Stevie Wonder, The #9 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

 

"Stevie Wonder truly is a genius. In a league of his own."

"I stand in awe of this man: his mind, his extraordinary creative abilities, his talent, his drive, his spirit."

"Stevie gives me the chills. He is a genius."

"Stevie Wonder has such an understanding of music that few other artists have. It cannot be understated how phenomenal this man is... a true genius and pioneer."

"My idol. Favorite artist of all-time."

"He's in a class by himself -- his lyrics are pure poetry and transcend normal vision. .He "sees" in a way that reveals the beauty of life and he has the words to express it all. . and the music! He sees clearly with his heart. Such a blessing he is!!!!"

"Stevie is a genius. It’s amazing how God contained so much musical talent in one man."

"His words, vocals and music are truly timeless."

"The incomparable and remarkable Steveland Janklin Morris."

"His genius will be remembered for generations to come."

"Stevie Wonder is a class act."

"Stevie Wonder is by far one of the most talented artists ever!"

"All his music still feeds the soul for real music lovers."

"A true musical genius! Stevie "The Eighth Wonder of the World" Wonder!"

"One of the greatest singer/songwriters that has ever lived."

"I will always enjoy Stevie's incredible talent and it's a true blessing. Genius!"

"It's safe to say Stevie is a legend."

"One of the greatest artists of all-time."

"Stevie is a master of music."

"He's a national and world treasure. Vocally, lyrically, and musically a genius."

"The Mozart of Pop and Soul has always been Wonder. One of the greatest musical minds in music history."

"Since 1963,Stevie has been making music to make you move and groove."

"Pure Genius. He is in a very elite group."

"A huge talent."

"He's iconic."

"Absolute one-of-a-kind artist, a true musical wonder. Thank you for all the absolutely amazing songs, Stevie!"

"This man is golden. His voice is a God-given gift."

"The greatest artist of all time across all genres."

"Stevie is amazing."

"I love Stevie Wonder, forever and ever and ever... He is as real as it gets.. period, point blank."

"He is incomparable."

Just to get close to the Top 10 is a phenomenal achievement.  And The #9 Artist* just barely edged out the Eagles.  Unless one of the two can manage a hit or two late in their career, the only thing that could change the standings is increases in album sales and/or increased airplay.

This next artist found success at an early age, signing his first recording contract at the age of 11.  For decades, he wowed the world with his songwriting and musical skills, which increasingly tackled political and social issues and complex arrangements.  Unlike most of the rest of the artists in the Top 10, he did not dominate any one decade, but rather has been a steady performer over the years that, when his career body of work is examined, few in music history can top it.

Stevland Judkins was born May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan.  His premature birth (six weeks premature) and the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, combined to give Judkins retinopathy of prematurity, a condition of the eyes in which growth is aborted and causes the retinas to detach, so he became blind.

Judkins' parents divorced when he was four and his mother, herself a songwriter, moved the family to Detroit, Michigan.  She changed her name to Lula Hardaway and later changed her son's surname to Morris.  He began playing the piano, harmonica, and drums at an early age and sang in the choir at Whitestone Baptist Church.  He soon began singing on street corners and sometimes at parties and school dances with a friend, calling themselves Stevie and John.

Stevie attended Fitzgerald Elementary School, and when he was just 11, he sang a song he had written, "Lonely Boy", for Ronnie White of the Miracles.  Thoroughly impressed, White arranged an audition for Stevie at Motown, where CEO Berry Gordy promptly signed him to a recording contract with Tamla Records, a subsidiary of Motown.  Producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder, and the company gave Stevie a five-year deal to hold his royalties in a trust until he was 21 and the label would provide a private tutor for him while he was on tour.

Wonder released his debut album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie consisting of mostly songs written by Paul, including two that Stevie co-wrote.  Singles were released but none of them caught on.  Later in the year, Stevie released an album of mostly Ray Charles covers called Tribute to Uncle Ray (which he had actually recorded first).  

Wonder joined the Motortown Revue in theatres across the U.S. which accepted black artists at the time.  His performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois, was recorded and released in 1963 as the album Recorded Live:  The 12 Year Old Genius.  "Fingertips" was released as a single, and when it rocketed to #1, it made the 13-year-old Stevie the youngest artist ever to enjoy a #1 song.  Another young aspiring artist, Marvin Gaye, played drums on the live recording.

