You Are the Sunshine of My Life
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" | ||||
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Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||
from the album Talking Book | ||||
B-side | "Tuesday Heartbreak" | |||
Released | March 1973 | |||
Recorded | 1972 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:58 | |||
Label | Tamla | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" on YouTube |
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his first number-one on the Easy Listening chart.[3] It won Wonder a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.[4] This song was the second single (following "Superstition") released from the 1972 album entitled Talking Book, which stayed at number one on the R&B albums chart for three weeks.[4]
Rolling Stone ranks the song at number 183 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[5] Billboard called it "a soft, haunting ballad with outstanding electric piano runs and outstanding production work."[6]
In 2002, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[7]
Background
[edit]The first two lines of the song are sung, not by Wonder, but by Jim Gilstrap; Lani Groves sings the next two.[8] Gilstrap and Groves, together with Gloria Barley, also provide backing vocals. The single version of the song differs from the album version with the addition of horns to the mix; this version is also included in the greatest hits compilation album Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I (1982).
Reception
[edit]Cash Box said that Wonder "changes the pace [from 'Superstition'] and delivers a stirring ballad performance that is also certain to go gold instantly."[9] Record World said that the "tune that's been covered many times is done best by the originator."[10]
Personnel
[edit]Source: Talking Book, Tamla: T 319L, October 27, 1972 (album cover)
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums
- Jim Gilstrap – first lead vocal, background vocal
- Lani Groves – second lead vocal, background vocal
- Gloria Barley – background vocal
- Scott Edwards – electric bass
- Daniel Ben Zebulon – congas
- unknown — horns
Chart performance
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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Certifications
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Spain (PROMUSICAE)[19] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
See also
[edit]- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1973 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1973 (U.S.)
References
[edit]- ^ Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
Is there a lovelier, more embracing description of timeless romance than Wonder's entrance in this 1973 soul-pop classic...
- ^ Stanley, Bob (2014). "Freddie's Dead: Electrified Soul". Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 227.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 262.
- ^ a b Hogan, Ed. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (song review), AllMusic.com.
- ^ "You Are the Sunshine of My Life ranked #183 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ "Radio Action & Pick Singles" (PDF). Billboard. March 10, 1973. p. 53. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
- ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com.
- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: Updated and Expanded 5th Edition. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 333.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 10, 1973. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. March 10, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". bac-lac.gc.ca. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
- ^ "NZ Listener chart summary". Flavour of New Zealand. Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 5/19/73". Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-04-08.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1973/Top 100 Songs of 1973". Musicoutfitters.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ "Billboard Year-End Charts 1973" (PDF).
- ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1973". Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ^ "Spanish single certifications – Stevie Wonder – You Are the Sunshine of My Life". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ "British single certifications – Stevie Wonder – You Are the Sunshine of My Life". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
External links
[edit]- Smith, Giles, "Lives of the great songs: Nobody does it better: You are the sunshine of my life: Every supper-club singer under the sun has had a go at Stevie Wonder's 1972 classic. And none has cracked it...", The Independent, July 31, 1993.
- "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" at Songfacts.
- Stevie Wonder - You Are the Sunshine of My Life on YouTube