Talking Book

Certain Songs #2501: Stevie Wonder – “I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)”

December 6, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Talking Book
Year: 1972

. . .

You’ll probably have noticed that none of the Stevie Wonder songs I’ve written about so far have been ballads. And of course, those of you who have been reading this blog for quite some time are probably well aware of my propensity for fast ones over slow ones.

Which is one of the reasons why I’m skipping the massive ballad that opened up Talking Book (and provided Stevie his second #1 hit single in a row), “You Are The Sunshine of My Life,” a song where I can hear what the rest of the world loves about it while being totally immune to its charms.

Certain Songs #2500: Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”

December 5, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Talking Book
Year: 1972

. . .

Poor Jeff Beck. He’d made a deal with Stevie Wonder that he would play guitar on Wonder’s next album and Wonder would write him a song. The problem is, that song was “Superstition,” which, once Stevie recorded it — without Beck, hilariously enough, because the clavinet riff that dominated the song rocked so hard it precluded the need for guitars — Motown knew it was going to be a big hit, the first return on their brand-new massive investment in the now-fully-adult Wonder. So, tough luck Jeff Beck, who was understandably pissed, as was his record label.