Top 200 Albums of All Time: Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder: Talking Book (1972)
Stevie Wonder entered his peak years when he released Talking Book. The album marked his artistic departure from Motown and featured guitarist Jeff Beck. He honed the record’s sound with keyboards and synthesizers. Wonder would be an artistic tour de force for the next decade.

Innervisions: Stevie Wonder (1973):
Stevie Wonder expanded his reach with Innervisions. Wonder did almost all the work on the album himself. The album touched on subjects ranging from the inner cities to love. The work dramatically influenced music for the next decade or more.

Songs in the Key of Life- Stevie Wonder (1976)
Stevie Wonder culminated his peak years with Songs in the Key of Life. The double album came about as Wonder considered leaving the country over its political direction. The albums took longer than expected to produce, so Motown Records used the delay to market the records with “We’re almost finished” t-shirts.

Greatest Albums of the 1970s

Not in any order...

Dark Side of the Moon: Pink Floyd (1973)

What’s Going On?: Marvin Gaye (1971)

Born to Run: Bruce Springsteen (1975)

Exile on Mainstreet: The Rolling Stones (1972)

Innervisions: Stevie Wonder (1973)

Led Zeppelin IV: Led Zeppelin (1971)

Who’s Next: The Who (1971)

Rumours: Fleetwood Mac (1977)

The Wall: Pink Floyd (1979)

Quadrophenia: The Who (1973)

#18 Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder was a star at 13. He billed himself as “Little Stevie Wonder” and was a novelty at first. However, he soon proved a gifted songwriter and is considered the greatest artist of the seventies. Between 1972 and 1976, Wonder released classic after classic. On top of this, he performed the majority of the instruments on his albums. One exception to this was when guitar god Jeff Beck was in town. Despite the fact his best work was in the early to mid-1970s, the late 70s to mid 1980s saw his greatest success. Ironically, his most successful single was also one of his weakest. “I Just Called to Say I Love You” went #1 in the U.S. and U.K. in 1984. The following year he performed on “We Are the World” with USA for Africa. Stevie continued to record into the new millennium. During the mid-90s hustle craze, Wonder’s “My Eyes Don’t Cry” supplanted the original 1970s Hustle by Van McCoy. Nowadays, he seems to pop out during presidential campaigns supporting Democratic candidates.

Rock n Roll Moment: During his most creative period, Wonder often played all the songs on his album except when Jeff Beck was available.

Essential Stevie Wonder:
Talking Book (1972)
Innervisions (1973)
Fullfillingness’ First Finale (1974)
Songs in the Key of Life (1976)

Stevie Wonder’s Top 10:
Higher Ground
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
Superstition
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered I’m Yours
Fingertips (Part 2)
Uptight
You Haven’t Done Nothin’ (w/The Jackson 5)
Master Blaster (Jammin’)
Sir Duke
I Wish