#StevieWonder – Tom MacInnes, Writer

Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio ft. L.V. from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to the film, Dangerous Minds…Song #20/250: The Stars of Stage and Screen

The man who started it all…Johann Sebastian Bach, composer of Prelude in C minor for piano.

Over 300 years ago, Johann Sebastian Bach composed a little piece for piano or lute that went by the title, “Prelude in C minor”. Of all of the music he composed over the course of his lifetime, the “Prelude in C minor” is well-regarded and is regularly included in lists of the best preludes Bach composed. Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer, lived on until the 1750s but his music lives on forever. Proof of this is the fact that Bach’s prelude is the opening link in a chain of musical and personal connections that bring us to today’s song, Gangsta’s Paradise” by rapper Coolio. Let’s connect the dots, shall we?

Stevie Wonder playing the violin….seriously! From *Songs in the Key of Life,* this is the first known use of synthesizers to recreate a full violin ensemble.

Two hundred and fifty years after “Prelude in C minor” was created by Bach, another unbelievably talented young man was searching for inspiration for a new album he was putting together. In the mid-1970s, Stevie Wonder was arguably the most talented and prolific musician in the world. From his early days at Motown as “Little Stevie Wonder” who would headline the Motown Reviews along with Motown’s stable of other stars, Stevie Wonder’s musical career had evolved right before our eyes. By the time the middle of the decade rolled around, Stevie Wonder was enjoying a string of success not seen since Elvis and The Beatles hit the stage. By 1975, Wonder had had four consecutive strong albums, three of which reached #1 (Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale plus, Music of my Mind, which reached #4). At this point, Stevie Wonder engaged in contract negotiations with Motown. He was threatening to quit music altogether and become a missionary in Africa. Motown buckled. Wonder was given a contract valued at close to 37 million dollars and, just as importantly, he won the right to exercise full creative control over what appeared on his albums. After the acrimony of the contract negotiations, Wonder asked for a year off to recharge and reorient his passions. As the year went on, Wonder began writing again. His vision for his career was as an ambassador for the downtrodden, the weak, the lonely, the unloved and those pushed to the margins of society. At the end of that sabbatical year, Stevie Wonder returned with an album that critics have hailed as one of the most magnificent albums ever recorded in the whole history of modern music…Songs In The Key Of Life. While songs such as “Sir Duke”, “Knocks Me Off My Feet” and “Isn’t She Lovely?” emerged as the hit singles from this album, there was another song that was inspired by a piece of music that was two and a half centuries old. “Pastime Paradise” borrows the chord structure of the opening eight notes of Bach’s “Prelude in C minor” but, instead of piano, Wonder used a synthesizer to mimic a full orchestra of violin players. It was the first use of a synthesizer in this manner. Normally, a song uses a drum beat to establish the rhythm or beat of a song. For Stevie Wonder, he used the synthesizer to create the beat. Nestled amid a selection of songs that spoke to social justice, “Pastime Paradise” speaks to the importance of a positive attitude and a strong work ethic in achieving goals that might lift someone out of poverty, for example. The song denigrates those who champion materialism and possessiveness. Songs in the Key of Life may be rated as Stevie Wonder’s masterpiece but it wasn’t his last work. Wonder wrote many more albums in the 40 plus years that have followed and is still a respected and revered figure in the world of music and in life, in general.

LouAnne Johnson as she looked in the 1970s when she was a member of the US military and was stationed at Clark Air Force Base in The Philippines.