That same 13-year-old also enjoyed a #1 album in the U.S. with the live project.  Despite this success, Stevie wasn't immediately able to follow it up.  Stevie also released the album Workout Stevie, Workout in 1963 and appeared in the movies Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach and released the album Stevie at the Beach in 1964.  

 

He was now 15, but he had little to show for his efforts since "Fingertips".  The top producers at Motown passed on Stevie, until he began working with Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby.  Moy asked Stevie to play his song ideas for her, but she didn't like any of them.  When Sylvia asked to make sure Wonder didn't have anything else, he reluctantly played something he had been working on and sang "Everything is alright, uptight".  Moy liked it and she and Cosby helped him finish it.  Stevie dropped the "Little" from his name, the song shot up to #3, and Wonder was a regular at the top of the charts after that.  

The album Up-Tight Everything's Alright was easily his best album to this point.  Stevie was nominated twice for "Uptight" at the Grammy Awards--Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance.  "Nothing Too Good For My Baby" is another solid track from the album.

Stevie's album Down to Earth later in 1966 overall was a disappointment, but it did include the quality single "A Place In The Sun", #6 in Canada and #9 in the U.S.  The Andantes and the Originals sang backing vocals.

Wonder released the album Someday at Christmas, which featured two songs which have become standards.  The title song is a plaintive cry from Stevie not usually heard in Christmas songs.

"What Christmas Means To Me" is another holiday favorite.

Wonder's next project the following year, I Was Made To Love Her, featuring the title song (#1 R&B for 4 weeks and #2 overall in the U.S. and #5 in the U.K. and Canada), fared much better.  "I Was Made To Love Her" (co-written by Stevie's mother, Lula Mae Hardaway) was kept out of the #1 spot only by the classic "Light My Fire" by the Doors.  To shed the image of "Little" Stevie Wonder, Stevie had stopped playing harmonica since "Fingertips", but the harmonica came back strong on this one.

 

The non-album single "I'm Wondering" hit #4 on the R&B chart and #12 overall. 

"Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day", co-written with Moy and Cosby, was another hit released prior to his next album and the first to feature Wonder's talents on the clavinet.  It topped the R&B chart and reached #9 overall.

 

In 1968, Stevie released his Greatest Hits album and then recorded an album of instrumental songs called Eivets Rednow, which is "Stevie Wonder" spelled backward, but nothing from the album stuck.  However, the album For Once In My Life was a solid effort, with the title song leading the way.

"For Once In My Life" was written by Motown's Ron Miller and Orlando Murden, recorded first by Jean DuShon and covered many times as a ballad.  Miller also wrote "Heaven Help Us All", "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" and "A Place In The Sun" for Wonder and "Touch Me In The Morning" for Diana Ross.  Stevie's version was the first to up the tempo of the song, and "For Once In My Life" hit #2 on both the R&B and Top 40 charts and #3 in the U.K and #5 in Canada.

 

"For Once In My Life" earned Stevie a Grammy nomination for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance, Male.  In 1969, Stevie received a Distinguished Service Award from the United States government.  Wonder released the great love song "My Cherie Amour" (French for "My Dearest Love"), the title song from his 1969 album.  Stevie wrote it for his girlfriend at the time, Marcia, titled "Oh My Marcia".  By the time he recorded it, however, Marcia was out of the picture, so Wonder changed the title to "My Cherie Amour".  It was an across-the-board winner, #3 Adult, #4 Popular, and #4 R&B in the United States, #3 in the United Kingdom, and #5 in Canada.

 

At this time, Stevie was having vocal problems which required him to wait before recording.  Because of this, Motown had him turn to another Miller song written in 1966 instead of recording a new one.  "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" rose to #2 in the U.K. and the Netherlands and #7 in the United States.

The wonderful Stevie continues with much more in Part Two!

The Eagles, The #10 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Four

 

(Continued from Part Three)

The long feud between Felder and Frey finally reached a climax on July 31, 1980 in Long Beach, California.  The group had agreed to perform as a benefit for California Senator Alan Cranston in his bid for reelection.  When Cranston's wife thanked them prior to the show, Felder committed a major faux paus in reply saying, with the other members of the band present, "You're welcome....I guess."  

Frey and Felder spent the entire set threatening each other, and although they never made a public pronouncement, this was for all purposes the end of the group, at least for a very long time.  Frey left the Eagles and stayed in Los Angeles, while the rest of the group mixed the album Eagles Live in Miami, Florida, leading Szymczyk to remark, "We were fixing three-part harmonies courtesy of Federal Express."  

