- 01“Sir Duke”Stevie WonderStevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” was the first time I understood that a song was teaching me about songs of the past.from the chapter
- 02“I Shot the Sheriff”Eric ClaptonWhen I was two or three and heard songs that sounded familiar, I knew that they were not coincidences but versions of other songs (like Eric Clapton’s “I Shot the Sheriff”).from the chapter
- 03A Tribute to Uncle RayStevie WonderHis second album, A Tribute to Uncle Ray , cast him not just as a Ray Charles imitator but as a successor.from the chapter
- 04Down to EarthStevie WonderIn Wonder’s first half-decade as a star, he touched on standards from the American songbook ( A Song in My Heart ), folk (he covered Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” on Up-Tight in 1966; later that same year he released Down to Earth , more Dylan: “Mr.from the chapter
- 05“Mr. Tambourine Man”Stevie WonderIn Wonder’s first half-decade as a star, he touched on standards from the American songbook ( A Song in My Heart ), folk (he covered Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” on Up-Tight in 1966; later that same year he released Down to Earth , more Dylan: “Mr.from the chapter
- 06“Sixteen Tons”Stevie WonderAnd the 1968 album Eivets Rednow , whose title is just Wonder’s name backwards, consisted entirely of instrumentals.from the chapter
- 07“Bang Bang”Stevie WonderAnd the 1968 album Eivets Rednow , whose title is just Wonder’s name backwards, consisted entirely of instrumentals.from the chapter
- 08Eivets RednowStevie WonderAnd the 1968 album Eivets Rednow , whose title is just Wonder’s name backwards, consisted entirely of instrumentals.from the chapter
- 09“We Can Work It Out”Stevie WonderAnd the 1968 album Eivets Rednow , whose title is just Wonder’s name backwards, consisted entirely of instrumentals.from the chapter
- 10Signed, Sealed & DeliveredStevie WonderBy the turn of the decade, even though he could still produce classic covers (his version of the Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out,” from Signed, Sealed & Delivered ), his own songwriting muse was starting to guide him.from the chapter
- 11Music of My MindStevie WonderBeginning with Music of My Mind in 1972, continuing through Talking Book , Innervisions , and Fulfillingness’ First Finale , he produced some of the most vibrant, powerful, and fully realized records that anyone has ever made.from the chapter
- 12Talking BookStevie WonderBeginning with Music of My Mind in 1972, continuing through Talking Book , Innervisions , and Fulfillingness’ First Finale , he produced some of the most vibrant, powerful, and fully realized records that anyone has ever made.from the chapter
- 13InnervisionsStevie WonderBeginning with Music of My Mind in 1972, continuing through Talking Book , Innervisions , and Fulfillingness’ First Finale , he produced some of the most vibrant, powerful, and fully realized records that anyone has ever made.from the chapter
- 14Fulfillingness’ First FinaleStevie WonderBeginning with Music of My Mind in 1972, continuing through Talking Book , Innervisions , and Fulfillingness’ First Finale , he produced some of the most vibrant, powerful, and fully realized records that anyone has ever made.from the chapter
- 15Songs in the Key of LifeStevie WonderAnd then, in 1976, he upped his game with Songs in the Key of Life .from the chapter
- 16“I Wish”Stevie WonderThe first single, “I Wish,” found Wonder looking back at his own childhood, “when [he] was a little nappy-headed boy” and his main preoccupations were opening Christmas presents and avoiding getting whupped for bad behavior.from the chapter
- 17“Missing You”Diana RossThere was nothing sad about the song, and in that sense it was less memorial than festival, nothing like the tribute songs I would hear in years to come, from “Missing You” (which Diana Ross recorded with Lionel Richie after the death of Marvin Gaye) to “I’ll Be Missing You” …from the chapter
- 18“I’ll Be Missing You”Puff Daddy and Faith Evans, featuring 112There was nothing sad about the song, and in that sense it was less memorial than festival, nothing like the tribute songs I would hear in years to come, from “Missing You” (which Diana Ross recorded with Lionel Richie after the death of Marvin Gaye) to “I’ll Be Missing You” …from the chapter
