Artist Name: Stevie Wonder

Year Inducted: 2013

Details

Category: Legendary Songs

Created: Tuesday, 19 May 2020 08:31

Written by J McCallum

“You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”  (S. Wonder) – Stevie Wonder;  Tamla label,  # 1 Billboard Hot 100, # 3 Billboard R&B – 1973.  Inducted in 2013.

Written and produced by Stevie Wonder, “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” was taken from “Talking Book”, the second album issued after his new Motown contract gave him full creative control over the songs he recorded for the label. Shortly before the release of the single, Wonder completed a tour as the opening act for the Rolling Stones which exposed his music to the vast white rock audience and helped alleviate his being pigeon-holed as an artist who only appealed to black R&B listeners. Stevie Wonder.jpg

As a result, “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” not only became Wonder’s third # 1 on the Hot 100, but it also became his first # 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in 1973. The single’s relaxed groove was a major departure from its predecessor, the rocking # 1 hit “Superstition”, a song that Wonder had originally written for Jeff Beck. In addition, the first two lines of “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” are sung, not by Wonder, but by Jim Gilstrip with Lani Groves singing the next two lines. The single version differs from the album version of the song with the addition of horns to the mix.

Wonder was presented with the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his recording of the song. “You Are the Sunshine Of My Life” was listed on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZXjFV8nT4E