While Stevie Wonder was putting the finishing touches on Songs in the Key of Life, a lady named LouAnne Johnson was enlisting in the US military. Johnson was posted to Clark Air Force Base in The Philippines. While there, Johnson took university level courses and ended up with an Honours degree in Psychology. Upon leaving the military, Johnson decided to become a teacher. Much to her surprise, her very first application was accepted and she was given a job in a high school in California. Unbeknownst to Johnson at the time, this high school was located in an inner city neighbourhood known for gang violence, drug use, rape, teenage pregnancies, poverty and much more. When Johnson showed up for her first teaching gig, she understood why her application had been accepted so quickly by school board officials. Finding teachers who were willing to work in this school had been a challenge. FInding teachers who would stay was an even bigger challenge. Well, not only did LouAnne Johnson fulfill the terms of her teaching contract, her students thrived. She wrote about her experiences in a book called, My Posse Don’t Do Homework. This book was a hit and ended up being turned into a movie called, Dangerous Minds. Michele Pfeiffer played Johnson in the film. Dangerous Minds grossed almost $200 million dollars during its run but much of what drove the success of the movie came from the soundtrack and, in particular, a song called “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio ft. L.V.

This would be Coolio and L.V and those would be Grammy Awards for “Gangsta’s Paradise” that they are holding.

In the links below, I will have a spot for you to listen to Stevie Wonder’s song, “Pastime Paradise”. I encourage you to give it a listen, even if you only do so for the opening thirty seconds or so. If you do give “Pastime Paradise” a listen and then give Coolio’s song, “Gangsta’s Paradise” a similar airing, you will see that Coolio basically sampled the core of Wonder’s synthesized rhythm track. The two songs have an almost identical musical structure. So similar are the songs that Stevie Wonder was given a song writing credit on “Gangsta’s Paradise”. As a further condition of allowing Coolio to sample his work, Wonder put down a clause that was important to him…no profanity allowed! Thus, “Gangsta’s Paradise” is one of the very few hit Hip Hop songs that uses lyrics that are completely clean. The fact that profanity is absent does not detract from the power of the message contained within this song nor does it impact Coolio’s powerful oration. He raps his way through “Gangsta’s Paradise” with passion and emotion, almost as if his life depended on him getting these lyrics said aloud. Coolio has stated that he was well aware of the song’s historical connections, with Stevie Wonder, as well as with the gospel-tinged nature of the music that gives it a religious fervor. “Gangsta’s Paradise” was the #1 selling song in the US the year it was released in 1995. It won the Grammy award for Best Rap Solo Performance, as well as a host of other awards.

From Johann Sebastian Bach to Stevie Wonder’s seminal album, Songs in the Key of Life to 1995’s Song of the Year, “Gangsta’s Paradise”, the musical dots are connected. It is amazing to think of how an eight chord progression created almost three centuries ago would be the catalyst for a hit Hip Hop song in 1995 that was created as a result of the life story of one of America’s first female marines, LouAnne Johnson that was made into a hit movie starring Michele Pfeiffer. But, that’s how it all lined up. Historical dominos do not always fall quickly but, in the end, fall they do.

The link to the video for the song, “Prelude in C minor” by Johann Sebastian Bach can be found here.

The link to the video for the song, “Pastime Paradise” by Stevie Wonder can be found here.

The link to the video for the song, “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio, ft. L.V., as sung on the Billboard Music Awards show with Stevie Wonder can be found here.

The link to the video for the song “Gangsta’s Paradise” sung a capella by Coolio and L.V. on the Howard Stern Radio Show can be found here. ***For what it is worth, I think this is an awesome live version. What a voice Collio had! This is a home run performance for sure. ***Lyrics version of “Gangsta’s Paradise” can be found here.

The link to the trailer for the movie, Dangerous Minds can be found here.

The link to the official website for Stevie Wonder can be found here.

The link to the official website for LouAnne Johnson can be found here.

The link to the official website for Coolio can be found here.

