| "For Once in My Life" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||
| from the album For Once in My Life | ||||
| Released | October 15, 1968 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); summer 1967 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:52 | |||
| Label | Tamla T 54174 |
|||
| Writer(s) | Ron Miller Orlando Murden |
|||
| Producer | Henry Cosby | |||
| Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"For Once in My Life" is a pop song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Jobete publishing company in 1967 (see 1967 in music). The composition was originally recorded by Jean DuShon, while other artists, such as Tony Bennett and The Temptations, recorded slow ballad versions of the song. Jack Soo was the first male artist to record a version of the song—it never made it to any public market and the recording was permanently shelved in the Motown Records archives.[1][2]
The most familiar and successful version of "For Once in My Life" is an uptempo arrangement by Stevie Wonder, recorded immediately after DuShon's original. Wonder's version (issued on Motown's Tamla label) was a top-three hit in the United States in late 1968 and early 1969.
The song was included on the soundtrack to the 2001 film See Spot Run and the soundtrack to 2010's Shrek Forever After.
Ron Miller originally wrote this song for Barbara McNair; Barbara was the first in the world to ever sing this song. The song was written with a slow tempo and was performed as a ballad. McNair recorded the song and her vocal was backed up by a symphony orchestra. Stevie Wonder requested permission from McNair and Ron Miller to record the song with a faster tempo which became the most famous version of the song. In later years, McNair recorded the song once again with a faster tempo. Her nephew John Thomas is the owner of TEC Studios, and has released the second recording of this song in June 2010.
Jean DuShon had originally been tapped by Ron Miller to demo "For Once in My Life", as he was "fine-tuning" the composition. Miller was impressed by DuShon's rendition of the song, and she released her version as a single on Chess Records' Cadet label early in 1966. Motown CEO Berry Gordy found out that Miller, a Motown staff writer, had given the song to an outside artist, and had Miller immediately make the song available for Motown artist Barbara McNair, who included the song on her November 1966 album release, Here I Am, and later for Stevie Wonder and then The Temptations to record. Meanwhile, DuShon's version made no significant impact on the singles charts, but was chosen "Pick Hit of the Week" by Detroit's WXYZ radio in 1966, but Chess Records dropped the ball by not promoting the record. Miss DuShon was so distraught at the failure of the record, she dropped it from her popular nightclub act. Despite the failure of the record, she was the very first in a long line of singers to record the song since it was written.[3][4]
Jack Soo was the first male singer to record the song after he joined Motown Records in 1965 as one of their first non-African American artists. The record was never released and was permanently shelved in the Motown archives, perhaps in favor of another version by a more popular artist. It was a slow ballad version, similar to how Tony Bennett later performed it.[2]
The Temptations' version was done in 1967 for their pop standards based album The Temptations in a Mellow Mood. Baritone singer Paul Williams sings the lead vocal on the song, and it resultantly became his showcase number in the Temptations' live shows. Williams' most famous performance of the number was during The Supremes and Temptations' TCB television special in 1968, a performance cited as the apex of Williams' career. The song also made its way into The Temptations 1998 made-for-television miniseries on NBC. After celebrating some success in the movie, the actor who portrays Paul Williams (Christian Payton) sings the slow ballad version.
Also in 1967, "For Once in My Life" became one of Tony Bennett's more successful forays into contemporary songs. His version of the song peaked at number 91 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, (#8 on the Easy Listening survey) and was the title track of his album For Once in My Life. "For Once in My Life" remained in Bennett's concert repertoire into the 2000s. In 2006 Bennett teamed up with Stevie Wonder to record a ballad tempo version for his Duets: An American Classic album, for which Bennett and Wonder received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Bennett also performed it on the Grand Finale of American Idol 6.
Stevie Wonder's version was recorded at about the same time as The Temptations' in the summer of 1967. However, Berry Gordy did not like Wonder's version, an upbeat rendition produced by Henry Cosby. Gordy vetoed the single's release, and the recording was shelved. Billie Jean Brown, the head of the Motown Quality Control department, finally coerced Gordy into allowing Wonder's version to be released in October 1968.[5]
Contrary to Gordy's instincts, "For Once in My Life" was a highly successful record, peaking at number-two on both the Billboard Pop Singles and Billboard R&B Singles (it was held off from the number-one spot on each chart by another Motown single Gordy had originally vetoed, Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"). "For Once in My Life", issued by Tamla with "Angie Girl" as its b-side, was later included as the title track on Wonder's For Once in My Life album.
Wonder's version of the track is often singled out by bassists as the greatest example of James Jamerson's playing style, with no two bars of music played alike during the whole song; a completely improvisational line that is both melodic and complementary to Wonder's vocal.
Australian singer John Farnham recorded a version of For Once In My Life in 1971. It was released on his album titled Johnny.
Ella Fitzgerald performed a slow rendition of the song live in Berlin in 1968. She began by saying, "There's a song in the States made popular by Tony Bennett. Such a beautiful tune. We'd like to try and sing it for you because we think the lyrics are so gorgeous and the tune itself is beautiful."
Frank Sinatra also recorded the song twice, once for his album My Way (1969) and again for his 1994 album, Duets II. His partners on the latter recording were Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder.
In the courtroom comedy-drama series Ally McBeal, "For Once in My Life" was performed by show mainstay singer Vonda Shepard. The song was used to "sing" the main character Ally Mcbeal's quest for true love. The song is included in the show's original soundtrack, For Once in My Life, volume 2.
The Gladys Knight & the Pips version was originally recorded at the album "Neither One of Us", released in early 1973 by Motown Records, featured Knight's contralto on lead vocals.
Known as The King in his country (Brazil), Roberto Carlos sang a version on his TV show, Roberto Carlos Especial, with Freddy Cole on piano in 1978. In 1979, he sang a version during the show Palhaço (Clown). Carlos recorded the song in 1979 and released it as a single. His version is very similar to that by Tony Bennett, of whom Carlos is an avowed fan.