Stevie W is the best. His 70s music was some of the finest out there. It's also important to understand the context around at the time. Marvin Gaye had made his nearly perfect "What's Going On?" album (which if you have not checked that out yet, run don't walk!), and Mr Wonder wanted to follow in Gaye's path out of the (albeit great) pop of Motown to more serious music, both harmonically and lyrically. This album and "Songs in the Key of Life" are simply fantastic. Keep going.
Stevie Wonder owned the Grammys for 10 years. When Paul Simon won record of the year for "Bridge Over Troubled Water", he thanked Stevie for NOT putting out an album that year.
Daniel, that bass is a Moog synth, played by Stevie. Without checking I'd betthat Stevie played and sang every note on this track. Edit. I checked and he did play it all, even percussion
Ah Stevie Wonder - he’s the man! Loads of great stuff from him, my favourite being ‘Superstition’. What an amazing career he’s had/is having! Also, I actually have this album - the original I bought in the ‘70’s (ah, that wonderful decade of music again!)
Likely one of the most influential musicians of my lifetime.I fill with tears when I think about him, his gift and his gifts to us. Bless you Daniel. Bullseye!
One of the legendary artists that could galvanize fans of all types of music. Toe-tapping magic. A radio staple for a generation. And no fluff. As deep in it's own way as our favorite storytelling balladiers.
Thanks you for listening to this song and understanding its impact. The fact that it's more than 40 years old, and yet you can completely connect with it based on today's events, illustrates why so many of us are so frustrated with the slow pace of change and the number of people who deny that there are any problems to fix. Stevie has done a lot of social commentary songs, mixed in with love songs and lighter topics. He is stylistically varied and yet you can always tell it's him. Listening to his best stuff is like going to church; prepare yourself to hear truth bombs.
Great song! Glad you chose the extended cut. It really extends the gritty feel of the song. The radio edit is a shame, it short changes the aesthetic. Thanks Daniel! If I'm not mistaken, Stevie played all the instruments on this.
Again, I loved watching your face as you listened to this song, it came out at crucial time in my development as a socially conscious person and really made an impact on me, Stevie Wonder is a national treasure...take care.
Such an influential genius. Stevie is two years older than me and I first saw him on American Bandstand. I think that I was 12. He left me dumbfounded with his first big hit, Fingertips. Motown music was one of my first and last loves. Thanks for this
One of many great tracks from a landmark album by Stevie Wonder during his "Classic Period." Negotiating a new contract with Motown Records, he got creative control of recordings with this third album. I remember a college classmate always sitting on the campus lawn listening to this album. So, the whole album is worth listening to and more songs on it are worth reacting to. Grammy's Album of the Year in 1974. Glad that you have come across it. :)
Barbra Streisand released a single, All in Love is Fair in 1974, it reached #63 on the Billboard Hot 100. It wasn't till I heard the entire Innervisions album that I found out it was a Stevie Wonder song. One more thing as they say, there are no real stop and start breaks on this album as one song will go right into another!
He owned the '70s with 3 Big Albums. Winning multiple Grammys. One year when Paul Simon won he had to thank Stevie Wonder for not putting out an album that year. Check out Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder playing "Living for the City" on RU-vid.
A sheer masterpiece of music. I still have this vinyl album with my name on the cover and dated: ‘73. S seminal album a seminal piece of my teenage life as a human rights activist.
I grew up with this album on heavy rotation on my moms record player, interesting to see a young person’s reaction to the music of my childhood. I recently went out and got this cd, awesome as always!
Mr. Wonder put out four consecutive 5 star LPS in a row. It was unsurpassed other than the Beatles! You have to listen to all of "Intervisions." Thanks for sharing!
Such a moving song ! - First head the radio version in 1975 , it really stood out. Great music, arrangement and lyrics from a supremely talented artist - Thanks for covering this !!
I heard this for the first time on college radio when it came out. Stevie Wonder was/is an amazing artist and I still think this may have been his best album. This could have been set any time from the 20s thru to the 60s. I grew up (white) in the deep south in the 50s/60s, and we really don't seem to have learned a damn thing. For more on the Great Migration, check en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Migration_(African_American).
What I like about this one is it expertly combines biting lyrics with catchy music. I first heard and enjoyed it just because it sounded so good. Then one day I paid attention to the lyrics and discovered this whole other level of appreciation for it.
Daniel, I grew up in that era when casual racism was endemic. Even the version of Eeny meeny miney moe I learned as a child contained the N word! Seeing you flinch when you heard that word in this song proves to me that while we still have a long way to go, progress has been made and I believe will continue.
Stevie was not only one of the first progressive pop artists, but he was also, to me, the first artist to use synthesizers musically, instead of as a gimmick. His early 1970s albums were very forward-looking.