The group then did not release new material nor appear live in concert for years, although the members did not officially announce a breakup.  Several members recorded together for other artists, such as their work for Boz Scaggs on "Look What You've Done To Me", for Christopher Cross on his breakthrough single "Ride Like The Wind", and on Dan Fogelberg's excellent album The Innocent Age.

To this day, the members of the group call it a long hiatus rather than a breakup.  They all pursued solo careers, with Henley and Frey especially finding great success.  Walsh did well with the 1981 album There Goes the Neighborhood and worked on albums by Fogelberg, Steve Winwood, Richard Marx, Ringo Starr, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and others.  Henley, Walsh, Schmit, and Felder all recorded solo songs for the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Soundtrack.  

Schmit also sang backing vocals for Crosby, Stills & Nash on their album Daylight Again and Toto on their landmark Toto IV album and also toured with the latter group in Europe.  From 1983-1985, Schmidt was a member of Jimmy Buffett's backing band and joined Walsh and Meisner on Richard Marx's debut album.  In 1992, Walsh and Schmit toured as part of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band.  Meisner enjoyed three Top 40 hits, including 'Hearts On Fire" from 1981.

Still, Henley said many times in interviews that the Eagles would get back together "when Hell freezes over".

Finally in 1994, after years of speculation, the Eagles (Frey, Henley, Walsh, Felder, and Schmit) performed for the first time since 1980 in April of 1994.  Glenn Frey issued what amounted to the official press release when he said before the crowd, "For the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14-year vacation."  Excited fans lined up to get precious tickets for the Hell Freezes Over tour.  The Beatles never got back together after their infamous breakup.  CCR never did.  The Eagles did, and their millions of fans were ecstatic.

 

The live album of performances called Hell Freezes Over, including the first new Eagles songs in 14 years, debuted at #1.   The lead single was "Get Over It", a #4 smash in Canada.  "'Get Over It' showed us that we could get together and write again," Frey said.  "For that reason it's an important song to me."

 

By failing to make Billboard's Top 40, the classic "Love Will Keep Us Alive" (played at thousands of weddings throughout the world) joined over a dozen Eagles songs to make The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

Hell Freezes Over has now sold over six million copies just in the United States.  Henley's great song "Learn To Be Still" (written with Stan Lynch, former drummer for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is a Top Track* on the album.

Frey wrote and sang lead on "The Girl From Yesterday".

The tour was immensely successful, even with it being put on hold in September when Frey experienced serious diverticulitis, and as new legions and a new generation of Eagles fans demanded to see their beloved group, the tour was extended to two years.  

In 1998, the Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with all seven former and current Eagles members on stage to perform "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California".  However, shows performed in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Los Angeles From December 28-31 of 1999 were the last to feature Felder.  The concerts were recorded and filmed, with the audio released on the four-disc Selected Works:  1972-1999 box set in 2000.  The DVD, however, was held up in court when Felder sued the other members of the group.  Selected Works, the finest collection of Eagles material released, went Platinum in 2002. 

On February 6, 2001, Felder was fired from the group.  Felder filed lawsuits against both the Eagles as a group and Henley and Frey individually.  The Eagles claimed they had every right to fire Felder as rock groups have done since day one, and filed their own lawsuit when Felder told his version of events in a book.  The Eagles went back on tour in 2001 without Felder.

All lawsuits were scheduled for trial in 2006, but were dismissed after being settled out of court.

 

In 2003, the group released the compilation The Very Best Of the Eagles.  It debuted at #3 and, though it is not near the collection of the four-disc box set, it has sold three million copies.  The album contains the new song "Hole In The World", written after and in response to the 9/11 murders.

Henley, Walsh, and Schmit helped on friend Warren Zevon's final album The Wind that year.

The Eagles released the two-DVD set Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne in 2005, which included two new songs.  This is Frey's "No More Cloudy Days", which was a #3 smash on the AC chart.

 

And we also want to feature this incredible share from Joe Walsh, who to his tremendous credit got help for his alcoholism.  "One Day At A Time".

