The definitive Stevie Wonder

As a kid growing up I began to become aware of the wonders of popular music and dreamed of one day being able to buy all the long-play albums I wanted. Fortunately, there later came a time that put me in a position of being able to own the CD’s, they are not LP’s anymore, I like, without sacrificing my budget. But had my situation today been different, then this is the time when I would have found myself skimping, begging or simply being disappointed because I am unable to buy every CD I like.

This season’s harvest of music releases is a veritable treasure trove for music lovers and a collector’s nightmare. Nearly every exciting pop star has come out with new releases or greatest hits compilations. It is great if you are among lucky ones who can afford to buy all of them. If not, get the ones you like best and hope the others stay in the stores until the time comes when you will be able to fit the costs of those CD’s into your budget.

I got to thinking this way because of the arrival of another album that no music lover should be without. This is another collection that deserves a place alongside those greatest hits releases by Elvis Presley "30 No.1 Hits," the Beatles "No. 1" and Chicago The Chicago Story. It is the Definitive Collection by Stevie Wonder, which contains almost all of the best songs have ever recorded. I say almost because it missed out on one of my favorites, the sweet little love song Too Shy to Say. Although truly beautiful, it probably did not sell as much as others, hence, its non-inclusion. But otherwise, this album is a fantastic feast of Stevie Wonder music spanning nearly 40 years.

Stevie Wonder was one of the big stars to come out of Motown. The Detroit based label formed by Berry Gordy made black soul music popular. In fact it can be rightly said that Motown laid the groundwork for the R&B domination of the hit charts of the world with the songs of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations and others. Stevie was then a 13-year-old who impressed everybody with his three octave range and unbridled enthusiasm for performing with his debut release Fingertips. But just as people always do with child stars, they also wondered what he would be like as an adult.

It took them only two years to get the answer. Stevie, all of fifteen made an even bigger hit out of Uptight, Everythin’s Alright and set the stage for one of the most successful careers in pop music history. As his vocal tones deepened, his range also widened. As he discovered what he can do with other instruments aside from his trademark piano and harmonica, his compositions took on texture, complexity and an uncanny grasp of what the music buyers want. Stevie later reached a point wherein he would perform every instrument required in the arrangements of his songs. To top it all, Stevie also turned out to be remarkably intelligent and musically daring with a style and inventiveness that would influence many other artists.

His success even reached a point when every Stevie Wonder album not only topped the charts but also swept the Grammys and other music awards. That time is now over and it has been quite a while since there has been a Stevie Wonder single in the hit lists. But no matter. He already has enough hits to last a few lifetimes.

They are all in The Definitive Collection, Fingertips 1 and 2 from 1963 is included. Then there are: Superstition, Sir Duke, I Wish, Masterblaster (Jammin), Isn’t She Lovely, I Just Called to Say I Love You, Ebony and Ivory with Paul McCartney, As, Never Had a Dream Come True, I Was Made to Love Her, Heaven Help Us All, Overjoyed, Lately, For Your Love, If You Really Love Me, Higher Ground, Do I Do, Living for the City, Part-time Lover, For Once in My Life, Uptight (Everythin’s Alright), We Can Work It Out, Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours, Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday, I’m wondering, My Cherie Amour, You are the Sunshine of My Life, I Don’t Know Why I Love You, A Place in the Sun, Blowin’ in the Wind, Send One Your Love, Pastime Paradise, I Ain’t Gonna Stand for It, Boogie on Reggae Woman, You Haven’t Done Nothin’, He’s Misstra Know It All and Happy Birthday, a song he dedicated to the great Martin Luther King Jr.