When I was a kid growing up in the Late 70s I saw a big change take place. We had moved from a mostly black area of Los Angeles that was nice to an even nicer area in the San Fernando Valley of California. For a lot of years I would be the only black kid in my class in Elementary School and throughout Middle School and High School.. I did encounter a few people with some hangups that were racial back then because they had never lived along side anyone else of a different color and their parents were an obvious influence that way. Mostly though, none of us cared what color anybody was as kids. What I saw happen in the late 70s was that Music began to cross the lines even more, with a lot of white singers sounding very soulful and as a result a lot of people that normally would only associate with their own race started to get comfortable hanging out outside of their usual Comfort Zones.. This happened into the 80s in mass and for a long time there was a greater sense of living together and harmony than I had ever seen.. Now, the Powers That Be, here on earth, have seen it fit to Divide and Conquer once again by seeding Race Wars... and... we're back to a worse place again as a society, because so many have bought into it. We need to be more conscious of the "Games People Play" that those running this world envoke on citizens in order to accomplish what they are seeking to do. We all need to make a personal choice to refuse to even go there..
I saw you have a keyboard. Maybe try playing the black keys with just the octaves and fifths in a syncopated way, you can get a Stevie kind of thing going. Maybe check his song “Dont you worry bout a Thing” Stevie broke through a lot of barriers, important artist.
Steveland Morris is very influential to both kings of pop, Michael Jackson and Prince. Stevie predates Michael’s heee trademark here and Prince’s sped/pitched up vocals here also. With some help he explored the unknown universe of synthesizers. Plus, super soul vocals and creative lyrics, he blessed us with knowledge of inequality, protest, spiritual love, and hopefulness. The whole album is a triumph and a blessing. Album, 8track, cassette, and CD, had them all and pretty much wore them out.
Yes, my boomer generation screamed and yelled about saving the Earth. And clearly, you understand how frustrating it is to see that all of our warnings, and those of our best performing artists, leaders, scientists and politicians, went unheeded. As for Stevie Wonder: he gets very specific about racism in his work, and if you listen to enough of his work, you'll learn about the Civil Rights movement....perhaps more than you want to know, really.
Could you please listen to Elton John Ticking from the album Caribou. It’s just Elton and piano except for a bit of synth at the end but it’s another song along the similar lines to Living for the City.
Hello there!! Thank you! Check out the OJ's song, For the Love of Money. I have it in my head its from the successful writing team at the studio where the Philly Sound emerged. I could be wrong, but I 'm petty sure it's those guys.The Philly Sound is Great. The bass on that one is so fine.
This is one of his best. For a completely different feel, check out Sir Duke, a tribute to Duke Ellington and other 20th century pioneers. As far as cursing on record goes, the first I ever heard was on the soundtrack to the musical Hair. Shortly after, the Jefferson Airplane had some salty language on their album Volunteers in 1968. Listen to We Should Be Together. Not only is it a great song, it has language that is totally appropriate to the song's message.
Please Daniel, don't think we've made no progress...we have . Many opinions and attitudes have changed over the years because of people like Stevie. It's sad though that this is lost in all the divisive language and behaviors of some who try to obscure the progress. " Look over here, nothing to see over there."
As a 12-13 year old in the SF Bay Area in early 70's when this song came out it really opened my eyes to how other people see the world. And the world they have to live in. I'm not perfect by any means (my eyes just rolled out of their sockets. So did yours. lol) but "Livin' For The City", and a couple of others, helped push me in the right direction at least. Suavecito by Malo is the best example I can think of where the shorter, single version of the song is really not that bad. You should check it out. Beautiful song.
A great number that attempts to capture the experience of a great many Black Americans. Stevie isn't my #1 artist, but this number is outstanding. I don't know the extent to which it applies to Stevie's own family.
Shallow material temptations, alienation and trouble might not be unique to cities but they're profoundly more concentrated and your character doesn't seem to matter much in those places.
This was an important song to shine a light on injustice in such naked terms. In 1973. Unfortunately the issues the BLM movement has been wrestling with are nothing new.
I always thought the line was "They don't use colored people" but the line you read was different. You have to understand the time. Stevie being a black man; hag his message edited out for white America. If s radio station card play the full version; all hell would break loose, so only the 3 minute version was ever played. Unless you owned the album; or knew someone who did, you never heard those last lines. Honestly; I'm amazed Stevie got away with recording and release the song in full at all.
I love the irony of this song, especially the part where the lyrics tell us--'Her brother's smart, he's got more sense than many...' then later we hear his arrival in The City, where almost instantly a fellow black guy, gives him drugs and he is arrested and sent to prison for 10 years. Smart? Yeah.
I would like to request that you react to Arcadian Driftwood by The Band. It's a great story song with the highest quality of musicianship. I don't think you've reacted to The Band in a long time. I am sure you will like this song. Loved this one by Stevie.
The long version IS the right one to react to - the edited version doesn't tell the whole story, it really takes a turn that you would miss with the short version.
Excellent commentary in your analysis Daniel. I'd say the next one should be Higher Ground as it shows where Stevie's head was at at the time. All this struggle he saw and the only way to cope with it is to keep on striving until a better day comes along, which it will, eventually. Take care brother! Peace!
