Comments on: STEVIE WONDER – “I Just Called To Say I Love You”

By: Ed

Ed — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:55:28 +0000

Also, Wichita@31, slightly OT but I was excited to see a reference to Epsom Our Price, because I must have been a customer around then. Probably got my copy of “Ocean Rain” there. Where was it?

By: Paulito

Paulito — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:13:57 +0000

Wichita@31: Make that TWO clunky key changes.

Btw, what a strange video – what’s with all those floating slices of bread with psychedelic images superimposed on them?

By: Paulito

Paulito — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:50:05 +0000

Otthersteve@72 I never even knew any of those three were million-sellers. Remarkable that they were, considering the time of year they hit the top. Of course, the market was at an all-time high sales-wise around that period – IIRC 1978 was the biggest-selling year for singles in chart history.

By: ottersteve

ottersteve — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:40:45 +0000

Hey Paulito (69)

3TAL – not a million seller.

Check out January/February ’79.

YMCA, – Hit me with your Rythm Stick, – Heart of Glass

were the only 3 other consecutive million selling No.1s up to this point. I read this in a music mag somewhere around the time of stevie wonders’ hit.

By: Brooksie

Brooksie — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:33:11 +0000

Tacky, but for me it will always – more than any other song – take me back to the summer of ’84 when a friend of mine had me call for a girl to ask if she wanted to date him. This song = summer childhood. I also like ‘Woman in Red’ despite the criticisms here. Bad song, good memories.

By: ANGEL

ANGEL — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:34:31 +0000

I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT U

By: Paulito

Paulito — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:04:41 +0000

Ottersteve, would the answer happen to be “Rivers of Babylon”, “You’re The One That I Want” and “Three Times A Lady” in 1978?

By: ottersteve

ottersteve — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:48:30 +0000

This record actually made small piece of history at the time…
For only the 2nd time in the history of 7″ vinyl sales did 3 consecutive No. 1′s in the pop charts sell over 1 million copies.

Hands up those who know the year and 3 tracks that first achieved this feat. I do know the answer, but I’ll check if it was previously mentioned in that section of FT before further comment.

One for the pub quizzers I think.

By: lonepilgrim

lonepilgrim — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:25:00 +0000

is this the definitive cover version?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PK7_Ueh9X0

By: taDOW

taDOW — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:58:41 +0000

obv stateside (specifically sesame street) so not apart of mr. smart’s list but still essential viewing – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE

By: Pete Baran

Pete Baran — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:19:50 +0000

More grist to the mill for my “colour blind” theory.

By: swanstep

swanstep — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:20:55 +0000

A very late addition…I just came across a Stevie Wonder drum solo on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBA4vWQRBA0
that’s simply staggering. This alone should grant him a pass for several ‘I just called”s.

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:49:11 +0000

Light Entertainment Watch: Stevie doesn’t do UK television very often;

THE BRIAN CONLEY SHOW: with Stevie Wonder, The Bootleg Beatles (1995)

FRIDAY NIGHT WITH JONATHAN ROSS: with Stevie Wonder, Steve Coogan, Abbey Clancy (2008)

PARKINSON: with Thierry Henry, Sarah Lancashire, Matthew Kelly, Stevie Wonder (2005)

THE SOUTH BANK SHOW: Stevie Wonder (1993)

TOM JONES: THE RIGHT TIME: with Stevie Wonder (1992)

THE TUBE: with Jools Holland, Leslie Ash, Stevie Wonder, Marianne
Faithfull, Rod Stewart, Rock Steady Crew (1983)

THE TUBE: with Jools Holland, Leslie Ash, The Gang Of Four, Judas Priest, Stevie Wonder, The Shillelagh Sisters, Muriel Gray (1984)

WHISTLE TEST: EXTRA: Stevie Wonder (1986)

THE WHITE ROOM: with Stevie Wonder, Sleeper, Skunk Ananse, P. P. Arnold, Ultimate Kaos (1995)

WOGAN: with Michael J. Fox, Ian Botham, Bob Carolgees and Spit the Dog, Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Wonder (1985)

The list of what doesn’t survive is perhaps more attractive;

READY STEADY GO!: with Little Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones (1963)

READY STEADY GO!: with Gerry And The Pacemakers, Françoise Hardy, The Temptations, Little Stevie Wonder, The T-Bones, Donovan (1965)

THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS: with Brian Matthew, Gerry And The Pacemakers, Kathy Kirby, The Searchers, Little Stevie Wonder (1964)

THIS IS… TOM JONES: with The Hollies, Pat Paulsen, Shani Wallis, Stevie Wonder (1969)

By: peter goodlaws

peter goodlaws — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Like Rosie, I have shut myself away from Popular recently. I just called to say that this uber-cheesy piece of crap sullied Stevie’s name forever. Whatever was Blindy thinking? Probably thinking about the biggest hit he ever had, is the answer to that!

# 56 – I hate Neil Sedaka and am appalled that the smarmy git is still alive. “Calendar Girl” is one of my main cases for the Prosucution but nearly his entire portfolio makes me angry. To that end I have decided to have “Laughter in the Rain” played at my funeral. The vicar’s preamble would be “…and here is a record, which was dear to Peter’s heart…” Then on comes Neil. There will be more laughter in the crem than on that fucking record, I promise you.

By: Nick P

Nick P — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:51:28 +0000

Just wanted to agree that Lately, although not a classic, has always been a favourite of mine because of the lyric quoted by wichita lineman @50. I don’t think it comes anywhere near plumbing the depths of IJCTSILY.

I’ll also second the recommendation of Innervisions as the must have Stevie album if you only by one.

