"Isn't She Lovely" | |
---|---|
Promotional single by Stevie Wonder | |
from the album Songs in the Key of Life | |
Released | 1976 |
Recorded | 1975 |
Genre | Soul |
Length |
|
Label | Tamla |
Songwriter(s) | Stevie Wonder |
Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder |
Licensed audio | |
"Isn't She Lovely" on YouTube |
"Isn't She Lovely" is a song by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life . The lyrics celebrate the birth of his daughter, Aisha Morris. Wonder collaborated on the song with Harlem songwriter and studio owner Burnetta "Bunny" Jones. [1]
The song opens side 3 of Songs in the Key of Life, and starts with a baby's first cry recorded during an actual childbirth. A recording of Wonder bathing Aisha as an older toddler is brought into the final section of the song, mixed with Wonder's extended chromatic harmonica solo. All of the instruments heard in the song are played by Wonder, except for some keyboard parts played by Greg Phillinganes. During the recording process, bassist Nathan Watts laid down a bass guitar line to serve as a guide track for Wonder, but Wonder eventually replaced this with his own keyboard bass performance. [2]
The more-than-six-minute song was not released as a single, as Wonder was unwilling to shorten the song to fit the 7", 45 rpm format. [2] Even without a single release, the song received so much airplay that it reached number 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart in January 1977. Since then, the song has become a jazz and pop standard, covered by many artists. [3]
Wonder performed the song live for Queen Elizabeth II at her Diamond Jubilee Concert on June 4, 2012, with lyrics modified to refer to the Queen. [4]
The song was not issued as a commercial single and therefore it did not appear on the major charts in the US and UK. However, due to radio airplay, it reached number 23 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (then known as the Easy Listening chart) on January 29, 1977. [5] In June 2012, after Wonder performed the song at the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the song finally charted in the UK (#94) due to download sales.
Year | Artist | IR | SA | UK | U.S. Billboard | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IRMA | Springbok | Singles Chart | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. AC | ||
1976 | Stevie Wonder | — | — | — | 23 [5] | |
1977 | David Parton | 3 | — | 4 [6] | 105 | — |
1977 | Leslie Kleinsmith | — | 12 [6] | — | — | — |
2012 | Jimmy Higham & Jon Walmsley | — | — | 41 [8] | — | — |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [10] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [11] | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Stevland Hardaway Morris, known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. One of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the 20th century, he is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder.
Songs in the Key of Life is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at Crystal Sound studio in Hollywood, with some sessions recorded at the Record Plant in Hollywood, the Record Plant in Sausalito, and The Hit Factory in New York City; final mixing was conducted at Crystal Sound. The album has been regarded by music journalists as the culmination of Wonder's "classic period" of recording.
A Time to Love is the twenty-third studio album by Stevie Wonder, his first since Conversation Peace in 1995. Originally to have been completed in 2004, it was finally released to stores on October 18, 2005, following an exclusive digital release on Apple's iTunes Music Store on September 27.
"Sir Duke" is a song composed and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Released as a single in 1977, the track topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles charts, and reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, his joint biggest hit there at the time. Billboard ranked it as the No. 18 song of 1977.
Gregory Arthur Phillinganes is an American keyboardist, vocalist, and arranger. A session musician, Phillinganes has contributed to numerous albums over a broad array of artists and genres. He has toured with artists including Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Toto, was musical director for Michael Jackson, and has released two solo studio albums.
"Happy Birthday" is a song written, produced and performed by Stevie Wonder for the Motown label. Wonder, a social activist, was one of the main figures in the campaign to have the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. become a national holiday, and created this single to promulgate the cause. The song has since become a standard for use during birthdays in general, particularly among African Americans.
"Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single that Wonder himself co-wrote.
American musician Stevie Wonder has released 23 studio albums, three soundtrack albums, four live albums, 11 compilations, one box set, and 91 singles. His first album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, was released in 1962 when he was 12 years old, and his most recent, A Time to Love, was released in 2005. Wonder has had ten US number-one hits on the pop charts, as well as 20 R&B number one hits, and has sold over 100 million records, 19.5 million of which are albums; he is one of the top best-selling music artists of all time with combined sales of singles and albums. Wonder has 30 main album releases, all of which are single albums, apart from Songs in the Key of Life, which was released as a double album with a bonus four track EP. There are 11 official compilation albums; in addition, a box set, The Complete Stevie Wonder, was released in 2005. Wonder is eighth on the list of artists with the most number-ones on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Fingertips" is a 1963 hit single recorded live by "Little" Stevie Wonder for Motown's then Tamla label.
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered " is a soul song, by American musician Stevie Wonder, released in June 1970 as a single on Motown's Tamla label. It spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart. In the same year, the song was also released on the album Signed, Sealed & Delivered.
The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie is the debut studio album by Little Stevie Wonder, released in September 1962 on the Tamla Motown label.
Characters is the twenty-first studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released in late 1987. The album features six singles including the Grammy-nominated "Skeletons" and "You Will Know", which both reached number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. The album also contained a duet with Michael Jackson, "Get It", that was a minor hit.
Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I is a compilation album by R&B/soul musician Stevie Wonder that was released in 1982 by Tamla Records. It collects eleven Top-40 hit singles and five album tracks, including four previously unreleased tracks, from 1972 to 1982. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, at No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart in the U.S., and went to No. 8 in the UK. It has been certified gold by the RIAA. The four new songs were issued as singles to promote the album, with "That Girl" and "Do I Do" reaching the top 10 and top 20 of the US pop chart and number one and two on the R&B chart, respectively.
David Parton is an English singer-songwriter and record producer from Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire, England. He is also known as Des Parton, based on the initials of his first three names.
"Stars on Stevie" a.k.a. "Stars Medley" a.k.a. "Stars on 45 III: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder" is a song issued in 1982 by the Dutch studio group Stars on 45, in the UK credited to 'Starsound', in the US 'Stars On'. It was the first single from the band's third full-length release The Superstars and was Stars on 45's fourth single release in both Europe and North America.
One to One is the third studio album released by American R&B singer and songwriter Syreeta Wright in February 1977 by Motown. It serves as her first album Wright released where former husband Stevie Wonder did not oversee most of its production, instead only being involved with the song "Harmour Love", which was released as a single.
Headed for the Future is the seventeenth studio album by Neil Diamond, released in March 1986 on Columbia Records. The album went to number 20 on the US Billboard 200. Headed for the Future has also been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Let's Get Serious is the sixth studio album by Jermaine Jackson, released in 1980. It reached #6 on the Billboard album chart and logged five weeks at No. 1 on the Top R&B chart. It achieved sales of 900,000 copies in the United States and it sold 2 million copies worldwide.
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