| "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||
| from the album Signed, Sealed & Delivered | ||||
| B-side | "I'm More Than Happy (I'm Satisfied)" | |||
| Released | June 3, 1970 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) | |||
| Recorded | 1970 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:45 | |||
| Label | Tamla 54196 |
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| Writer(s) | Stevie Wonder, Lee Garrett, Syreeta Wright, Lula Mae Hardaway | |||
| Producer | Stevie Wonder | |||
| Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
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"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is a soul single by American musician Stevie Wonder, recorded for Motown's Tamla label. Released in June 1970, the song spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart.[1] In the same year, the song was also released on the album Signed, Sealed, and Delivered.
The song was a series of firsts for the 20-year-old Wonder: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" was the first single Wonder produced on his own, and was also the first to feature his female backup singing group composed of Lynda Tucker Laurence (who went on to become a member of The Supremes), Syreeta Wright (who also co-wrote the song), and Vanetta Fields.
During a 2008 appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, he credited the song title and chorus "signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours" to his mother Lula, who exclaimed the words after listening to her son experiment with the melody. This song also marked Wonder's first Grammy nomination. The award went to Ronald Dunbar and General Johnson for writing the Clarence Carter song "Patches".
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Shortly before being signed by Uni Records, Elton John (then performing under his real name, Reg Dwight) recorded a cover of it for a collection of top hits of the day that were released as discount LP "sound-alike" versions. It was later released on several CD compilations, perhaps the most notable of which was "Reg Dwight's Piano Goes Pop!" Elton's (or rather Reg's) version was later included under the end titles of the 2004 romantic comedy film "Laws of Attraction" starring Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore.
In the early 1970s, Bobby Byrd performed an up-tempo cover of this song on a single with other songs performed by James Brown and Lyn Collins.[2]
In 1975, The Osmonds covered the song, and it appears on their album "Around the World, Live in Concert".
In 1977, Peter Frampton recorded the song on his album I'm in You. His version also contains instrumental elements from Wonder's hit For Once In My Life. Frampton's version was released as a single, reaching #18 on the Hot 100.[3]
In 1988, Chaka Khan released her album ck of which the song was the first track.
In 1995, Kim Wilde performed the track during the last episode of Don't Forget Your Toothbrush on UK television.[4]
Jazz fusion\contemporary jazz group Pieces of a Dream presented their version from the band's album "Pieces."[5]
In 2003, for his first in a two-volume collection of Motown cover songs, Michael McDonald recorded his own version of the song. Later that same year, Wonder recorded a similar remake with British boy band Blue. The song hit #11 in the UK charts.
Human Nature successfully remade the song to feature in their Motown album released in 2006.
Lead singer for the band Train, Pat Monahan, covered the hit in 2003.
A mostly instrumental version of the song has been released by the James Taylor Quartet.
Former adult film star Colton Ford and dance diva Pepper Mashay recorded a club version of this song. This version went to #9 on the Hot Dance Club Play and #25 on the Hot Dance Singles Sales charts.[6]
English R&B singer Craig David has covered the song on his fifth studio album, inspired by the same name "Signed Sealed Delivered".
The television reality show The Glee Project featured the song as a 'Homework Assignment', in the First Episode of Season One.
During the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama's presidential campaign frequently played the song immediately after President Barack Obama's speeches at campaign events. Wonder performed the song live on the final night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado. During the campaign, Obama's chief campaign strategist, David Axelrod, used the song as the special ring tone on his cellular phone whenever he received a call from Obama.[7]
At Obama's election night rally at Grant Park in Chicago, the song was one of the first of three songs played to warm up the audience for Obama's victory speech upon winning the 2008 presidential election. The song was used in the same fashion the Clinton-Gore campaign used Fleetwood Mac's hit, "Don't Stop."
| "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Blue featuring Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone | ||||
| from the album Guilty | ||||
| B-side | "One Love", "4-Play" | |||
| Released | 15 December 2003 | |||
| Format | CD Single | |||
| Recorded | 2002 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 3:33 | |||
| Label | Innocent | |||
| Writer(s) | Stevie Wonder, Lee Garrett, Syreeta Wright, Lula Mae Hardaway | |||
| Producer | Stevie Wonder | |||
| Blue featuring Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone singles chronology | ||||
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"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" was covered in 2003 by British boyband, Blue. The song included vocals from Angie Stone and Stevie Wonder. This was the second single from Blue's third album, Guilty, and it peaked at number #11 in the British charts. In Japan, the song was issued as a double A-side with Japanese exclusive track "The Gift".
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 31 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 35 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart | 38 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 7 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 16 |
| German Singles Chart | 29 |
| Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[8] | 12 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 17 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 11 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 22 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 36 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 53 |
| UK Singles Chart | 11 |
| Preceded by "The Love You Save" by The Jackson 5 |
Billboard Best Selling Soul number-one single (Stevie Wonder version) August 1, 1970 - September 5, 1970 |
Succeeded by "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" by Aretha Franklin |
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