Stevie Wonder, Part 3 (1979 and Beyond)

Welcome to another edition of Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts!  This podcast episode is Part 3 of a three part series of podcasts that I am recording about the extensive career of one of the most influential musicians of the past 60 years:  Stevie Wonder!  Part 3 will review Stevie's career from 1979 to the present day.

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Rock On!

Transcript

Thank you for that introduction, and welcome to another edition of Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts!  This podcast episode is Part 3 of a three part series of podcasts that I am recording about the extensive career of one of the most influential musicians of the past 60 years:  Stevie Wonder!  Part 3 will review Stevie's career from 1979 to the present day.

 After expending a lot of time and effort into Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder released nothing for the next three years.  He returned to the charts with the October 1979 release of a documentary soundtrack album.  That LP was called Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants".  The album reached #4 on both the Billboard 200 Album Chart and the R&B Album Chart.  It contained two singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100: "Send One Your Love" reached #4 and "Outside My Window" hit #52.  

On September 29th, 1980 Tamla released Stevie's nineteenth studio album entitled

Hotter Than July.  The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and was certified Platinum by the RIAA on February 3rd, 1981.  It was Wonder's most successful album in the UK, where it peaked at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and produced four top-10 singles.  Music videos were produced for the album's first, third, and fourth singles.  The lead single from the album was "Master Blaster (Jammin')".  It was a major hit, spending seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart, reaching #5 on Billboard's pop singles chart, and peaking at #2 on the UK Singles Chart.  The fourth single released from the album was not released in the United States.  It was called "Happy Birthday" and became part of the ultimately successful campaign to make Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday in the US.  "Happy Birthday" reached #2 on the UK singles chart.

In 1982, Stevie's racial-harmony duet with Paul McCartney, "Ebony and Ivory", hit #1 on both the US and UK charts.  Also that year he released a greatest-hits set covering 1972 to 1982 called Original Musiquarium I.  It featured four new songs, of which "That Girl" reached #1 in the R&B chart and "Do I Do" (which featured Dizzy Gillespie) reached #2  in the R&B chart.

In 1983 Stevie Wonder was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  Then in 1984 Wonder recorded the soundtrack to the Gene Wilder comedy The Woman in Red.  The soundtrack featured a number of new songs, including "I Just Called to Say I Love You." 

[Here is Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You".]

"I Just Called to Say I Love You" was a major international hit, and remains Wonder's best-selling single to date, reaching #1 in 28 countries worldwide.  In the US the song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.  It also became his tenth #1 on the R&B chart, and his fourth #1 on the adult contemporary chart, spending three weeks at the top of both charts.

"I Just Called to Say I Love You" also became Wonder's only #1 single in the UK, staying at the top for six weeks.  In the process it also became Motown Records' biggest-selling single in the UK, a distinction it still held as of 2018.  In addition, the song won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.  The song also received three nominations at the 27th Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

In 1985 Stevie Wonder finally completed the official album he'd been working on for nearly five years.  That album, called In Square Circle, spent 12 weeks at #1 on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart.  The album also reached #5 on the US Billboard 200 and peaked at #5 on the UK Pop Albums chart.  The single "Part Time Lover" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, dance, and adult contemporary charts, becoming Wonder's final #1 hit to date.  The song's simultaneous chart successes made Wonder the first artist to score a #1 hit on four different Billboard charts.  "Part-Time Lover" also reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart.

In 1985 Stevie Wonder participated on the "We Are the World" charity single recorded by the super group called USA for Africa.  "We Are the World" was released on March 7th, 1985, and it topped music charts throughout the world while becoming the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history.  "We Are the World" was certified quadruple platinum, becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum.  Its awards include four Grammy Awards, one American Music Award, and a People's Choice Award.  The promotion and merchandise helped "We Are the World" raise more than $80 million for humanitarian aid in Africa and the United States.

Stevie participated in 1985's "That's What Friends Are For".  The song, credited to Dionne Warwick & Friends, was released as a charity single for AIDS research and prevention.  "That's What Friends Are For" was a massive hit, becoming the #1 single of 1986 in the United States, and winning the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year.  "That's What Friends Are For" raised more than $3 million for its cause.

Stevie's next album, released in 1987, was Characters.  Characters debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart for seven weeks.  It reached #17 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.  Two singles released from the album hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart:  "Skeletons" and "You Will Know".

In 1989, at just 38 years old, Stevie Wonder became the youngest living person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Two years later, in 1991, Wonder provided the soundtrack to the Spike Lee film Jungle Fever.  His next full album of new material, 1995's Conversation Peace, was a commercial disappointment, thought it did win two Grammys for the single "For Your Love."  Recording less frequently since then, in 2005 he released A Time to Love in his fifth decade of activity.  In 2006 he earned his 25th Grammy Award for his and Tony Bennett's duet remake of his own "For Once in My Life."  Stevie Wonder has continued to tour across the U. S., most notably performing the entirety of Songs in the Key of Life, and has also released the occasional single.  In 2024 he was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.

Stevie Wonder's career, spanning over six decades, is marked by a remarkable collection of songs and albums that have left an indelible mark on the landscape of music.  Throughout his illustrious career, Wonder has been characterized by his innate ability to blend various musical styles, from soul and funk to jazz and pop.  Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 100 million records worldwide.  He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a male solo artist) and one Academy Award (Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red).  He has achieved 10 #1 hits on the Billboard Top 100 Charts.

Beyond commercial success, Wonder is renowned for his philanthropic efforts and for his advocacy work addressing social issues, particularly for people with disabilities and civil rights.  His unwavering commitment to artistry and social justice continues to inspire generations, making him not just a musician but a cultural icon whose impact resonates globally.  Most notable was his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday in the United States.  In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

This concludes the final episode of three Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts about the musical genius that is Stevie Wonder!  In this episode, Stevie Wonder, Part 3, I discussed Stevie's career from 1979 to present day.  To learn more about earlier accomplishments of Stevie Wonder's career, be sure to check out Parts 1 and Parts 2 of my Stevie Wonder series here on Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts!  So for now, I'm Jumpin' John McDermott!  And until next time, Rock On!