I Just Called to Say I Love You

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"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song written, produced and performed by Stevie Wonder as part of the soundtrack to the 1984 film The Woman in Red. The midtempo ballad expresses how simply calling someone to tell them you love them can make even the most unremarkable day of your life magical. It's one of Wonder's most simplistic, sweetly melodic and sentimental songs, and, with its quintessentially mid-80s synthesizers and drum machines, is a far cry from his more organic and experimental 1970s material. For those reasons it was savaged by critics upon its release. However, the public were seduced by its simple charms, making it easily Wonder's most successful single to date.

The song was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from October 13, 1984 and also became Wonder's first UK number-one hit, staying at the top for 6 weeks. It also won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Song.

There is a dispute between Stevie Wonder and his former writing partner Lee Garrett over authorship rights. Garrett claims to have written the songs years previous to its 1984 release. [1]

[edit] Song structure

The song has two verses and a chorus, with each of the verses divided further into two half-verses. Each half-verse and the chorus have sixteen measures. The protagonist of the song reinforces the message of the song's title (and chorus) by negating all major special times of the year. The song concludes with a triple-chord, or cha-cha-cha, ending.

Preceded by "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince and the Revolution	Billboard Hot 100 number one single October 13, 1984	Succeeded by "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" by Billy Ocean
Preceded by "Careless Whisper" by George Michael	UK number one single October 14, 1984	Succeeded by "Freedom" by Wham!
Preceded by "Flashdance... What a Feeling" from Flashdance	Academy Award for Best Song 1984	Succeeded by "Say You, Say Me" from White Nights