stevie wonder
10 Chart-Toppers That Sample or Pull From Past No. 1s
“First Class,” the second single from Kentucky rapper Jack Harlow’s album Come Home The Kids Miss You, is one of the biggest songs of 2022 so far, reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100 twice since its April release. One reason for the quick ascent: the familiarity of the chorus, which samples Fergie’s vocals from “Glamorous,” which also topped the Hot 100 back in 2007. Since Billboard began publishing the Hot 100 in 1958, nine songs have topped the chart more than once by different artists, like Little Eva’s 1962 original “The Loco-Motion” and Grand Funk Railroad’s 1974 cover. But as hip-hop began to take over the charts in the 1990s, sampling old hits has become the most notable method of reviving pop’s past. And in recent years, interpolations with replayed elements of old hits have kicked up a ...
The 50 Best Albums of 1972
Last year, when helping assemble SPIN‘s 50 Best Albums of 1971, I wondered if that year could have been popular music’s absolute peak. Now I’m asking myself that same question all over again. As I built a spreadsheet for 1972, gathering our writers’ votes alongside my own weird choices, I was once again struck by how many bronze-cast classics came out that year: LPs from David Bowie, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, The Allman Brothers Band, Yes, Stevie Wonder, Roxy Music, and on and on. Run down basically every genre – glam, soul, prog, art rock, Southern rock, metal, folk, MPB — and you’ll find the very best shit, whether eternally famous or sadly obscure. (My poor spreadsheet, swelling each day, originally had hundreds of worthy records. But you have to start chopping eventually.) Here’s wher...
What The Fuss: Stevie Wonder Slams Senators Hesitant On Voting Rights
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: JIM WATSON / Getty Beloved musical icon Stevie Wonder had some choice words for those in the Senate who are still unmoved about securing voting rights for all on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and shared them in a striking video message. As many – including lawmakers- took to social media to share their thoughts of inspiration and hope on the holiday celebrating the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday (January 17th), others including the King family were out protesting and calling on some of those same lawmakers in the federal government to secure voting rights on a national level. Stevie Wonder added his highly significant voice to theirs with a special message that was delivered via YouTube in the later hours of the day. Seated at his piano with his e...
SG Lewis, Young Thug, Stevie Wonder, More Join Elton John On “The Lockdown Sessions”: Listen
When it comes to the extraordinary, Elton John feels right at home. So goes his latest opus, The Lockdown Sessions, an eclectic blend of mega-collabs and unprecedented genre studies. The 16-track project was released on October 22nd via Mercury Records. From the piano-driven ballad “Always Love You” with Young Thug and Nicki Minaj to the rock ‘n’ roll anthem “E-Ticket” with Eddie Vedder, The Lockdown Sessions manages to foil the banality of quarantine with a steady supply of surprising sounds. And, in Rocket Man’s signature style, each track is chock full of drama, bringing just the right amount of camp. Also featured on the project are a number of dance and electronica artists. “Orbit” with SG Lewis is an ode to ...
Elton John Taps SG Lewis, Dua Lipa, More for “The Lockdown Sessions” Album
For the music industry, 2021 has been full of surprises. But a new album from Elton John might be the biggest one yet. Due October 22nd, The Lockdown Sessions will feature eclectic collaborations with artists from across the sonic spectrum: Stevie Wonder, Nicki Minaj, Lil Nas X, Yo-Yo Ma—the list goes on and on. The record will also include a hotly anticipated collab with electronic music wunderkind SG Lewis. Co-written with British singer-songwriter Frances, “Orbit” came to fruition after the artists linked in March for a discussion on John’s Apple Music 1 show, Rocket Hour. “I would desperately like to do something with you as far as writing or doing something,” the legendary musician said to Lewis. “So I’ll get you my email, ema...
The 100 Greatest Rock Stars Since That Was A Thing
Three of the 100 are in this picture! The Rolling Stones, in 1964, from left to right: Bill Wyman, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Brian Jones. The problem with lists like this is they are invariably bullshit. So our prime objective was to make sure we didn’t do a bullshit list. I’m not saying we did a scientific one either. Because that isn’t possible — actually, it is, if you wanted some compilation of who sold the most records/concert tickets/has the most fans/got the most death threats, etc., and someone could come up with a bunch of very empirical metrics and create a “heat index” or something, and could deliver an actual scientific ranking! But we, um, didn’t do that. In fact we didn’t even, technically, do the “we...