***FYI: Coolio passed away just recently. This post was created in his memory. #RIP

***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2022 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History…Song #55: Superstition by Stevie Wonder (RS)

This list of songs is inspired by lists published by radio station KEXP-FM from Seattle in 2010, as well as the latest poll taken in 2021 by Rolling Stone Magazine. For the most part I will faithfully countdown from their lists, starting at Song #500 and going until I reach Song #1. When you see the song title listed as something like: Song #XXX (KEXP)….it means that I am working off of the official KEXP list. Song XXX (RS) means the song is coming from the Rolling Stone list. If I post the song title as being: Song #xxx (KTOM), it means I have gone rogue and am inserting a song choice from my own personal list of tunes I really like. In any case, you are going to get to hear a great song and learn the story behind it. Finally, just so everyone is aware, I am not a music critic nor a musician. I am a music fan and an armchair storyteller. Here is the story behind today’s song. Enjoy.

RS: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.

Song #55: Superstition by Stevie Wonder.

By the time that Stevie Wonder released, “Superstition”, he was already on to album #15(!) called, “Talking Book”. By the time, “Talking Book” came out, Stevie Wonder was entering the prime of his career….even though he was only in his early twenties at the time. By then, he had fulfilled his contractual obligations to Motown Records and had re-negotiated a deal (similar to the one Marvin Gaye signed) that gave Stevie a larger share of the profits from royalties and concert sales. He, also, had more freedom as to the songs he recorded and the players he worked with. In the specific case of “Superstition”, Wonder had been made aware that legendary guitarist, Jeff Beck, was a big fan. So, he invited Beck to play on the song. Beck agreed to do so in exchange for a song, written by Stevie, for Beck’s upcoming album. Wonder agreed. In fact, once “Superstition” was finished, he signed an agreement with Jeff Beck, whereby, Beck could also record and release the song on his own album if he wanted to. Beck agreed to that and the deal was mutually signed and sealed. Stevie Wonder released his version first and it became his first #1 hit since “Fingertips”, waaaaaay back in the early days when Wonder was still just a boy of 13 years of age. Beck released his version a few months later and, by then, most folks viewed it as a mere cover song and did not pay much attention to it at all. For what it is worth, I think it rocks fairly hard and is a faithful rendition of the version we all know so well but, at the same time, it is uniquely Jeff Beck’s, as well.

“Superstition” is a song about actual superstitions such as black cats, walking under a ladder, the number 13 and so on. But more, it is a song about not succumbing to illogical thinking. Far too often in life, we all fall prey to making decisions based upon emotional reactions or else, upon heresay, instead of actual, factual information. Stevie Wonder was attempting to use all of the funked up skills at his disposal to make a light-hearted but, serious point, that thinking with a clear mind is the best way to proceed in life.

Stevie Wonder is one of the most talented performers on this list. Listed as a multi-instrumentalist, Wonder can play every instrument that has ever appeared on any of his records. In fact, in most cases, he plays each instrument when it comes time to record the individual tracks. It is only when he would play live on a stage that he would use other, professional session players to fill in the roles that he was comfortable performing himself. The only slight exception to this rule was when it came to guitarists. Wonder could play the guitar, if he had to but, that was one instrument that he didn’t seem to mind delegating. That is how Jeff Beck came to be invited into Wonder’s recording studio.

One final story I will share about the recording of “Superstition” and the other songs on “Talking Book” album is something that was said about his blindness that I had never heard before nor, considered. Those who worked on the recording process of the album often complained about how Stevie worked. Perhaps, “complain” is a strong word. They needed to adjust to how he worked. You see, most sighted people are awake and active during the day time and then, we sleep at night. The circadian cycle controls how our internal body clocks work and thus, we function accordingly. Well, apparently, those rules did not apply to Stevie Wonder. Day time and night time were all the same to him. He worked when he felt like it and slept when he felt like that, too. So, as often would happen, Stevie would feel inspired and want to record some tracks so he would call his sound engineer to meet him at the studio that he had pre-booked for twenty-four hours a day….the only problem was that Stevie’s call might come at 4:00AM. To Stevie Wonder, 4:00AM is just another hour in the working and living day. However, to the sound engineer, it was the middle of his sleep time. In the end, it all worked out but, it certainly was an adjustment and just goes to show how easily we forget to empathize with the way people who may be different from us go about living their lives.

