Ribbon in the Sky

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"Ribbon in the Sky"
Ribbon in the Sky - Stevie Wonder.jpg
Single by Stevie Wonder
from the album Original Musiquarium I
B-side "Black Orchid"
ReleasedJune 13, 1982
RecordedOctober 1981
Genre R&B, soul, jazz, soul jazz, smooth soul
Length5:50
Label Tamla
Songwriter(s) Stevie Wonder
Producer(s) Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder singles chronology
"Ebony and Ivory"
(1982)
"Ribbon in the Sky"
(1982)
"Used To Be"
(1982)

"Ribbon in the Sky" is a song by American singer Stevie Wonder. The ballad was first featured on the 1982 greatest hits album, Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I , and charted at No. 54 pop, [1] No. 21 Adult Contemporary, [2] and No. 10 R&B in the US when it was released. [3] The song also charted in the United Kingdom, reaching #45.

Contents

In February 1983, Wonder was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 25th Grammy Awards.

In 2009, Essence magazine included "Ribbon in the Sky" in their list of the "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time". [4]

Wonder performed a version of the song at Whitney Houston's funeral on February 18, 2012. [5]

Cover versions

"Ribbon in the Sky" has been covered by Dennis Brown, Intro, Boyz II Men, 2 Men 4 Soul, Hiroshima, Lloydie Crucial and Ivete Sangalo, [6] as well as being sampled by Will Smith and featured in Diana Ross's 1983 Central Park Concert (released 2012). The intro is also sampled in Jamal's "Keep It Real".

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References

  1. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  2. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 261.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 636.
  4. "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time". 29 October 2020.
  5. "Whitney Houston's Funeral: Stevie Wonder And R Kelly Perform In Tribute". Capital FM. February 18, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  6. "Ivete sings 'Ribbon in the Sky' (By Stevie Wonder) | Ivete Sangalo - Official Website". Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-06.