 

In 2007, the Eagles took a song written by another of their friends, J.D. Souther, and released the single "How Long".  Souther co-wrote many of the group's big hits including "New Kid In Town", "Best Of My Love", "Heartache Tonight", and "Victim Of Love".  Despite the fact that "How Long" is a Rock & Roll song, the Eagles won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  

What happened next is too incredible to believe.  In 2007, 28 years since their last studio album and 35 years since they released their debut, the Eagles released the double album Long Road Out of Eden, which included the single "How Long".  

Despite the facts that they were a 35-year veteran group and had not released new material in decades, the album debut at #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Norway and has sold over seven million copies.  That is unheard of for any group of their experience.  No one--not the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Bee Gees, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, the Beach Boys--no one--has released an album of the caliber of Long Road Out of Eden that late in their career.

 

The Eagles have been ranked in and out of The Top 10 Artists of the Rock Era* but they would not be there today were it not for this album.  "a song the Stones could have done," Henley said in a Gold Radio interview with Nicky Horne.  "It was Don's (Felder) idea to use the phrase and the verse was his," Henley said.  "Glenn ran with it and even though Don didn't like it or think it was good enough, Glenn kept working on it and filling in the holes in the lyrics."  "Busy Being Fabulous" made it to #12 on the Adult Contemporary chart and even got a decent amount of airplay on the Country chart.

 

The Bellamy Brothers originally recorded "Guilty Of The Crime" on their 1997 album Over the Line.

 

"Last Good Time In Town" is one of two on the album that Walsh sang lead on.  He wrote the lyrics with Souther composing the music.

 According to Songfacts, this is an adaptation of a poem about lost love, nature and innocence.  Henley found the poem and was inspired to turn it into an a cappella song with minimal accompaniement.  Here is the wonderful "No More Walks In The Wood".

 

The great vocalist Paul Carrack (Ace, Squeeze, Mike + the Mechanics) wrote this one and gave it to Schmidt backstage at Twickenham in England.  Schmidt sings lead on "I Don't Want To Hear Any More".

 

Here is Frey's "I Dreamed There Was No War".

Frey also sang lead on this one, co-written by Jack Tempchin.  The song finds Glenn looking back on his life and stepping aside for the next generation.  Frey didn't have kids until the 90's (he had three), which gave him a new perspective.  According to Songfacts, the song in many ways is a message to his children, letting them know it will soon be their turn to shine.

 Henley told Billboard in 2007:

          Here I am, just turned 60.  I'm not

               complaining.  I'm thrilled and delighted. 

               None of us ever thought it would go on 

               this  long. But we are a determined bunch 

               of guys. We take our time. We are not

               afraid of the passage of time, necessarily,

               and we've been sitting one out for a long 

               time. That is kind of what "Waiting In The

               Weeds" implies. Again, on the surface,

               that's a love song, but it's also about this 

               band. We've just been sort of waiting for

               some of this bad music to die down, for 

               certain trends to go away, so that we can 

               get out there on the dance floor again.

               We are a band that knows how to bide its 

               time, and how to wait.

Here is "Waiting In The Weeds".

The Eagles began a tour of the world to support the album, performing in North America and Europe.  In 2013, the group released the documentary History of the Eagles and initially gave 11 arena concerts to support it.  Once again, demand forced the group to expand the tour for two more years.  

Founding guitarist Bernie Leadon joined the band for this tour, which fellow guitarist Joe Walsh welcomed with open arms:  "Bernie’s brilliant, I never really got a chance to play with him, but we've been in contact. We see him from time to time, and I'm really glad he's coming because it's going to take the show up a notch, and I'm really looking forward to playing with him, finally."

The Eagles were slated to receive Kennedy Center Honors in 2015 but the recognition was postponed due to Frey's continuing health problems.  On January 18, 2016, Frey, who had just had intestinal surgery, died at age 67 in New York City from acute ulcerative colitis, pneumonia, and rheumatoid arthritis while trying to recover from the surgery. At the Grammy Awards that spring, the Eagles, along with co-writer Jackson Browne, performed "Take It Easy" to honor their fallen star.   The surviving members finally received the Kennedy Center Honors later in the year. 

The Eagles headlined the Classic West and Classic East concert in 2017, with Frey's son Deacon performing in his place.  The group was also joined by Bob Seger and Vince Gill.   The Eagles recorded the song "Part Of The Plan" for the album A Tribute to Dan Fogelberg.  

The group toured again in 2018 with Gill and Deacon Fry and Henley's son Will on guitar.  In 2019, the Eagles gave performances of material on the Hotel California album and another set which included their greatest hits in three shows at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The group then embarked on a tour in 2020. 

