Stevie Wonder got back to the boogie jamming until the break of dawn and made his soul a burning fire with this rocket love rejuvenation. After beginning his career at the age of thirteen with the number one smash "Fingertips", he released sixteen albums in ten years (The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie and Tribute to Uncle Ray in 1962; Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius and With a Song in My Heart in 1963; Stevie at the Beach in 1964; Up-Tight and Down to Earth in 1966; I Was Made to Love Her and Someday at Christmas in 1967; Eivets Rednow and For Once in My Life in 1968; My Cherie Amour in 1969; Stevie Wonder Live, Live at the Talk of the Town, and Signed, Sealed & Delivered in 1970; and Where I'm Coming From in 1971) before renegotiating his contract with Motown and gaining complete creative control of his work. He then became a dominant musical force with a run of classic albums (Music of My Mind and Talking Book in 1972; Innervisions in 1973; Fulfillingness' First Finale in 1974; and Songs in the Key of Life in 1976) that earned him a dozen Grammy Awards including three for Album of the Year. With the experimental documentary soundtrack album Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" in 1979, he had lost some of his cachet among fans.
He wrote, arranged, and produced the sessions for Hotter than July at his newly acquired Wonderland Studios in Los Angeles which featured Stevie Wonder on vocals, synthesizer, drums, fender rhodes, bass synthesizer, clavinet, background vocals, arp, vocoder, piano, harpsichord, celeste, keyboards, bass melodeon, harmonica, cabasa, percussion, bells, handclaps, and flute synthesizer; Nathan Watts on bass and background vocals; Benjamin Bridges on guitar, sitar, and background vocals; Dennis Davis on drums; Earl DeRouen on percussion and background vocals; Isaiah Sanders - fender rhodes, pianet, and background vocals; Hank Redd on saxophone and handclaps; Robert Malach on saxophone; Larry Gittens and Nolan A. Smith Jr. on trumpet; Hank Devito on steel guitar; Rick Zunigar on guitar; Angela Winbush, Mary Lee Whitney Evans, Susaye Greene Brown, Alexandra Brown Evans, Shirley Brewer, Ed Brown, Charlie Collins, Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, Michael Jackson, Jamil Raheem, Betty Wright, Ronnie J. Wilson, Charles K. Wilson, Syreeta Wright, Marva Holcolm, Melody McCulley, and Delores Barnes on background vocals; Stephanie Andrews, Bill Wolfer, Trevor Lawrence, Dennis Morrison, and Kimberly Jackson on handclaps. The string arrangement was done by Paul Riser.
Hotter than July was celebrated as a return to form and went to number eighteen in Canada; twenty-nine in Japan; twelve in Germany; five in Norway; four in the Netherlands; three in Australia, Sweden, and the US; two in Austria, Italy, New Zealand, and the UK; and number one in France and on the US R&B album chart. It has been certified platinum in Canada, the UK, and the US. Wonder also used the album to petition fans to observe the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a national holiday.
http://www.steviewonder.net/
"Master Blaster (Jammin')" was inspired by Bob Marley. It was a worldwide smash hit, going to number nine in Germany; five in the US; three in Belgium and Ireland; two in the Netherlands and the UK; and number one in New Zealand, Switzerland, and on the US R&B singles chart.
Everyone's feeling pretty
It's hotter than July
Though the world's full of problems
They couldn't touch us even if they tried
From the park I hear rhythms
Marley's hot on the box
Tonight there will be a party
On the corner at the end of the block
Didn't know you
Would be jamming until the break of dawn
I bet nobody ever told you that you
Would be jamming until the break of dawn
You would be jamming and jamming and jamming, jam on
They want us to join their fighting
But our answer today
Is to let all our worries
Like the breeze through our fingers slip away
Peace has come to Zimbabwe
Third World's right on the one
Now's the time for celebration
Because we've only just begun
Didn't know you
Would be jamming until the break of dawn
I bet nobody ever told you that you
Would be jamming until the break of dawn
You would be jamming and jamming and jamming, jam on
You ask me am I happy
Well as matter of fact
I can say that I'm ecstatic
Because we all just made a pact
We've agreed to get together
Joined as children in Jah
When you're moving in the positive
Your destination is the brightest star
Didn't know you
Would be jamming until the break of dawn
I bet nobody ever told you that you
Would be jamming until the break of dawn
You would be jamming and jamming and jamming, jam on
Hotter than July
full album:
http://www.steviewonder.org.uk/multimedia/audio_player/hotter_than_july.html
All songs written, produced and arranged by Stevie Wonder except where noted.
Side one
"Did I Hear You Say You Love Me" – 4:07
"All I Do" (music: Wonder; lyrics: Wonder, Clarence Paul, Morris Broadnax) – 5:06
"Rocket Love" – 4:39
"I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" – 4:39
"As If You Read My Mind" – 3:37
Side two
"Master Blaster (Jammin')" – 5:07
"Do Like You" – 4:25
"Cash in Your Face" – 3:59
"Lately" – 4:05
"Happy Birthday" – 5:57
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