“Superstition” is a song that helped Stevie Wonder win two Grammy Awards and, like I said earlier, it reached the top of the charts, as well. It is a funky song with a timely message. So, without further delay, here is Stevie Wonder with “Superstition”, from the album, “Talking Book”. Enjoy.

The link to the video for the song, “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder, can be found here.

The link to the official website for Stevie Wonder, can be found here.

The link to the video for the song, “Superstition” by Jeff Beck, can be found here.

The link to the official website for Jeff Beck, can be found here.

The link to the official website for Rolling Stone Magazine, can be found here.

The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History…Song #377: Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder (RS)

RS: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.

Song #377: Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder.

Stevie Wonder spent most of his childhood in The Motor City: Detroit, Michigan. That is noteworthy because Detroit was also the home of Motown Records. When Stevie was a child, he sang all around Detroit in church choirs. At age 11, he wrote and performed an original composition that was heard by one of The Miracles (of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles fame) who, in turn, brought Stevie to the attention of Motown head Barry Gordy. Gordy liked what he heard and signed Wonder to his first recording contract. Stevie’s career began with him recording cover versions of existing songs (including an album entirely comprised of Ray Charles tunes called Tribute to Uncle Ray). Not long afterwards, Stevie began touring with The Motortown Revue. One of his live sets (20 minutes long) was recorded and released as an album called Recorded Live: The 12 year old Genius. In that set was a song called “Fingertips”. “Fingertips” went to #1 on the charts, making Stevie Wonder the youngest singer to ever top the charts. Needless to say, that song was just the beginning of a career that remains relevant to this day.

Overall, Stevie Wonder has sold hundreds of millions of albums, he has earned 25 Grammy Awards and countless other accolades and he has released dozens of #1 hits songs such as “Superstition”, “My Cherie Amour”, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours”, “You are the Sunshine of my Life”, “Living in the City” and many more. One of his funkiest songs was one that eerily predicted a life-altering event that almost cost Wonder his life. That song was “Higher Ground”.

“Higher Ground” was released in 1973 from an album entitled Innervisions. The song deals with themes of reincarnation. Wonder is quoted as saying that he believed in the possibility of the human spirit transcending our time on earth and that our soul had a strength that might enable it live on even after our the shell of our body was diminished and gone. Not long after the release of this song, Stevie Wonder was involved in a serious car accident that left him in a coma for several days. Like many who have experienced similar situations, Wonder emerged from his hospitalization with a renewed determination to make his life count for something more than just fame and fortune. He took the stirrings for Civil Rights and for Social Justice that had always existed within him and brought them to the forefront of his public life. Consequently, Stevie Wonder has been lauded with many humanitarian awards and has lent his name to many important causes throughout the rest of his days.

The song “Higher Ground” incorporated many aspects of a style of music called Funk that was becoming popularized by artists such as James Brown at the time. One bit of trivia concerns the fact that although many musicians are present in the video you are about to see, the reality is that Stevie Wonder played all instruments used in the recording of this song. He did this on most of his songs. As a result, Stevie Wonder has been often called a genius and a one-man band. “Higher Ground” was a Top Ten hit for Stevie Wonder. It was also a Top Ten for “The Red Hot Chili Peppers” many years later. So, get ready to move and groove because here comes Stevie Wonder and The Red Hot Chili Peppers with “Higher Ground”, one of the most funked-up songs of all time. Enjoy.

The link to the video for “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder can be found here. ***The lyrics version for Stevie Wonder’s take on this song can be found here.

The link to the official website for Stevie Wonder can be found here.

The link to the video for”Higher Ground” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers can be found here. ***Their lyrics version can be found here.

The link to the official website for The Red Hot Chili Peppers can be found here.

Thanks to Rolling Stone Magazine for helping to inspire the writing of this post. A link to their website can be found here.