The Eagles have won six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards.  This supergroup charted 22 hits, with nearly half of those, 10, going Top 10 and 5 of those reaching #1.  Showing their mass appeal, the Eagles have scored 23 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart with 10 Top 10 songs and 2 #1's.  The Eagles have sold an estimated 200 million albums to rank in the Top 10 in that department.

The Eagles, The #10 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

Although the Eagles played before millions of fans on a subsequent tour, those experiences deepened the strains of the group, both personal and creatively.  When Meisner refused to sing "Take It To The Limit" one June night in Knoxville, Tennessee because he wasn't sure he could hit the high notes, those struggles elevated, leading to Meisner eventually leaving the group in September.

But the Eagles always had an uncanny ability to make themselves better and they replaced Meisner with Timothy B. Schmit, coincidentally Meisner's replacement in the group Poco.  Everyone in the group except Felder sang and played backup for Randy Newman's 1978 album Little Criminals, which featured the hit song "Short People".

 

The Eagles' cover of "Please Come Home For Christmas" was released as a single and made it all the way to #18 on the Popular chart, nearly unheard of for a Christmas song.

 

The Eagles then recorded one of the best albums of their career, The Long Run, which took them two years to finish.  The first single was born when Bob Seger visited Henley and Frey in Los Angeles.  The three songwriters often shared what they had been working on and Frey had the verses for the song.  Glenn and Bob were jamming at LaFontaine when Seger belted out the chorus.  Bob left town after that, and Souther, Henley and Frey finished it.

"Heartache Tonight" became the group's latest to dominate the singles chart in the U.S. and Canada and it jumped to #7 in New Zealand and 10 in Ireland.

 

The Long Run rocketed to #1 on the Album chart in the U.S. made the Top 5 everywhere, and has sold over seven million in the U.S. alone.  The title song, written as a touché to the group's critics, indicated that, rightly so, the Eagles would make it "in the long run".  Have they ever!

 

"I Can't Tell You Why" showcased Schmit's amazing high vocals on the third single from The Long Run.  It soared to #3 on the all-important Adult Contemporary chart and was a Top 10 hit overall in both the United States and Canada.

We're going to feature all the great tracks which make The Long Run such an incredible album, but we want you to pause and think about the slate of songs you've just heard (from 1974-1980).  There were 11 singles released during that time, and just two (2!) failed to make the Top 10.  One of those two was a Christmas song, which almost never makes the Top 10, and the other was "Life In The Fast Line".  That is a batting average of 81.8%, nothing short of sensational.

Here is that historic chart run:  #1 ("Best Of My Love"), #1 ("One Of These Nights"), #2 ("Lyin' Eyes"), #4 ("Take It To The Limit"), #1 ("New Kid In Town"), #1 ("Hotel California"), #11 ("Life In The Fast Lane"), #18 ("Please Come Home For Christmas"), #1 ("Heartache Tonight"), #8 ("The Long Run", and #8 ("I Can't Tell You Why").  And then you also have all the classic album tracks such as all of these from The Long Run.

 

The divide between Frey and the rest of the group was so wide that Glenn refused to even speak with the other members.  Album credits actually listed five attorneys and the album notes for Eagles Live said simply and succinctly "Thank you and goodnight". 

The album went Top 10 across the world and has sold over seven million copies.  Yet radio stations were not able to figure out that a single from an album with seven million in sales should have been played.  One of the great examples of harmony you will hear anywhere--here is the incredible "Seven Bridges Road", one of the very best of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

The group also gave Walsh a lead vocal on "In The City", a solo song of his featured in the movie The Warriors.  The rest of the group wanted to record it together as the Eagles.  "In The City" is another Top Track* and member of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 Henley's great vocals highlight the fabulous track "The Sad Cafe".

We also want to feature this fun fraternity song:  "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks".

Here is another Top Track* from the album--"Those Shoes".

Felder wrote the music for "Disco Strangler" with Henley providing lyrics.  Don intended for the song to be an antidote to Disco music, which was popular at the time.

 

This song is about the decadent lifestyle of the big bosses of Hollywood, primarily the producers.  Here is Henley's biting "King Of Hollywood".

We will see that turmoil in the group was coming to a head, but in the long run, the Eagles came through.  Join us for Part Four!