POLLTIME PARADISE: ILM Artist Poll #9 Results -- Stevie Wonder

Love "Love's in need of Love", my #2. It's incredibly soothing. The vocals are beautiful (and endlessly varying). I can remember one day in particular, wrung out and overtired, when I had it on repeat and couldn't listen to anything else.

28. TOO HIGH (Innervisions, 1973) -- 167 points, 14 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ODRdRYRso

Love's in Need of Love Today is one of his stupidest titles unfortunately

Too High more like TOO LOW

Too LOL

Too High more like TOO LOW

― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 7 October 2011 20:39 (38 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

has stevie ever acknowledged/discussed any personal drug use...?

He said no after his stint opening for the Stones.

27. YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE (Talking Book, 1972) -- 170 points, 11 lurker votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOwAJ9JJTes

You are the sunshine of my life. The first and only love. You are the apple of my eye. You suck my blood. And I hate you more than life itself.
― marilyn manson

Ah c'mon, it's a good song. Didn't vote for it, though.

I'm cool with the original LP version. The Musiquarium version with the horns added, tho, is excruciating.

If I had to choose between "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "My Love"--think they were probably on the radio at the same time--it'd be close. I don't hate either one, but neither do they retain any special nostalgic value for me, as they didn't register very strongly at the time.

Deeply nostalgic song for me, no matter how saccharine. Early childhood in the mid-to-late 70s sounded so much like this, and like classic album era Stevie in general. I guess Sesame Street had more than one song in this style?

...or at least with Big Brother style clear harmonica?

26. HEAVEN IS 10 ZILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY (Fulfillingness' First Finale, 1974) -- 174 points, 9 votes, 1 #1 vote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIE6unjkXmc

That's all for today, folks.

I prefer Aretha's version of Until You Come Back to Me so much to Stevie's that I left it off my ballot.

I'll say it. I think "Love's In Need" is maybe one of the weakest opening salvos of any classic album ever.

Yes.

26. HEAVEN IS 10 ZILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY (Fulfillingness' First Finale, 1974) -- 174 points, 9 votes, 1 #1 vote
27. YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE (Talking Book, 1972) -- 170 points, 11 votes
28. TOO HIGH (Innervisions, 1973) -- 167 points, 14 votes
29. LOVE'S IN NEED OF LOVE TODAY (Songs in the Key of Life, 1976) -- 155 points, 7 votes, 1 #1 vote
30. JESUS CHILDREN OF AMERICA (Innervisions, 1973) -- 148 points, 9 votes
31. LOVE HAVING YOU AROUND (Music of My Mind, 1972) -- 140 points, 7 votes
32. BIG BROTHER (Talking Book, 1972) -- 140 points, 6 votes
33. IT'S A SHAME (The Spinners, 2nd Time Around, 1970) -- 137 points, 6 votes
34. PASTTIME PARADISE (Songs in the Key of Life, 1976) -- 135 points, 9 votes
35. (tie) UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (Aretha Franklin, Let Me in Your Life, 1973) -- 131 points, 7 votes
35. (tie) BLAME IT ON THE SUN (Talking Book,, 1972) -- 131 points, 7 votes
37. SUMMER SOFT (Songs in the Key of Life, 1976) -- 128 points, 9 votes, 1 #1 vote
38. FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE (For Once in My Life, 1968) -- 111 points, 9 votes
39. ALL IN LOVE IS FAIR (Innervisions, 1973) -- 103 points, 7 votes
40. ORDINARY PAIN (Songs in the Key of Life, 1976) -- 100 points, 8 votes

Only one 60's track so far.

I'll say it again: The Original Musicquarium is the only comp I own on which three-quarters of the new songs are awesome.

"AiLiF" is easily the worst song on Innervisions but I still like it.
"Jesus Children" being left off of the box set was its biggest mistake.

I love "Love's In Need", it touches me deep.

> I'll say it again: The Original Musicquarium is the only comp I own on which three-quarters of the new songs are awesome.

Yes! "Ribbon In The Sky" a solid contender for my fave SW track...

All in Love Is Fair is utterly gorgeous

I don't actually hate any of the songs that made the first batch of the countdown. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is the closest I think the entire top 40 has to a dud track.

There are definitely a few going forward whose high positions perplex me deeply, but they're still good songs.

Thanks to overplay in the last week, I keep praying that "Queen in the Black" will make it. Of course it won't.

happy that i helped "For Once In My Life" make it. i also voted for "Summer Soft" even though i'm not that wild about it out of respect for eric for doing the poll.

summer soft is outstanding u fools

also if i had more internet time in my life i would have voted the shit out of this poll :/

hey guess what i voted for "summer soft" and u didn't so who's the fool huh :folds arms:

I don't actually hate any of the songs that made the first batch of the countdown. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is the closest I think the entire top 40 has to a dud track.

Unlike the goddamned documentary poll.

There is a documentary poll?

I voted for "Sunshine.." I think it's far more complex that it gets credit for.

I voted for it too for basically that reason - it's constantly slightly surprising, where it goes.

Arch, the documentary poll was a couple of months ago -- An Impossible Job: ILX's 40 Favorite Documentaries

Forgot to say it yesterday, but "Heaven is 10 Zillion" is probably one of the only songs whose presence in the top 40 really outright puzzles me, even though I like it a lot. I say that knowing which of his enduringly popular ballads missed the list entirely, and knowing I browbeat voters to include "Summer Soft" in honor of me.

Aw no, it's great - not sure I'd ever paid it any heed before researching for this poll, and I certainly wasn't expecting much with that title, but it wowed me a bit.

FFF gets the least press of the major albums, so, yeah, I'm surprised too despite voting for it.

It is one a pretty oddity, tho. Somehow R&B spacey and lopingly Grand Ole Opry at the same time. One of the most jarring changes in his repertoire, too, when it diminishes as he reaches "but if there is a god."

Fantastic song, really.

it is one a pretty oddity.

PS I voted for Summer Soft too, and I never even noticed you shilling for it

XP - Thanks William for the link to the docu poll; some interesting titles there!

I didn't vote, have no idea what's expected to win, but hope Sir Duke places highly

Great list so far. Love's In Need Of Love Today was my number one. Really happy to see Blame It On The Sun and Zillion Light Years make it.

I'm really hoping some Syreeta pops up soon, not really sure which her most popular songs are though.

This process taught me that Sir Duke, amazing though it is, has a very clunky lyric. I'm grateful though - I've had the tune stuck in my head forever, but never actually found out what it was until this poll (I'd been 99% sure it was Stevie, I'd just never pinned it down before).

OK, let's go!

25. MASTER BLASTER (JAMMIN') (Hotter Than July, 1980) -- 181 points, 8 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv_wZQJYlo0

I am the Blaster Master
― Mickey (modestmickey), Sunday, February 6, 2005 9:10 PM (6 years ago)

24. ANOTHER STAR (Songs in the Key of Life, 1976) -- 185 points, 7 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9KKBvWTdMQ

Wanted to dig up the clip of this song's appearance in an episode of Quantum Leap. Sam played a Chippendale's dancer who became infatuated with a deaf girl dancer after he observed her running through some moves to this song. Hit a lot of my buttons, you know?