And as someone else mentioned, Stevie isn’t alone in having the rest of his output poorly represented by his number one(s).

By: DV

DV — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:23:43 +0000

when I was younger this was Stevie Wonder for me, as I had never heard his kewl stuff from the 1970s. Consequently, when I met people who talked about how much they liked Stevie Wonder, I assumed they were insane.

By: Matt DC

Matt DC — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:06:07 +0000

Incidentally this is the very first song I remember seeing in the #1 slot on TOTP. I’m still not exactly fond of it though.

By: will

will — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:00:34 +0000

Not much to add here, except that yes, it’s awful but at the time it was almost as if Stevie was allowed one ropey, if hugely successful single. No one knew then that his well of inspiration would dry up in the way it has. Soundtracks aside, he’s released just four new albums in the quarter century since.

Re 45: I always thought Boy George missed a trick by not re-releasing The War Song in the run up to Spring 2003. If ever there was a window of opportunity to redeem that poor unloved single it was then.

By: pink champale

pink champale — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:33:02 +0000

bah! i go on holiday during a right purple patch and return to this. i can’t do anything other than agree that “i just called…” is pretty ropey. lord s makes a good point that it doesn’t work when stevie tries too hard for artless – something like ‘isn’t she lovely’ is in the same sort of territory in terms of a simplicity of melody and emotion but the drummer (stevie?) hammering away all over place like mitch mitchell cuts through the gloop and turns the whole thing into a pure expression of spontaneity and joy. that said though, i wouldn’t really go with the idea that ‘I just called…” is a terrible blot on an otherwise flawless career – there are long noodley stretches on most of his seventies albums that bore me to death. actually, i think the seventies stuff gets overpraised generally at the expense of the sixties – i’d take ‘uptight’ over the whole of ‘talking book’ or ‘innervisions’.

By: Erithian

Erithian — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:51:27 +0000

Billy #44: “The construct of the year running through the length of the song is quite a neat one” – maybe, but it was so much more fun when Neil Sedaka did it in “Calendar Girl”!

By: MikeMCSG

MikeMCSG — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:38:04 +0000

I must confess that Stevie Wonder was a pet hate of mine in the 70s. To my young ears nurtured in the simplicities of glam rock that keening nasal vocal and the complex music and lyrics were just too alien. Same with Curtis Mayfield – “Superfly” was one of the first records I really hated. Then of course all the superlatives being hurled in his direction only made me resent him more for making me feel provincial and inferior.

So I derived a great deal of pleasure from those same critics looking at their feet and hoping this one was a bad dream. I recall in the mid 90s The Guardian ran a weekly talking point feature where some scribe picked their “Best Ever ….” and the following week you’d read the challenges to it. When it came to Best Ever Number One they picked this one and the justification rambled on about Stevie’s genius without reference to the “merits” of this particular song!

By: a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît

a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:27:00 +0000

I’m tempted slightly to defend SW on the “casio preset” front: in the sequence of LPs he made in the 70s he wrote the book on the exploration and expansion of funky keyb language; i doubt anyone else contributed so much — so to opt for a basic factory setting, for him, is a conscious artistic decision

i think this song is: “let’s write a love song stripped of redemption-by-ambition-of-twist”: in other words, not a love song of which you’d say “well it’s just a cheesy love song, except there’s this lyric/arrangement/moment that redeems it”, but one which is just the thing itself… the thing is, i don’t think he has a deep gift for that kind of artless simplicity, which he confuses with emotion-on-factory-setting (maccartney on his game does have such a gift; as do plenty of lesser popsters do; wonder is a learned and subtle musician who doesn’t, but feels a bit compromised he doesn’t, and has actually forced a few too many of his attempts at it on the world)

By: intothefireuk

intothefireuk — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:03:23 +0000

A spectacular fall from grace for Stevie. A truly stale Casiotone arrangement for an already appalling song. I remember visiting my Uncle at the time – I didn’t go very often – and informing him that I played in a band. ‘What do you play ?’ says he, ‘I sing & play keyboards’ says I. ‘Oh’ he says, ‘I’ve got a new keyboard here – can you play that fantastic Stevie Wonder song that’s number one ? It’s marvellous’ he says, handing me a Casio mini keyboard. ‘No it’s shit – I hate it’ says I, trying desperately to wrangle a decent sound out of the thing. The smile fell from his face and the Casio was promptly removed from my hands. He’s never invited me over since.

How can a man with that much talent (Stevie – not my Uncle), be reduced to producing such purile tosh ? Surely he didn’t need the money. I was tempted to blame McCartney for a while – his soporific influence may have tainted poor Stevie during ‘Ebony & Ivory’ to such an extent that his muse was forever lost. But that’s a long shot and McCartney still manages the odd glimpse of his former genius so why not Stevie ?

Less than zero

By: LondonLee

LondonLee — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:25:02 +0000

If I had to pick ONE Stevie album it would be ‘Innervisions’ as it’s flawless. ‘Talking Book’ is probably more creative and dynamic but I don’t care for the track ‘Maybe Your Baby’ too much (a minor quibble really, the album is jaw-dropping genius too) and the ‘Key of Life’ album goes on a bit in places.

By: TomLane

TomLane — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:44:23 +0000

It’s the most critically panned Stevie #1, yet it has its fans. So simple in lyrics and music that you wait for something special. Like you do with all of Stevie’s songs. But I never hated it, and listening to it again, I marvel at the man’s ability to make you sing along to what most people who hated it, called his “Hallmark” moment. Still, you wonder. The critics who like this song obviously loved Stevie. May have gave him a pass for his most simplest #1. If Lionel Richie had released this it would have been savaged. A U.S. #1 as well.