This 1970 performance of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder shocked me on a few levels. First, it never occurred to me that the song was released in 1970. I grew up with that song and all of Stevie’s big hits, but as a greatest hits/anthology-type Stevie Wonder fan I’ve never gotten to know the ins and outs of individual studio albums. I would have pegged that single for a couple of years earlier, like 1967 or 1968, the era when Smokey Robinson & the Miracles were cranking out similarly sleek, driving productions like “Tears of a Clown.”
What shocked me even more than the release date was how funky this live performance is. It’s not like the single I grew up digging is whitebread, but it’s got that ’60s Motown sound. It exhibits the laser-like focus that marked the label’s releases. (For those cool cats among you who tsk-tsk and grumble that “all Motown sounds the same” and, therefore, can’t appreciate the difference between this live performance and the original studio version, you can listen to the 45 here. It’s got a smokin’ backbeat, even with the more traditional Motown production that is likely to turn back-dated appreciators of “authentic” soul music off.)
This performance struck me as a “missing link” to the (Somewhat) Free at Last Genius Stevie who would deliver his mind-blowing ’70s works in the coming years. I always thought that Stevie suddenly shook off the shackles of Berry Gordy, got struck by a bolt of lightning, and grabbed that magical ring from Frodo. It turns out that Stevie was already further along in development than I’d ever guessed. Right off the bat in this Dick Cavett Show performance you can hear inklings of “Superstition.” Turn up the sound and focus on Stevie’s clavinet (?) part at the 30-second mark. It’s the lick that kicks off “Superstition.” That shit was already brewing, man! There’s no need to cook up some Chariot of the Gods explanation.
Really, maybe I’m a gigantic idiot, but I’ve been digging both my early Stevie 3-lp Motown Anthology series set and the Musiquarium collection of mature Stevie hits since they were reeleased (I own some of those landmark albums, but I skip all those cheesy love ballads to Jesus, leaving all but the hits on Musiquarium), but this is first example I’ve noticed of a direct link from the young, Motown-dictated Stevie to his soon-to-be independent, funkier self.
Have you ever noticed this link? Are there other examples of this transition period, either live or on record, that I’ve overlooked all these years?
As an aside, it was so sad to hear and see the great, empowering Stevie Wonder shill Budweiser during the NFL playoff season as some white-suited Voodoo Priest to the tune of “Superstition.” So wrong! What the hell are you thinking, Stevie?
Interesting clip, but I think the drums are all wrong. Checking the 45 (thanks for the link) I hear two different drumkits panned right and left. Never noticed that before. I think the song sounds better with the pounding backbeat. The drummer on the Cavett show seems to be playing the beat that belongs in the break during the whole song, and in that stripped down format the rhythm gets weakened. I like the virtually motionless guitarist and bassist. The horns sound like they were being piped in from New Jersey though.
Yes, I agree with all that you say regarding the 45 version, which I think is awesome. I was simply shocked that it seemed like Wonder was already moving toward his key ’70s sound on this performance, whether on purpose or because the drummer wasn’t as locked in.
He’s certainly moving forward fashion-wise.
Like you Mr. Mod I was surprised when I discovered that S,S,D was not from, say, 1967. That was quite awhile ago that I learned that but there’s a part of me that still thinks it has to be from 1967.
This performance is fantastic and your points are well taken MM but it’s not close to the single which earned a place on my Soul Don’t Get No Better Than This CD (you all remember it from the days of yore aka Hear Factor, don’t you?).
But apart from the funky foreshadowing of this clip two things surprised me:
(1) At the end where Stevie stands next to the back up singers…is he really a giant among men or where all three of them extras from Wizard Of Oz?
(2) Where are the backup singers hand motions? In the silence of my lonely room, when this song is on, at the chorus, on “signed” I’m motioning my hand like I’m signing something, on “sealed” my hand comes up to my lips, and on “delivered” the hand reaches out with the signed & sealed “letter”. Did I make that up?
One other thought. If we had a Once & For All category of “fastest fingers on the keyboard” surely Stevie would win, er, hands down.
oKay — y’all canna tease us like that! I wanna hear more about this Soul Don’t Get No Better Than This CD.
C’mon!
The Stevie anthology is quite some collection. I love that transition period, “Heaven Help Us All”, “Never Had A Dream Come True” & “We Can Work It Out” are all from the S.S.D. LP. He had flexed his musical muscles on the “Eivets Rednow” album but the track that has always tipped me off to a growing maturity is 1968’s “I Don’t Know Why”. It’s a soul-shout but there is a minimalism to it that I love.
The “Hollywood Palace” clip is good but not as great as the record.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQsIxztAoE4
The Stones had a go at the song too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqg0JS0ZGaQ
Hear Factor is a late unlamented RTH tradition that lasted a couple of iterations. Use the search function if you dare.
One of my contributions was entitled Soul Don’t Get No Better Than This. It was one of those foolhardy attempts to distill down to one CD the best soul songs, once & for all.
Much to my surprise you can still download a zip file of it here:
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/?s=%22soul+don%27t+get%22&searchsubmit=
Only a few files are labeled and since it includes not only a number of soul classics known to everyone but some obscurities from my northern soul collection, here is the track list:
1 The Four Tops – It’s The Same Old Song
2 The Isley Brothers – This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)
3 The Jackson Five – The Love You Save
4 Stevie Wonder – Signed, Sealed, Delivered
5 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – Going To A Go-Go
6 Smokey Robinson – Being With You
7 The Flirtations – Nothing But A Heartache
8 The Show Stoppers – Ain’t Nothin’ But A House Party
9 The Radiants – Hold On
10 100 Proof (Aged In Soul) – Somebody’s Been Sleeping
11 Chairmen Of The Board – Pay To The Piper
12 Billy Harner – Homicide Dresser
13 Patty & The Emblems – I’m Gonna Love You A Long Long Time
14 The Vashonettes – A Mighty Good Lover
15 The Exciters – Blowing Up My Mind
16 Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On
17 Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing
18 Sly & The Family Stone – I Want To Take You Higher
19 Bee Gees – Night Fever
20 The Intruders – Cowboys To Girls
21 Maxine Brown – Oh No Not My Baby
22 Gloria Jones – Tainted Love
23 The Cavaliers – Ooh It Hurts Me
And before anyone questions what’s not there (James Brown, anyone?), I already said it was foolhardy (but it does make great listening on a treadmill!).
Thanx a lot man! Ima looking forward to listening to this! 🙂
P.S. I recall Hear Factor. It was still an ongoing concern when I first discovered RTH almost five years ago.
I never noticed before, but the SSD 45 could a been a candidate for the Once and For All ‘greatest Sitar’ performance…
Definitely.
It IS a contender. The song was in the initial thread and the poll. All polls run through the end of the month, so it’s not too late to vote for it.