St. Vincent Shares Snippets of Unheard Songs in New Daddy’s Home Trailer
Daddy’s Home, the album all St. Vincent fans have been anticipating, is only two months shy of its May 14 release date. Teasing the awaited LP, the singer released a short trailer reminiscent of a ’70s cop movie shot in NYC. It features snapshots of the singer pondering in a diner and alone in an empty apartment, rocking a blonde wig and outfits last seen nearly 50 years ago. Near the end of the clip the announcer states, “Nobody expected it, nobody believed it, and nobody can stop it.” which perfectly encapsulates the type of album fans hope for from this powerhouse of an artist. <!– // Brid Player Singles. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ “div”: “Brid_10143537”, “obj”: {“id”:”25115″,”width”:”480...
The 50 Best Albums of 1971
It’s become a cliché, even for post-Baby Boomers, to look back wistfully on the early ’70s as some kind of untouchable golden age for popular music. But when you survey all the era’s best albums in list form, it’s hard not to trust that instinct. I mean…holy shit. In 1971, the psychedelic era hadn’t completely wilted; prog was nearing its popularity apex; Motown was still a revolutionizing soul music; the folk-rock movement was in full flight. The possibilities were limitless. You know it’s a banner year when 50 albums don’t begin to scratch the surface — when both John Lennon and Paul McCartney release definitive LPs and neither make the top 10. Was 1971 the greatest album year ever? We’ll save that debate for another time (or maybe another list). For now, we present 50 stone-cold cl...
Stevie Wonder Live Debuts New Songs at Joe Biden Rally
Yesterday, Stevie Wonder joined Joe Biden at a drive-in rally in Detroit, Michigan where he live-debuted two new songs he released last month: “Can’t Put It in the Hands of Fate” and “Where Is Our Love Song.” “The only way we’re going to win this fight, a fight against injustice, is by voting,” Wonder told the socially-distanced crowd. “We must vote justice in and injustice out.” “I feel this election here is the most important one of my lifetime,” the legendary pianist added. “When I’m in California hearing about a group of people that are trying to kidnap and murder the governor of this state, excuse my language, but that’s some bullshit. Unacceptable.” Wonder also suggested that instead of a Juneteenth official holiday, the president should give reparations “for the work that we’ve...
Stevie Wonder Releases Two New Songs
Stevie Wonder has released a pair of new songs, his first solo offerings in years. “Can’t Put It in The Hands of Fate” features Rapsody, Cordae, Chika, and Busta Rhymes, while the second tune, “Where Is Our Love Song,” includes the guitar playing of none other than Gary Clark Jr. As the titles of the songs infer, they’re respectively about activism, rising to the moment and joining together to face the world’s current issues and how love can help folks overcome the problems of today. The songs were written and produced by Wonder, and released on Wonder’s own So What The Fuss Music label. “In these times, we are hearing the most poignant wake-up calls and cries for this nation and the world to, please, heed our need for love, peace and unity,” Wonder said in a statement The proceeds fr...
Nigerian doctor named one of TIME’s Most Influential People in the world
TIME named Nigerian physician Tunji Funsho to the 2020 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes are available now at time.com/time100, and Mr Funsho’s TIME100 profile is available here. The list, now in its seventeenth year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals. Mr Funsho, a cardiologist based in Lagos, Nigeria, is the first Rotary member to receive this honour for the organisation’s work to eradicate polio, having played an essential role in ensuring Africa’s certification as wild polio-free in August of 2020. “I’m honored to be recognized by TIME for my part in ensuring that no child in Africa will ever again be paralyzed by wild polio, a disease that once disabl...
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Cover Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours’
Daptone Records will be releasing a collection of previously unheard tracks by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. The album will include covers includes renditions of songs by Dusty Springfield, Janet Jackson, Woody Guthrie, Prince and Stevie Wonder. You can hear their rendition of Wonder’s “Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours” below. Jones passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2016. Just Dropped In… is the second posthumous musical project after the group released 2017’s Soul of a Woman. See the tracklisting for Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In) below. 1. “Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours”2. “Little By Little”3. “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)”4. “Here I Am Baby”5. “What Have You Done For Me Lately?”6. “Take Me With U”7. “This Land Is Y...