- 19“Isn’t She Lovely”Stevie WonderIf you had asked me, even recently, I would have said that it was the third single, after “I Wish” and “Isn’t She Lovely,” the mid-tempo love song that Wonder wrote for his infant daughter, Aisha.from the chapter
- 20“Another Star”Stevie WonderRather than ending with “Another Star,” the record proper now ended with “Joy Inside My Tears.” What is the real album?from the chapter
- 21“Joy Inside My Tears”Stevie WonderRather than ending with “Another Star,” the record proper now ended with “Joy Inside My Tears.” What is the real album?from the chapter
- 22“You Haven’t Done Nothin’”Stevie WonderTwo months after that, Wonder released Fulfillingness’s First Finale , his sixth album of the decade and nineteenth overall (prolific, sure, but Ellington wrote more than six thousand pieces).from the chapter
- 23“Village Ghetto Land”Stevie WonderSongs in the Key of Life was not as topical as “You Haven’t Done Nothin’, ” though plenty of its songs commented on the world as Wonder saw it.from the chapter
- 24“Pastime Paradise”Stevie WonderSongs in the Key of Life was not as topical as “You Haven’t Done Nothin’, ” though plenty of its songs commented on the world as Wonder saw it.from the chapter
- 25“Have a Talk with God”Stevie WonderSongs in the Key of Life was not as topical as “You Haven’t Done Nothin’, ” though plenty of its songs commented on the world as Wonder saw it.from the chapter
- 26“Love’s in Need of Love Today”Stevie WonderSongs in the Key of Life was not as topical as “You Haven’t Done Nothin’, ” though plenty of its songs commented on the world as Wonder saw it.from the chapter
- 27“Black Man”Stevie WonderSongs in the Key of Life was not as topical as “You Haven’t Done Nothin’, ” though plenty of its songs commented on the world as Wonder saw it.from the chapter
- 28Pas de DukeAlvin AileyDuke Ellington didn’t make it to the bicentennial, though Alvin Ailey paid tribute to him at Lincoln Center that summer with a pair of pieces, including a new work called Pas de Duke .from the chapter
- 29Jump for JoyDuke EllingtonThough his works always demonstrated a commitment to social justice and racial equality (his 1941 musical revue Jump for Joy was way ahead of its time), and though he had in his youth been involved with Communist causes, Ellington was also a lifelong Republican.from the chapter
- 30Black, Brown and BeigeDuke Ellington and His OrchestraIn 1943, rather than go to the White House, Ellington went to Carnegie Hall to premiere his latest piece, Black, Brown and Beige .from the chapter
- 31“Come Sunday”Duke EllingtonEllington submerged the piece for fifteen years, during which time he finally made a visit to the White House to have a talk with Harry S.from the chapter
- 32My PeopleDuke EllingtonAnd then in 1963, he repurposed “Come Sunday” (along with another section, “The Blues”) for My People , a stage show that he wrote about African-American history.from the chapter
- 33“King Fit the Battle of Alabam”Duke EllingtonEllington took up the story of Joshua at Jericho and refitted it for King.from the chapter
- 34Hotter Than JulyStevie WonderHis 1980 album Hotter Than July included the singles “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” and “Lately,” but the emotional center was “Happy Birthday,” which praised King and his legacy as a way of finally pushing the idea of a holiday across the finish line.from the chapter
- 35“Master Blaster (Jammin)”Stevie WonderHis 1980 album Hotter Than July included the singles “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” and “Lately,” but the emotional center was “Happy Birthday,” which praised King and his legacy as a way of finally pushing the idea of a holiday across the finish line.from the chapter
- 36“Lately”Stevie WonderHis 1980 album Hotter Than July included the singles “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” and “Lately,” but the emotional center was “Happy Birthday,” which praised King and his legacy as a way of finally pushing the idea of a holiday across the finish line.from the chapter
- 37“Happy Birthday”Stevie WonderHis 1980 album Hotter Than July included the singles “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” and “Lately,” but the emotional center was “Happy Birthday,” which praised King and his legacy as a way of finally pushing the idea of a holiday across the finish line.from the chapter