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty one Rally for Peace that finally made the
Speaker 1: holiday a reality in nineteen eighty three. So from like
Speaker 1: the seventies to the eighties and beyond, Stevie adapted his
Speaker 1: sound while keeping his soul intact. Would you agree? I
Speaker 1: would agree. I don't feel like he sold his soul
Speaker 1: to the music industry. You can hear his fingerprints on
Speaker 1: everyone from Kanye West and Erica Badou to Jacob Caller.
Speaker 1: He didn't just play music, he shifted the frequency of
Speaker 1: the planet. So let's check out some Stevie essentials. Well first,
Speaker 1: before we do that, Before we get into the Stevie
Speaker 1: wonder essentials, the songs you need to have on your playlist,
Speaker 1: that you need to write down, let's talk about how
Speaker 1: he's the ultimate musicians musician. Here are some of the
Speaker 1: most notable artists he has worked with. We have the
Speaker 1: heavy hitters Michael Jackson. Stevie co wrote and performed on
Speaker 1: Just Good Friends for MJ's bad album. They also famously
Speaker 1: work together on the charity anthem Way Are the World,
Speaker 1: Way Are the I Don't Know the Rest. Paul McCartney
Speaker 1: was another one that he's teamed up with. They teamed
Speaker 1: up with for the massive number one hit Ebony and Ivory.
Speaker 1: They also have other tracks What's that You're Doing from
Speaker 1: McCartney's Tug of War album. That song is a lot
Speaker 1: more funkier than Ebony and Ivory. Then, in nineteen seventy two,
Speaker 1: Stevie was the opening act for The Rolling Stones in
Speaker 1: their North American tour. This was a pivotal moment that
Speaker 1: introduced his music to a massive rock audience. More recently,
Speaker 1: he played keyboards on Sweet Sounds of Heaven from their
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three album Hackney Diamonds. Also Elton John Stevie
Speaker 1: played the iconic harmonica solo on Elton's nineteen eighty three
Speaker 1: hit I guess that's why they call it the Blues.
Speaker 1: Then if we switch over to soul and R and
Speaker 1: B legends, we have Shaka Khan. That's Stevie playing the
Speaker 1: harmonica on her nineteen eighty four smash I Feel for You.
Speaker 1: He actually wrote the song originally for himself fun Fact.
Speaker 1: Then Aretha Franklin he wrote until You Come back to Me,
Speaker 1: That's what I'm gonna do, specifically for Miss Aretha Franklin.
Speaker 1: He wrote that song. I don't know if you guys
Speaker 1: know Minnie Ripperton, but Stevie Stevie Wonder produced her legendary
Speaker 1: Perfect Angel album under the pseudonym El Toro Negro for
Speaker 1: legal reasons, and played multiple instruments on her hit Loving You.
Speaker 1: Is that what you call pseudonym pseudonym basically alter ego.
Speaker 1: Then we have Serita Wright, his first wife and a
Speaker 1: brilliant artist in her own right. He produced her early albums,
Speaker 1: which are essential listening for any seventy soul fan. Our
Speaker 1: modern collaborations, we have Travis Scott. Stevie played the harmonica
Speaker 1: on the track Stop Trying to Be God from the
Speaker 1: Astro World album. We also have Beyonce. They performed a
Speaker 1: stunning tribute to Luther van Dross together covering So Amazing.
Speaker 1: That was actually really good, that tribute between Stevie Wonder
Speaker 1: and Beyonce. He also contributed a beautiful harmonica solo to
Speaker 1: the track doing It Wrong on the Take Care album
Speaker 1: fun Fact, as we mentioned in the script with Superstition
Speaker 1: and Jeff Beck. He also wrote because We've ended as
Speaker 1: lovers for Beck's semi guitar album blow by Blow. So
Speaker 1: that's a couple of heavy hitter and soul and R
Speaker 1: and B and modern collaborations that Stevie Wonder has worked
Speaker 1: on over the span of his career. That's actually very,
Speaker 1: very impressive. So now let's get in. Let's get into
Speaker 1: the essentials. If you have not heard a single Stevie
Speaker 1: Wonder song, I'm going to quickly name a couple, So
Speaker 1: get your pen. This is the time to write these
Speaker 1: songs down. Coming up, first, Superstition, We've talked about it.
Speaker 1: You need to listen to Superstition. Then we have Sir Duke.
Speaker 1: Then we have Isn't She Lovely? I love that song.
Speaker 1: Isn't she lovely, isn't she one? Oh? And that Harmonica
Speaker 1: solo Chef's Kiss you also have. You are the Sunshine
Speaker 1: of my life. Oh I just lost the melody for
Speaker 1: that one, but anyways, you need to hear you are
Speaker 1: the sunshine of my life. Higher Ground. You need to
Speaker 1: listen to Higher Ground. Living for the City. Living for
Speaker 1: the City is a great I want to say pro
Speaker 1: black song, but if listen to it, I like it.
Speaker 1: You also need to listen to Signed, Sealed Delivered, I'm Yours.
Speaker 1: You need to listen to I Wish, also Master Blaster
Speaker 1: Jammin And we cannot end this episode without mentioning there's
Speaker 1: a ribbon in the sky, ribbon in the sky, A
Speaker 1: ribbon in the sky, ribbon in the sky. You need
Speaker 1: to listen to those. So those are all the songs
Speaker 1: you need to listen to by Stevie Wonder. That's gonna
Speaker 1: do it for this episode. Guys, thank you for hanging
Speaker 1: with us on Crash Course Pot. Keep your ears open
Speaker 1: and your soul fed, and we will catch you next week. Bye.