STEVIE WONDER - SIR DUKE / I WISH

SIR DUKE

Released: March 22, 1977

Charted: UK #2    US #1 (3 weeks)

"Sir Duke” is a song from his 1976 album “Songs in the key of life”.. Released as a single in 1977. Stevie Wonder wrote this song as a tribute to music, specifically to Duke Ellington, who had passed away in 1974. Ellington was a jazz bandleader and composer who was a big influence on Wonder. It's a tribute to jazz and roots, with a beat that lies somewhere between jazz and funk, and a horn section that dances on winged feet.

"I knew the title from the beginning but wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for us," Stevie said. "So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation. They gave us something that is supposed to be forever. That's the basic idea of what we do and how we hook it up."

This wasn't the first song Wonder wrote in tribute to one of his musical inspirations: "Bye Bye World" from his 1968 album Eivets Rednow is about the guitarist Wes Montgomery. Wonder's second album, released in 1962 when he was just 12 years old, was Tribute to Uncle Ray, which paid homage to Ray Charles. This was more of a marketing ploy by Motown, who were pushing Wonder as the second coming of Charles.

Cash Box said that "it's a tribute to jazz and roots, with a beat that lies somewhere between jazz and funk, and a horn section that dances on winged feet." Record World said upon its single release: "Already familiar from its radio play and already on The Singles Chart, it is shaping up as a major hit."

The lead guitarist on this song was Mike Sembello, who had a hit in 1983 with "Maniac” from “Flashdance” soundtrack.

I WISH 

Released: November 1976

Charted: UK #5   US #1 (1 week)

"I Wish” is a song released in late 1976 as the lead single from his 1976 album, “Songs in the key of life”. The song focuses on his childhood from the 1950s into the early 1960s about how he wished he could go back and relive it. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and soul singles chart. At the 19th Grammy Awards, Stevie Wonder won the Best R&B Vocal Performance Male for this song.

Wonder recollected how the music for "I Wish" came to him: The day I wrote it was a Saturday, the day of a Motown picnic in the summer of '76. God, I remember that because I was having this really bad toothache. It was ridiculous...I had such a good time at the picnic that I went to Crystal Recording Studio right afterward and the vibe came right to my mind – running at the picnic, the contests, we all participated. It was a lot of fun ... and from that came the 'I Wish' vibe.

This song finds Stevie chronicling his younger days from the 1950s onto the early '60s when he was a "nappy-headed boy" growing up in difficult circumstances. Despite living in poverty, he looks fondly on those days and wishes they could come back once more. It was a simple time when his only worry was "for Christmas what would be my toy."

Stevie Wonder told ABC Audio during a virtual press conference that he always writes the music and melody first to let the words become their own. He cited this song as an example, explaining it was originally going to be about "The Wheel of 84" and other Eastern religious spiritual teachings. "But then it was one time we were in the studio," he added, "just talking about things that happened when we were kids... back in the day... So it turned into 'I Wish.'"

Nathan Watts' infectious 8-note bassline is one reason why "I Wish" is one of Stevie Wonder's most sampled songs. 

In 2015, Wonder was honored with the TV special Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life - An All-Star Grammy Salute, where Lady GaGa gave an excellent performance of "I wish".

Taking two years to complete, the album “Songs in the key of life” was a salute to Wonder's perfectionist ethos ("If it takes two years or seven years, I must be satisfied when it's done"), with the largest and most diverse collection of songs out of all his releases. It was the first album Wonder produced after signing a seven year contract with Motown Records, reputed to be worth $13 million. The Motown representative that bartered the contract said that the success of this album, which won the Album of the Year Grammy Award, convinced him that he had not been cheated in the deal. Clearly it was worth it, earning not just commercial success but praise from other artists who cite its influence. Elton John said of the album in 2003, "Let me put it this way: wherever I go in the world, I always take a copy of “Songs in the key of life”. For me, it's the best album ever made, and I'm always left in awe after I listen to it."